Th e Colonial ‘Civilizing Process’ in Dutch Formosa, 1624–1662 TANAP Monographs on the History of Asian-European Interaction Edited by Leonard Blussé and Cynthia Viallé VOLUME 10 Th e Colonial ‘Civilizing Process’ in Dutch Formosa, 1624–1662 By Chiu Hsin-hui LEIDEN • BOSTON 2008 Th e TANAP programme is funded by the Netherlands Organization for Scientifi c Research (NWO). Th is book is printed on acid-free paper. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication-Data Chiu, Hsin-hui. Th e colonial ‘civilizing process’ in Dutch Formosa, 1624–1662 / by Chiu Hsin-hui. p. cm. — (TANAP Monographs on the History of Asian-European Interaction Series No1: 10) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-90-04-16507-6 (hardback : alk. paper) 1. Taiwan—History—Dutch rule, 1624–1661. 2. Taiwan—Colonization. I. Title. II. Series. DS799.67.C45 2008 951.24'902—dc22 2008032870 ISSN 1871–6938 ISBN 978 90 04 16507 6 Copyright 2008 by Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, Th e Netherlands. 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Fees are subject to change. printed in the netherlands Dedicated to my father and mother, Chiu Te-huang and Hsü Su-hsing CONTENTS Acknowledgements xi Abbreviations xv Notes on spelling xvii Glossary xix Maps xxiii PART ONE SCOPE AND SCENE Chapter One: Cross-cultural Encounters, Colonial ‘Civilizing Process’, and Indigenous Agency 3 A lost paradise as the focus of competition for maritime power 3 Dutch Formosa in a Chinese setting 4 ‘Th e Formosans’ and ‘the Age of Aboriginal Taiwan’ 5 Th e colonial ‘civilizing process’ 6 Representing Formosan agency 9 Structure and themes 11 Chapter Two: Glimpses of ‘Aboriginal Taiwan’ 13 Otherness and the perception of the Formosans 14 Indigenous subsistence and trade 15 Inter-village warfare 18 Local leadership 21 Th e Chinese encroachment 25 PART TWO EXPANSION AND ENCOUNTER Chapter Th ree: From Strangers to Overlords 33 Th e Formosan encounter 33 Proof of superiority 34 A formula for war 37 Th e road to overlordship 39 viii CONTENTS A contractual bond of feudal vassalage 42 Sin and expiation 43 A symbolic contribution of sovereignty 44 Creating the Pax Neerlandica 46 Chapter Four: Depopulation and Diaspora 49 An island of legend 49 Shaping the image of Lamey 50 Relocation 55 Struggle for freedom 57 Disagreement between the Dutch authorities 59 Th e Lameyan diaspora 61 Chapter Five: Expansion for Commodities 65 Northwards in pursuit of Formosan deer products 65 Th e hunting-licence system 65 Th e conquest of the Favorlangh fi elds 67 Southwards in pursuit of Formosan gold 72 Th e Chinese impulse 72 Chasing gold to Lonckjouw 73 An exhibition of power in Tayouan 74 Peace for gold 75 Reaching Pimaba 76 Th e peace ceremony and the aftermath 78 A Dutch adventurer in the east 80 Th e death of an exemplary Company servant 82 Th e fi rst punitive expedition to the east 84 Chapter Six: Conquest, Contest, and Connection 87 Th e demise of the Spanish regime 87 Formosan encounters after the conquest 89 A terror of new conquerors 89 Protection and authority 90 Th e fi nal blow to the Favorlanghers 93 Th e weakening of centralized leadership 94 Th e exploration of Taraboan 97 Th e expedition to Cavalangh 98 Conquering Quataongh 99 Opening the Tamsuy Route 102 Th e overland routes from the south to the east 103 Uncovering mysterious Taraboan 105 CONTENTS ix PART THREE EMPOWERMENT AND ENTANGLEMENT Chapter Seven: Embodiment of Power 111 Th e core and frontiers of Dutch rule 111 Th e Landdag 113 Th e local administration 120 Political ministers and clerical ‘politieken’ 120 Non-clerical politieken 122 Th e Landdrost 123 ‘Civil interaction’ 125 Spatial layout 125 Inter-ethnic marriage and indigenous citizenry 126 A ‘sign of loyalty’ 130 Th e competitive Formosan order 135 ‘Misbehaviour’ and punishment 135 Th e regulation of mobility 138 Putative frontiers 139 Th e south 140 Th e east 142 Th e dominion of the Tamsuy authorities 146 Chapter Eight: Devouring Prosperity 149 Colonial exploitation and labour relations 149 Chinese honeybees and Dutch apiarists 149 Agriculture 150 Inland fi shing 153 Sulphur and coal 154 Forest products 155 Trade monopoly 158 Village leasehold system 159 An old issue, a new context 161 Th e ‘invention of dominion’ 164 Trade on the frontiers 166 Production and consumption in transition 169 Crises of ecology and subsistence 169 Changes in Formosan consumption 173 Textiles 173 Tobacco 176 Alcohol 178 x CONTENTS Chapter Nine: Convention and Conversion 181 Th