Exploring the Columbian Exchange: plant introductions to Taiwan in the 17th century

Abstract

The Columbian Exchange is a well-known process of massive intercontinental translocation of animal and plant species triggered by European colonialism starting in the 16th and 17th centuries. Detailed studies of local processes of introduction of plant species are not abundant in the literature so far, especially in Asia-Pacific. We focus on Taiwan in the 17th century, the time when Dutch and Spanish colonizers settled in the island and produced the earliest records about Taiwan. This is also the time period when the first Chinese historical records about the island were produced. We have carried out a review of the Chinese and European historical documents, secondary literature and available archaeological evidence, to (1) reconstruct the history of introduction of American, European and Asian economic plant species into Taiwan; (2) provide an accurate time frame to test if short-term episodes of plant introduction were successful, (3) test the possibility that different social groups in Taiwan introduced different plant species during the Columbian Exchange. We demonstrate that, while Europeans carried out the large-scale translocation of species and were drivers of plant translocations within the region, the fast pace of plant spread driven by local agents vasty surpassed the actions of the Europeans in many cases. Our results help better understand the Columbian Exchange at large.