This book deals with the encounter between the Dutch and the Chinese that led to the fall of the Dutch settlements on Taiwan and the short-lived rule of Koxinga over the island. Through an exploration of the complex interaction between European powers and Zheng Zhilong the author offers an outline of the early years of Zheng Zhilong's son, best known by the names Zheng Chenggong and Koxinga, from samurai boy to student of Qian Qianyi. In its main body Lost Colony describes and reflects upon the achievements of Koxinga who, following his fight against the Manchu on the mainland, led his army over to Taiwan where he defeated the Dutch at sea and on land and forced them to surrender Zeelandia.

The author sets out to tell a good story. Indeed, this book shows all the ingredients of a thrilling historical novel: pirates and drunkards, defectors and false defectors, generals and inadequate leadership, executions and crucifications, espionage and treachery, trickery and deceit, acquisition of military intelligence, etc. But does it offer more than a gripping read?

Tonio Andrade positions his narrative as a contribution to discussions on military supremacy and colonialism. As a case study, his book certainly brings fresh evidence into the wider discourse. His investigations into military technology and its transfer, the architecture of Zeelandia as a renaissance fort only brought down with the help of a defector who set up counter-fortifications, military discipline and training, ship-building technology and navigation techniques, especially the ability of the Dutch to sail close to the wind, the impact of weather, wind and sea conditions on strategy, Chinese tacticians out-foxing their Dutch counterparts and so forth create valid and original arguments for discussions on the reasons why Koxinga was able to defeat the Dutch despite the latter's more advanced technology. In essence the author argues that Koxinga achieved victory by adopting European military technology, mastery of traditional Chinese stratagems and superior military leadership.

Lost Colony is richly illustrated with maps and depictions of ships and weapons; illustrations of Zeelandia and its geographical position seem particularly noteworthy. The narrative is rich in detail and informed by a wealth of Dutch and Chinese source materials which hint at the simple fact that the entire story is not all that “untold”, as the sub-title suggests. Other remarkable glimpses offered in this book relate to letters as a means of diplomacy. This includes English renderings of Dutch translations of letters from Koxinga, the originals of which do not seem to be extant, as well as accounts of the deliberations that led to certain wordings in these documents. Clearly, much of the European material is by no means impartial, often written by individuals with a distinct interest in presenting a certain account of affairs. And the status of Koxinga as a nationalist hero in lore and legend left its traces in the Chinese material. Andrade deals with these aspects reasonably well, though on occasion one would hope for more disengaged reception of the given material. More importantly, the way in which the author deals with his sources raises some technical concerns. At times he takes liberties and amends sources in direct quotes (although they are indicated in the apparatus, some of these changes seem fairly unnecessary); the source references could be more detailed and sometimes information is taken from secondary material even where the primary sources are easy to access. Where this book is read as a historical novel, the linguistic register deployed in the narrative seems acceptable. But if taken as an academic publication, lexical choices such as the use of a three-letter-word (pp. 146, 214, 238 and elsewhere) may well be deemed stylistically inappropriate. Also, it is unclear why some quotes remain untranslated (e.g. p. 367 from Mencius) and the translation of the term tuguan as “official border chiefs” (p. 168) seems in need of explanation. In case there is evidence in support of this reading, a note in the apparatus would have been appreciated. The author assures us that the nickname Jan-against-all-reason “sounds better in Dutch” (p. 118), but no Dutch original is provided.

The book is somewhat repetitive. For instance one wonders about the reasons for repeatedly characterizing one of the military leaders who defected to Koxinga and delivered him the game-changer as intoxicated. Also, there is little doubt that the stratagems transmitted in the Sunzi have a significant impact on Koxinga. Andrade rightly points to the surge of military manuals during the late sixteenth and early seventeenth century, but his frequent references to the Sunzi and near neglect of other manuals – with the notable exception of that by Zheng Zhilong – run the risk of narrowing an otherwise rich tradition.

Finally, there are instances where the author takes unfortunate short-cuts. Given that this book deals with the epic story of Koxinga, it seems telling that the author gives an only partial explanation of the origin of the name of his main persona dramatis. It is well known that Koxinga was bestowed with the imperial surname. Andrade writes: “[…] in his day most people […] called him ‘Imperial Surname’. It's by that name that the Dutch and English and Spanish and Portuguese came to know him, and since it is pronounced Kok-seng, he became known in the West as Koxinga” (p. 64). Although the first part of this passage is certainly correct, it relates only to Kok⁴-seng³. However, the name Koxinga did not derive from Kok⁴-seng³ 國姓 but from the appellation 國姓爺 which is pronounced Kok⁴-seng³-ia⁵ in Southern Min. It carries the final syllable ia⁵ 爺 which functions as an honorific: “lord”, “(venerable) sir”. Koxinga thus stands for “Lord [with the] Imperial Surname” rather than “Imperial Surname”.