e Sirayan religious practice 181 Deities and devotion 181 Priests and priestesses 184 Marriage and abortion 187 Healing and funerals 188 Th e Presence of Dutch Protestant Christianity 189 Laying the foundations 189 Conversion in awe 192 Conversion and ‘civilization’ 194 Localizing Christianity 197 Rapids and undercurrents 199 Th e triumph of bilingual formulation 201 Facing Formosan Roman Catholics 202 Th e fetishistic perception of Roman Catholicism 203 Contesting baptism 206 Dutch missionary work in northern Formosa 208 Pragmatic conversion 209 Purifi cation 210 Th e tie with the spirit world 213 PART FOUR TRANSITION AND RETROSPECTION Chapter Ten: Th e Formosans in the Colonial ‘Civilizing Process’ 221 Th e Formosans in the Chinese Conquest 221 ‘Formosan nostalgia’? 223 Exploring images of the Formosan colonial past 229 Notes 233 Appendices 1. Governors-General and Governors of Formosa, 1624–1662 301 2. Dutch local political administration in Formosa, 1643–1662 302 3. Yearly rent of leased divisions, 1644–1657 (Reals) 305 4. Dutch Protestants and Spanish Dominicans in Formosa, 1626–1662 308 5. Dutch missionaries in Formosa, 1624–1662 309 Bibliography 315 Index 333 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Formosa’s early history has been explored by a number of outstanding scholars from Japan, Taiwan, the Netherlands, Spain, the USA and elsewhere who have laid a solid foundation upon which my own research has built. Without the recent publications and annotated translations of Dutch and Spanish archival manuscripts, this book could not have been written. As will be apparent from the footnotes in my study, I feel much indebted to these pioneers. Professor Leonard Blussé, my supervisor, has not only equipped me with vision for research but also moved me forwards with his cheering humour and endless enthusiasm for life. I appreciate all the people who in one way or another were connected to the TANAP Programme which enabled me to carry out my research: Professor Femme Gaastra; the project co-ordinator, Dr Henk Niemeijer; and the secretaries, Mrs Ilonka Ooms and Mrs Marijke van Wissen-van Staden, as well as the offi ce manager of CNWS (Research School of Asian, African, and Amerindian Studies of Leiden University), Mrs Ilona Beumer-Grill. My teachers in the Advanced Master’s Programme of TANAP/CNWS at Leiden University in 2002 deserve my heartfelt thanks. I have benefi ted not only from their teaching of early-modern and modern Dutch, but I also enjoyed exciting historical excursions with Dr Ton Harmsen and his family, Paula, Carmen, and Frits; Yolande Spaans and Th eo; René Wezel and Eli. Th ey showed me the way to the Chamber Cities of the VOC, prehistoric sites in Groningen, and to little known locations in my favourite, small old town, Leiden. Dr Hugo s’Jacob showed me the way into the bewildering world of seventeenth-century Dutch handwriting, and his wife Nanda provided a family atmosphere nourishing me and some of my classmates with nice food. Professor Robert Ross taught a brainstorming class on the heuristics of historical texts, which on several occasions led to fascinating discussions. I would also like to express my gratitude to Dr D. van Minde of the Department of Languages and Cultures of Southeast Asia and Oceania, with whom I took an elementary course in Bahasa Indonesia. My TANAP comrades from Asia, South Africa, and the Netherlands have defi nitely been my closest family in recent years. It is a privilege to list their names and to remember the moments we shared in the Netherlands as well as in Th ailand and Indonesia, where we attended TANAP Conferences: Anjana Singh, Mahesh Gopalan, Lin Chang-hua (and Josephine), Marné Strydom, Ricky Goedeman, Nirmal Dewasiri (and Shirani), Muridan Widjojo (and Rila), Sri Margana, Bondan Kanumoyoso (and Fitra), Hoang Anh Tuan (and Th ùy Linh); Bhawan Ruangsilp, Kwee Hui Kian (and Eko), Alicia Schrikker (and Job), Liu Yong, Nazli Aziz, Koh Keng We, Atsushi Ota (and xii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Sawaka), Ryuto Shimada (and Sooyoon); Sher Banu (and Aidi), Cha Hsin, Cheng Wei-chung, Binu John Parambil, Ghulam Nadri (and Karuna), Chris Nierstrasz, Ida Indawati Khouw, Yusak Soleiman, and Ali Kavani. Special thanks to Cha Hsin and Cheng Wei-chung for their permission to cite their unpublished papers on Taiwan. Th anks also to my fellow PhD students in the Department of History, Ingrid Cosijn, Filipa da Silva, Damian Pargas, and Andreas Weber for their excellent company.