Author Description

Southeast Asia, like other non-Western areas, has often been seen as economically static and self-sufficient until the arrival of late 19th century capitalism, for no better reason than lack of evidence to the contrary. This volume seeks to lay a basis for more solid analysis of the pre-colonial record through accumulating one type of data -- exports -- for which the record is long and continuous. By compiling data series for each of the Southeast Asian products which in turn dominated long-term exports (cloves, pepper, coffee and sugar), it reveals a dynamic pattern of rises and falls in the economic record of the region.