Exploring the Impact of Dutch, Spanish, and Ming-Zheng Periods’ Economic Policies on Indigenous Peoples From a Cross-Cultural Perspective

Abstract

This study explored, from a cross-cultural perspective, the impact of the economic policies of the Dutch, Spanish, and Ming-Zheng periods on Taiwan’s indigenous peoples. This paper adopts document analysis, a qualitative research method, as its methodology, seeking to reveal how different colonial regimes shaped Taiwan’s economic structure, trade networks, and the impact on the indigenous economy through the analysis of historical documents. Although Taiwan’s indigenous peoples encountered various challenges, they simultaneously demonstrated remarkable resilience and adaptability, which not only shaped the early colonial economy but sowed the seeds for future social inequality, cultural conflict, and unbalanced regional economic development.