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Deer Hunting and Preserving the Commons in Dutch Colonial Taiwan
- Journal of Interdisciplinary History
- The MIT Press
- Volume 42, Number 2, Autumn 2011
- pp. 185-203
- Article
- Additional Information
The Dutch East India Company exported many deerskins to Japan from its base of operations in Taiwan during the mid-seventeenth century. The accepted wisdom is that this commercial activity led to the extinction of Taiwan's deer population. Analysis of the Company's export data, however, reveals that its system of regulated hunting included a form of wildlife conservation based on self-interest.