| This study investigates the culture and culture change of the seventeenth-century Siraya under the Dutch East India Company (Verenigde Oostindische Compagnie or VOC). The Siraya, who are indigenous to Taiwan, are Austronesians and related to the Malay-Polynesians of Southeast Asia and the Pacific islands. Dutch contact resulted in the first extensive interaction between these peoples and Europeans, and it left a rich documentary record. The principal sources used are contemporary documents compiled from the Dutch national archives in the Hague. In addition, Chinese sources and evidence from the indigenous languages are employed. |
