The Utilization of Natural Resources and the Impact on the Environment in 17th Century Taiwan

The environmental scholars have argued that human activities are crucial in dealing with the issues of environmental change. The aim of this project is to tackle how the changes in Taiwan happened through the utilization policies of natural resources under different regimes, namely the Dutch colonial power, Zheng’s kingdom, and Qing Empire in the 17th century. It will also analyze the major policies and their impacts on the environment that the three political authorities had ever adopted. It was the first time that Taiwan, escaped from an isolated situation, began to play a role in the world history in the 17th century. In the Dutch colonial era (1624-1662), Taiwan could join the world trade through merchandises such as sugar. The succeeding authority was Zheng Chengkong (1662-1683) who established Taiwan as a political, economic, and military base to against Qing dynasty. After 1684, Qing took over Taiwan and adopted the so-called “passive governance policy” to rule Taiwan. At this moment, Taiwan was not able to connect with world trade any more, and turned out to be a periphery of Qing Empire. This project will be conducted in two years. To analyze the points in the archives and first hand references of the three regimes in 17th century Taiwan and theories in environmental history concerning the study of “man and place”, the expected achievements of the project will be the following: In the first year, to read and write a journal paper about the theory of political ecology and a review paper on William Cronon’s work, Changes in the Land: Indians, Colonists, and the Ecology of New England. It will also explore the policy of natural resources and human activities toward the ecology in Taiwan during the Dutch colonial period. In the second year, the main targets of the project during Zheng and Qing eras will be investigated, and the comparison of the polices of natural resources of three authorities and impacts will be studied as well. The project intends to point out the significance of the environmental changes in 17th century Taiwan, which was from a wilderness to a cultivated place. Thirdly, in the two years of study, the project will compile ‘The Environmental Chronology in 17th century Taiwan.

Project ID:PE10501-0659
External Project ID:MOST104-2410-H182-006-MY2