Yuan dynasty Chinese from
Fukien and
Chekiang started migrating to the islands during the
Yuan dynasty. Most of the people on Matsu came from Houguan () (today
Changle,
Fujian). The popular net fishing industry established the base for development of Fuao settlement and industrial development of the region over several hundred years.
Ming dynasty Some crewmen of
Zheng He temporarily stayed on the islands.
Qing dynasty During the early
Qing dynasty,
pirates gathered here and the residents left temporarily. In contrast with
Taiwan and
Penghu, the Matsu Islands were not ceded to the
Empire of Japan via the
Treaty of Shimonoseki in 1895. Due to its strategic location along the only route for the spice traffic, the
British established the
Dongyong Lighthouse in
Dongyin Island in 1912 to facilitate ships navigation.
Republic of China In 1911, the Qing dynasty was toppled after the
Xinhai Revolution on 10 October 1911 and the
Republic of China (ROC) was established on 1 January 1912. Matsu Islands were subsequently governed under the administration of
Fukien Province of the ROC. On 1 August 1927, the
Nanchang Uprising broke out between the ruling
Nationalist Party of China (KMT) and
Chinese Communist Party (CCP) which marked the beginning of
Chinese Civil War. Sheng-Chang Lin, a graduate student writing for the
University of Nottingham Taiwan Studies Programme, noted that in the pre-1949 period, the Matsu Islands did not have a significant relationship with Taiwan, which at the time was a colony of the
Empire of Japan. Additionally, he stated that the islands at the time had separate identities and did not have a collective identity as the Matsu Islands. Previous groups of islanders perceived themselves as Fujianese. On 10 September 1937, Japan occupied Beigan and Nangan via the
Collaborationist Chinese Army, making the islands the first in Fujian to fall to Japan. The islands were not occupied by Japanese troops during
World War II because they were not important militarily. The Lienchiang County seat was moved to Danyang Township on 19 April 1941 until the
Japanese surrender on August 15, 1945. As a result of the
Chinese Civil War, in 1949 the
Chinese Communist Party (CCP) took over
mainland China from the
Chinese Nationalist Party (Kuomintang, KMT). The CCP established the
People's Republic of China (PRC) on 1 October 1949, which included administration of today's
Lianjiang County of
Fujian. The KMT retreated from mainland China to Taiwan at the end of 1949, but retained some of the offshore parts of Lienchiang County (namely, the Matsu Islands), and also most of
Kinmen County (Quemoy). On 15 December 1950, the Matsu Administrative Office () of
Fujian Province, Republic of China, was established, including modern-day Lienchiang County (the Matsu Islands), as well as several islands in present-day
Haidao Township (
Xiapu County) and Taishan () (
Fuding County) which were lost to the PRC in 1950 and 1951. In early July 1953,
Chinese Nationalist guerillas retreated from islands in the Xiyang Island (Chihchutao) area of present-day Haidao Township (PRC), and the area came under the control of the PRC. In June 1955, the PRC undertook considerable road and military construction around
Haitan Island, Pingtan County, Fuzhou, Fujian, China, including roads leading to possible artillery positions on the mainland. Those positions might have been used to protect the Haitan Strait, which was considered a favorable staging area for amphibious operations against the Matsu Islands. In July 1958, the PRC began massing forces opposite Kinmen (Quemoy) and Matsu (Lienchiang) and began bombarding them on 23 August, triggering the
Second Taiwan Strait Crisis. On 4 September 1958, the PRC announced the extension of its territorial waters by to include the two islands. However, later that month, after talks between the United States and the PRC in
Warsaw,
Poland, a ceasefire was agreed and the status quo reaffirmed. The phrase "
Quemoy and Matsu" became part of American political language in the
1960 U.S. presidential election. During the debates, both candidates, Vice President
Richard Nixon and Senator
John F. Kennedy, pledged to use American forces if necessary to protect Taiwan from invasion by the PRC, which the United States did not recognize as the legitimate government of China. However, in the second debate on 7 October 1960, the two candidates stated different opinions about whether American forces should also be used to protect
Taiwan's forward positions, Quemoy and Matsu. Senator Kennedy stated that these islands — as little as off the coast of China and as much as from Taiwan — were strategically indefensible and were not essential to the defense of Taiwan. Vice President Nixon maintained that, since Quemoy and Matsu were in the "area of freedom", they should not, as a matter of principle, be surrendered to the Communists. Earlier in the debate, Nixon said: Later in the debate,
Edward P. Morgan asked Senator Kennedy: Kennedy's response was: Vice President Nixon retorted: $10 coin celebrating the 50th anniversary of Taiwan's retrocession After the third debate on 13 October 1960, Kennedy's advisers spoke with then Secretary of State Herter and said that Kennedy was willing to revise his position on the Quemoy and Matsu issue so as not to give the Communists the impression that the United States would not stand united against aggression. Nixon pointed out the change in Kennedy's position but decided not to press the point due to the importance of the United States' role in what was an extremely tense situation. Polls of Republicans and Democrats showed overwhelming support for Nixon's position. Sheng-Chang Lin stated that the Matsu Islands gained a collective identity during the Cold War period. Additionally, the islands gained significant relationships to Taiwan, now sharing a government with them. By 2021, younger people identified as being from the Matsu Islands specifically. Afterwards, local construction picked up pace. In 1999, the islands were designated as the Matsu National Scenic Area Administration. In January 2001, direct cargo and passenger shipping started between Matsu and Fujian Province of the PRC. After 1 January 2015, tourists from mainland China could directly apply the
Exit and Entry Permit upon arrival in Matsu Islands. That privilege also applied to
Penghu and Kinmen, as a means to boost tourism in the outlying islands of Taiwan. In December 2015, the
Huangqi-Matsu ship route was introduced as part of the Mini
Three Links. In 2020, rampant
illegal sand mining by Chinese ships in the waters around the Matsu Islands caused concern in the islands and in the
Executive Yuan about damage to the marine environment, possible damage to underwater telecommunications cables, and the potential for coastal erosion. Auctioning impounded ships was seen as an easy way for the dredging companies to get their ships back via intermediaries, hence sinking the impounded ships was under consideration. In 2021, it was reported that hundreds of Chinese squid fishing boats surrounded Matsu, and the lights from the boats to attract the squid lit up the local sky in green at night. In February 2023, two submarine cables between Matsu and Taiwan island were completely cut, causing Matsu residents' communication services to be affected. ==Geography==