ABSTRACT
This chapter seeks to show areas of tension between the servants of the Dutch East India Company and the native Formosans. Any encounter between people of different cultural background tells something about differences in norms and values of the interacting persons. In all colonial societies go-betweens helped facilitate relations between the colonial ruler and the ruled. Under orders issued by Governor-General Antonio van Diemen in Batavia, the allied villages were directed to reciprocate "the blessings of colonial rule" by delivering tribute in the form of deerskins or rice supplies. The Company administration in Zeelandia Castle felt strong enough by 1641 to replace the Spaniards as colonial rulers in the northern part of Taiwan. The Kavalan people were invited to follow and pay a yearly tribute, in exchange for which the Company would protect them from their enemies. Thirty villages sent representatives and promised tribute.
