Explain why the Dutch seized Taiwan in 1624.

The island of Taiwan, known historically as Formosa, was under colonial Dutch rule from 1624 to 1662. In the context of the Age of Discovery, the Dutch East India Company established its presence on Taiwan to trade with the Ming Empire and Japan, and also to interdict Portuguese and Spanish trade and colonial activities in East Asia. The time of Dutch rule saw economic development in Taiwan, including both large-scale hunting of deer and the cultivation of rice and sugar by imported Han labour from the Ming Empire. The Dutch also attempted to convert the aboriginal inhabitants to Christianity, and suppress aspects of traditional culture that they found disagreeable, such as head hunting, forced abortion and public nakedness. The Dutch were not universally welcomed and uprisings by both aborigines and recent Han arrivals were quelled by the Dutch military on more than one occasion. The colonial period was brought to an end by the 1661 invasion of Koxinga's army after 37 years.