Charles Le Gendre: The Treaty-Maker and the Traitor Were the Same Man

30-second overview: Charles W. Le Gendre (1830–1899) — French-born American diplomat, Civil War veteran, lost his left eye at the Battle of the Wilderness. From 1866 to 1872, he served as U.S. Consul in Amoy, making eight visits to Formosa and negotiating the "Treaty of South Cape" with Paiwan chief Tauketok. After resigning from the American consulate, he defected to the Japanese government and used his intimate knowledge of Taiwan to help Japan plan the 1874 Mudan Incident expedition. He left behind a 1,600-page manuscript and nearly 200 images — but this Notes of Travel in Formosa was never published during his lifetime, finally appearing in a fully annotated edition from the National Museum of Taiwan History 137 years later.

The Rover

On March 12, 1867, the American merchant ship Rover was sailing from Swatow to Newchwang when it ran aground off the southern tip of the Hengchun Peninsula, near the waters of Liangqiao.¹ Captain Joseph W. Hunt and his wife Mercy led the surviving crew ashore — directly into the territory of the Paiwan Kulaljuc community.

Fourteen people were killed. Only one Cantonese sailor escaped to carry the news to Takow.

Word reached Amoy. U.S. Consul Le Gendre immediately traveled north to Fuzhou to press the Governor-General of Fujian and Zhejiang for action. The Qing dynasty court's position was unambiguous: that was "savage" territory, outside its jurisdiction.² The U.S. Navy also attempted a military intervention: the USS Hartford landed 181 men, who were repulsed by the Paiwan, with commander Alexander MacKenzie killed in the fighting.³

Warships could not subdue them. The authorities refused to act. Le Gendre decided to go himself.

The One-Eyed Consul

The man who decided to walk into the jungle had an unusual history. Born in 1830 near Lyon, France, in a town called Oullins, his father was a painter and sculptor. After graduating from the University of Paris, he emigrated to America, and when the Civil War broke out in 1861, he joined the Union Army.⁴

On May 9, 1864, at the Battle of the Wilderness, a bullet passed through his nose and left eye. He lost half his face's contour and was promoted to colonel. After the war, he needed work far from the battlefield. On July 13, 1866, he was appointed U.S. Consul at Amoy.⁵

He had no idea this appointment would bring him to an island that would define the second half of his life.

The Treaty of South Cape

In September 1867, Le Gendre set out from Amoy with interpreter William A. Pickering and James Horn, pressing deep into the Paiwan territory of the Hengchun Peninsula.⁶ It was a march through jungle without roads, into the "aboriginal territory" beyond Qing control.

On October 10, he met Tauketok, the paramount chief of the Paiwan confederation of eighteen communities.

What did they agree to? A formal memorandum dated February 28, 1869 records three specific terms: foreign sailors who survive a shipwreck and come ashore must raise a red flag to identify themselves; landing is only permitted at designated locations; and no one may enter mountain aboriginal villages.⁷

📝 Curator's note
What makes the Treaty of South Cape remarkable is not its terms but its signatories: on one side, a U.S. Consul; on the other, the paramount chief of the Paiwan confederation of eighteen communities. The Qing government was entirely absent. This may be the first written memorandum in Taiwan's history negotiated directly between an indigenous leader and a foreign representative — signaling that at the empire's periphery, indigenous peoples were not passive objects but capable negotiating subjects.

From May 1867 to May 1872, Le Gendre visited Taiwan at least eight times.⁸ On each visit he took notes, drew maps, and gathered intelligence. He positioned himself as the foremost Western expert on Formosa.

The Defection

In 1872, Le Gendre resigned from the American consulate and joined the Japanese Foreign Ministry as a second-class foreign adviser, at an annual salary of twelve thousand dollars — the first foreigner hired by the Meiji government.⁹

The context: in 1871, Ryukyuan fishermen were killed in southern Taiwan (the Baxiawan Incident). The Meiji government was looking for an opportunity to expand abroad, and Taiwan was the first target. They needed someone who knew Taiwan.

Le Gendre was the perfect candidate. He had eight expeditions' worth of firsthand experience, personal relationships with indigenous chiefs, and a trove of intelligence the American government had nowhere to lock away. He told the Japanese that the "aboriginal territory" of southern Taiwan was, under international law, terra nullius — unclaimed land — and that the Qing themselves had admitted they had no jurisdiction there, giving Japan the right to "punish" the indigenous inhabitants.¹⁰

✦ "The man who signed the Treaty of South Cape and the man who sold the intelligence to Japan were the same man. The same knowledge of Taiwan was used first to sign a peace agreement and later to plan an invasion."

