Much has been written about the wealth of nations, the history of unequal distribution of wealth, and the creation of zones of affluence and deprivation. This book sets out to explore why some Asian nations are more prosperous than others, examining how their interaction with and utilization of resources has changed over the centuries.

Much has been written about the wealth of nations, the history of unequal distribution of wealth, and the creation of zones of affluence and deprivation, both within and between societies. This book sets out to explore why some Asian nations are more prosperous than others through an examination of how their interaction with and utilization of resources has changed over the centuries.

Introduction: Natural Resources and the Shape of Asian History, 1500-2000
G.Bankoff &
P.Boomgaard - Natural Resource Management and Mismanagement: Observations from
Southeast Asian Agricultural History
D.Henley - PART I: RESOURCES AND STATE - The Physical Transformation of the Central Thai Region in Pre-Modern Times
B.Terwiel - Poor Little Rich Islands: Metals in Bangka-Belitung and West Kalimantan
M.Somers Heidhues - Making Places and Making States: Agriculture, Metallurgy, and the Wealth of Nature in South India
K.Morrison - PART II: FORESTS AND DEVELOPMENT - From Wood to Timber: Changing Perceptions of
Philippine Forests, 1565-1900
G.Bankoff - Seeing the Timber for the Forest: The Wood in Japanese Capitalism
G.Clancey - Burma and the Politics of Teak: Dissecting a Resource Curse
R.Bryant - Losing Ground: Development, Natural Resources, and the Dispossession of Malaysia's Orang Asli
R.Aiken - PART III: ENVIRONMENTS AND LIVELIHOODS - From Riches to Rags?: Rice Production and Trade in Asia, Particularly Indonesia, 1500-1950
P.Boomgaard - Instructive and Nourishing Landscapes: Natural Resources, People, and the State in Late Imperial China
F.Bray - Demographic Growth, Agricultural Expansion, and Livestock in the Lower Chindwin in the Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries
M.Charney - "Stealing from the Gods:" Fisheries
and Local Use of Natural Resources in Vietnam, 1800-2000
J.Kleinen -