封鎖線下的進出口貿易：重探清法戰爭對臺灣之影響

Trade Under Blockade: The Influence of the Sino-French War (1884-1885) on Taiwan

在1884年至1885年的清法戰爭中，法艦一度對臺灣拉起了一條封鎖線。透過茶商陶德（John Dodd）在Journal of a Blockaded Resident in North Formosa during the Franco-Chinese War, 1884-5一書的描述，這條封鎖線大致給予人臺灣商品外銷受挫的印象。然而事實上，這條封鎖線實存期間不過半年，由淡水海關的報告及統計數據中，可以看到1883年至1885年間，淡水海關的進出口關稅總額不降反升，甚至在1885年達到自淡水開港以來的高點。這些現象透露出法艦封鎖對臺灣造成的影響，其實與過往我們的印象有著一段巨大的落差。本文試圖從淡水海關的紀錄出發，重新探討清法戰爭間法艦的封鎖對臺灣所造成之影響，以及封鎖線為何有印象與實際情形的落差，而這種落差又是如何形成的。

During the Sino-French War of 1884-1885, the French imposed a trade blockade on goods to and from Taiwan. The British tea merchant John Dodd (1838-1907) would later write of his impressions of these events in his Journal of a Blockaded Resident in North Formosa during the Franco-Chinese War, 1884-1885. According to Dodd, the blockade had a devastating impact on the local economy. The present paper argues, however, that such a view is, in fact, highly misleading; for contemporary trade reports and statistical records of the Tamsui customs office show that export and import duties increased rather than decreased between 1883-1885. Indeed, collections of export and import duties reached peak levels in 1885. In addition to showing that our general impression of the Sino-French War is mistaken, this paper also examines why such a disparity exists between our perception of the war and the reality of what actually happened.