In 1874, Japan launched a military expedition to Taiwan. Some 3,600 soldiers attacked Paiwan communities on the Hengchun Peninsula. This was the Mudan Incident — Japan's first overseas military operation in the modern era. Le Gendre worked behind the scenes to craft the diplomatic strategy, help recruit foreign soldiers, charter ships, and procure military supplies.¹¹

1,600 Pages, 137 Years

Around 1875, Le Gendre completed a monumental manuscript: Notes of Travel in Formosa — 1,600 pages of text accompanied by nearly 200 maps, photographs, sketches, and paintings.¹²

The manuscript covers five areas: natural history centered on geology, the history of Dutch colonialism, the foreign relations of the Qing dynasty with Western powers, the ethnology and linguistics of Austronesian peoples, and economic and commercial potential.¹³ Its probable purpose was to serve as a comprehensive intelligence compendium for Meiji government decision-makers preparing to annex Taiwan in 1873–1874.¹⁴ After completion, the manuscript was submitted to his superior Ōkubo Toshimichi.

The manuscript was never published during his lifetime. The original is held at the Library of Congress; a copy resides in the Japan National Archives. The Le Gendre Papers at the Library of Congress comprise 1,760 items — the first five boxes have been digitized as 4,774 images, but four volumes of the core manuscript journals remain under restoration and have not yet been scanned.¹⁵

More than 130 years later, Douglas L. Fix, a history professor at Reed College in Oregon, discovered the manuscript at the Library of Congress during 1991–1992. In 1999, he began formal collaboration with John Shufelt, assistant professor of foreign languages at Tunghai University, supported by the Chi Mei Foundation, traveling to the United States, Japan, and Britain to cross-reference the American and Japanese versions of the manuscript.¹⁶

Shufelt later told The Reporter: "I cannot simply say he was an imperialist or a humanitarian. He is far more complex than that."¹⁷

Annotation was completed in 2005. The English edition appeared in 2012, the Chinese edition in 2013, both published by the National Museum of Taiwan History. From manuscript completion to formal publication: 137 years.

📝 Curator's note
Le Gendre's manuscript is the most complete firsthand record of 19th-century Taiwan in existence. But it is simultaneously an imperial intelligence document. The tension between its scholarly value and its political motivation is precisely why Fix and Shufelt spent thirteen years on it: you cannot simply read what it says — you must read at the same time for whom it was written.

SEQALU

On August 14, 2021, SEQALU: Formosa 1867, produced by Taiwan's Public Television Service at a cost exceeding NT$155 million, had its premiere.¹⁸ Adapted from the 2016 Taiwan Literature Golden Classics Award-winning novel Puppet Flowers by physician and novelist Chen Yao-chang, the drama is set against the backdrop of the 1867 Rover Incident and the Treaty of South Cape.

The original title followed the novel as Puppet Flowers, but was later renamed because the word "puppet" carries discriminatory connotations toward indigenous peoples. The 12-episode series employed more than 6,000 extras.¹⁹ It won Golden Bell Awards in 2022. The Paiwan actor Chamatuk Palauwl, who played Tauketok, was diagnosed with lung adenocarcinoma after filming and passed away on December 19, 2021.²⁰

Director Tsao Jui-yuan said: "SEQALU is not a conclusion — it is a starting point. Taiwanese people should begin from here to rediscover the stories that happened on this land."²¹

Le Gendre is one of the central characters in the drama. But more important is this: Tauketok finally moves from supporting role to protagonist. In Le Gendre's manuscript, Tauketok is "a chief who needs to be persuaded." In SEQALU, he is a leader protecting his people in the gap between empires. The same event — it depends who is writing.

What Became of Him

Le Gendre left Japan in 1875. In 1890 he went to Korea, serving as diplomatic adviser to Emperor Gojong. On September 1, 1899, he died of a stroke in Seoul, at age 69.²²

His life spanned the diplomatic stages of three empires: America, Japan, Korea. But his most important six years were on Formosa. He was a contemporary of Robert Swinhoe (史溫侯 — zh only), and both left indelible records in Taiwan during the 1860s, but with completely different motivations: one for science, one for power.

Shufelt spent thirteen years editing that manuscript. He cannot give Le Gendre a clean verdict.

The man who signed the Treaty of South Cape, and the man who sold intelligence on Taiwan to Japan, were the same man. He left the most complete firsthand record of 19th-century Taiwan in existence, but the knowledge was accumulated for the purpose of selling it to the highest-bidding empire. "Taiwan expert" — was that in Taiwan's service, or was it opening the door for colonizers? The answer remains elusive.

Further reading:

• The Rover Incident and Tauketok — The companion piece to this article: the same history seen from Tauketok's perspective — how the Treaty of South Cape protected his people, and how the other half of the agreement betrayed them
• Indigenous Peoples' History and the Rectification of Names Movement — The long journey of the Paiwan in the Treaty of South Cape, from "aboriginal territory" to recognized name
• Qing Dynasty Rule in Taiwan — The Qing governing structure when Le Gendre came to Taiwan, providing institutional context for the "outside our jurisdiction" response
• Robert Swinhoe — Another foreigner who left a profound record in Taiwan at the same time, but motivated by science rather than power
• The Sino-French War — Eight years after Le Gendre left Taiwan, France attacked Taiwan using similar imperial logic

References