荷蘭東印度公司在臺殖民政府於1642 年開始，要求漢人到原住民社貿易必須申請許可。1644 年，許可証之價格由公開競標決定，這是贌社制度的起源。贌社是對原住民與贌商交易課稅的制度，公開競標表示每年稅率可能不同。明鄭政府延續贌社制度，但下淡水的鳳山八社改課徵丁口稅。1684 年臺灣納入清國統治後，此一制度又保存下來，但競標取消。目前文獻上對贌社制度之演變有一些誤解。本文還原制度演變之過程，並討論此一制度之影響。

Starting from 1642, the colonial government of the Dutch East India Company in Taiwan required all Chinese merchants to apply for a permit before entering the aboriginal villages for trade. Two years later, a bidding system was introduced to determine the fee of the permit. This is the origin of the village franchise system in Taiwan. Under this system, a tax was levied on the trade between the franchisee and the aboriginal deer hunters, and the tax rate varied from year to year because the franchise fee was determined by bidding. The Cheng regime inherited the franchise system from the Dutch, while the Feng-shan eight villages changed the franchise system into a head tax system. When the Ching dynasty took over Taiwan, it adopted the system from the Cheng regime with a change. Instead of being determined by bidding, the franchise fees became fixed. This study traces the evolution of the village franchise system from the Dutch colonial government to the Ching rule, and discusses its effects on the aboriginal economy.