Explanation:

The name Formosa dates from 1542, when Portuguese sailors sighted an uncharted island and noted it on their maps as Ilha Formosa ("beautiful island"). Through its rapid development the entire Formosan mainland eventually became known as "Taiwan".

Prior to world war II, the island of Formosa, the world's most important producer of camphor oil and camphor, formed part of the Japanese empire, and Formosa's camphor industry was completely controlled by, and intimately connected with, the chemical industry of Japan proper.