Taiwan (Modern World Nations)

Taiwan, an island lying less than 100 miles (165 kilometers) off the east coast of the People’s Republic of China, is first noted in Western records has having been ”discovered” by the Portuguese in 1590. They named the tobacco-leaf-shaped island ”Ilha Formosa,” or ”Beautiful Island.” The name that is more common today is Taiwan, thought to mean ”terraced bay,” for the active terrace building that has taken place during the past three centuries on the western flanks of the mountains that slope westward toward the Taiwan Strait.