Japan, Japanese colonial state, indigenous people, ethnic classification, colonialism, Japanese administration, identity, colonial administration, politics, economy
In my reflection paper, I chose to focus on the third text, titled "The Japanese Colonial State and the Dissolution of the Late Imperial Frontier Economy in Taiwan, 1886-1909," because I felt it offered a unique lens through which to explore the colonial past of Taiwan — a subject that I never really got the opportunity to learn and work on, although I'm really interested in it. Thus, I really liked learning more about the impacts of the transition from Qing to Japanese rule in the country, and I enjoyed the economic analysis of colonialism that was done by the author throughout the article.
What stood out to me most was the way Taiwanese indigenous people were subjected to a new regime of ethnic classification, as a symbolic way to assert domination.
[...] These issues consequently really raised my interest, as they are one of the main questions I had after reading. I will then criticize the use of the term "savage", which serves as a problematic and constantly evolving classification tool. It is applied to indigenous people despite the fact that they are actually not "wild" at all; if we'd make a comparison with colonial administrations, we'd notice that the local communities had previously engaged in less violent actions than the colonizers. [...]
[...] Looking at the transition from Qing to Japanese rule and considering the economy policy of both countries, we can understand how this process worked. Under the Qing, it seems like the definition of identity was more flexible, even allowing intermarriage for example, because I believe the Chinese were hoping to get tax revenues that they could use to spend on their military equipment. On the contrary, the Japanese system was much stricter, setting those identities in stone: they just wanted to have a monopoly on the camphor trade, which led to a more exploitative colonial system. [...]
[...] In what ways did the definition of "savage" evolve under different colonial administrations in Taiwan? Firstly, I would like to quickly introduce and contextualize the ethnic classification system as it was implemented under the Japanese administration. The author especially talks about this notion in the last section, for instance by mentioning the different categories of "savages" present in the Taiwanese society (i.e. "uncooked", "cooked" or "raw"). This classification evolved to englobe more people as well, as, in 1904 for instance, Chinese ancient colonial tribes came to be classified as "raw savages" and grouped together as forming the Saisett people (page 376). [...]
[...] To put it in a nutshell, this reflection has helped me understand how Taiwanese people were controlled and dominated through ethnic classification, in Taiwan but also in other colonial contexts. To qualify them, the term "savage" was employed - not just as an insult but also as a justification for brutality and exploitation. The transition from Qing to Japanese control also highlights how these divisions were linked to the political and economic objectives of the colonizers. All things considered, I feel like this essay has helped me see how colonial powers shaped identities to serve their own interests. [...]
[...] Supreme Court referred to people in newly acquired territories as "savage tribes." This use of the word was a political tool to justify taking land and denying rights, as the ACLU pointed out in a 2023 report. Thus, the use of the word "savage" to describe Taiwanese people is very similar to how other colonized groups were labeled. I'd also like to parallel this subject to a text I read some years ago. In Orientalism, Edward Said shows how European powers used the term "savage" to justify colonization, creating an "us vs. them" narrative to defend exploitation. [...]
APA Style reference
For your bibliographyOnline reading
with our online readerContent validated
by our reading committee
