Editing Dutch Formosa (section)

===Background===
Before Dutch settlement in the seventeenth century, Taiwanese aborigines lived in numerous tribal systems uniquely autonomous of each other; with populations between a thousand and a hundred, a census conducted by the Dutch in 1650 surmised that there were below 50,000 natives in the plains area. Despite temporary alliances, similar agricultural practices, and a few inter-marriages, the tribes exhibited distinct linguistic and internal structure differences. These differences coupled with the widespread practice of head-hunting caused Formosan groups to be suspicious and cautious of strangers.{{sfnb|Shepherd|1993}}

Upon arrival, the first indigenous groups the Dutch made contact with were the Sinkang (新港), Backloan (目加溜灣), Soelangh (蕭), and Mattauw (麻豆). The native Taiwanese tribes' antagonistic predispositions led to an initial hostile relationship with the Dutch, involving several uprisings including the Hamada Yahei incident of 1628 involving the Sinkang people, and the killing of 20 Dutch soldiers in 1629 by the Mattauw tribe.<ref name=LeeYuchung/> The VOC eventually transitioned into a divide-and-conquer strategy, and went on to create an alliance with the Sinkang and Seolangh tribes against the Mattauw, simultaneously conquering numerous tribes that did not comply with these commands.{{sfnb|Chiu|2008}}

This interventionist process included the massacre of the indigenous people inhabiting [[Lamay Island]] in 1642 by Dutch forces led by Officer Francois Caron.<ref name=LeeYuchung/> After these events, the native aborigines eventually were forced into pacification under military domination and were used for a variety of labor activities during the span of Dutch Formosa. According to documents in 1650, Dutch settlers ruled "315 tribal villages with a total population of around 68,600, estimated 40-50% of the entire indigenes of the island".{{sfnb|Tai|2007|p=246}}<ref>{{cite book|last=Tai|first=Pao-tsun|title=The Concise History of Taiwan|year=2007|publisher=Taiwan Historica|location=Taiwan|isbn=9789860109504}}</ref>