David Henley

Combining historical geography with historical demography, and conceived as a study in environmental history, this book examines the long-term relationship between population, economy and environment in the northern half of the Indonesian island of Sulawesi. Using a rich variety of Dutch historical sources, including VOC and missionary archives, it attempts to reconstruct and analyse patterns of demographic, economic and landscape change throughout this large and ecologically diverse region over a period of almost three and a half centuries. Particular attention is given to the articulation between demographic and economic growth, to levels and determinants of reproductive fertility, to changing disease environments, and to the question of agricultural sustainability and its preconditions. The results call into question some common views regarding the reasons for low population growth, and the relationship between population density and landscape change, in the Southeast Asian past.

Population, Economy and Environment in North and Central Sulawesi, 1600-1930

Fertility, Food and Fever

Penguin Books Ltd

Andrew Forbes

Peter Holmshaw

TheDK Eyewitness Thailand's Beaches & Islands Travel Guidewill lead you straight to the best attractions Thailand's Beaches & Islands has to offer. The guide includes unique cutaways, floorplans and reconstructions of the city's stunning architecture, plus 3D aerial views of the key districts to explore on foot. You'll find detailed listings of the best hotels, restaurants, bars and shops for all budgets in this fully updated and expanded guide, plus insider tips on everything from where to find the best markets and nightspots to great attractions for children. The DK Eyewitness Thailand's Beaches & Islands Travel Guideshows you what others only tell you.

Thailand's Beaches and Islands

Jamie Davidson

The Indonesian term adat means ‘custom’ or ‘tradition’, and carries connotations of sedate order and harmony. Yet in recent years it has suddenly become associated with activism, protest and violence. This book investigates the revival of adat in Indonesian politics, identifying its origins, the historical factors that have conditioned it and the reasons behind its recent blossoming. It considers whether the adat revival is a constructive contribution to Indonesia’s new political pluralism or a divisive, dangerous and reactionary force, and examines the implications for the development of democracy, human rights, civility and political stability. The Revival of Tradition in Indonesian Politics provides detailed coverage of the growing significance of adat in Indonesian politics. It is an important resource for anyone seeking to understand the contemporary Indonesian political landscape.

The Deployment of Adat from Colonialism to Indigenism

The Revival of Tradition in Indonesian Politics

Peter Bppmgaard

Credit and debt are practical concerns of all times and places. They are also increasingly important topics in economic history and the social sciences, from Marcel Mauss and the anthropology of the gift to the urgent quest for understanding of today's global credit crunch. This volume brings together eight essays on credit and debt in the history of Indonesia, where for centuries debt and debt bondage played central roles in the organization of society, and where efforts to combat 'usury' an...

From Peonage to Pawnshop, from Kongsi to Cooperative

Credit and Debt in Indonesia, 860-1930

Why have South-East Asian countries like Malaysia, Indonesia and Vietnam been so successful in reducing levels of absolute poverty, while in African countries like Kenya, Nigeria and Tanzania, despite recent economic growth, most people are still almost as poor as they were half a century ago? This book presents a simple, radical explanation for the great divergence in development performance between Asia and Africa: the absence in most parts of Africa, and the presence in Asia, of serious developmental intent on the part of national political leaders.

A Question of Intent

Asia-Africa Development Divergence

The Khon Muang, or 'People of the Principalities; inhabit the hills and valleys of Northern Thailand - formerly known as Lanna, or the 'Kingdom of a Million Rice Fields.' In times past the people of the north spoke a different language to the central Thais. They dressed differently, women wore their hair long in contrast to the men covered their bodies with intricate tattoos to ward of sickness and injury in the times of war. The Golden Age of the Lanna Kingdom was in the 13th-15th centuries, when Chiang Mai, the region's capital, treated on equal terms with Siam, Burma, Laos, and even distant Sri Lanka. Then came Burmese Conquest, Siamese invasion, and subsequent cultural domination by Bangkok. In recent years, however, amid signs of a general cultural rebirth, the Khon Muang have strated to rediscover their past.

People and Principalities of North Thailand

Khon Muang

Henk Schulte Nordholt

This title is available online in its entirety in Open Access.In Environment, Trade and Society in Southeast Asia: A Longue DuréePerspective, eleven historians bring their knowledge and insights to bear on the long sweep of Southeast Asian history. Ranging across many centuries, their contributions seek to identify the repeating patterns in Southeast Asia's past.

A Longue Durée Perspective

Environment, Trade and Society in Southeast Asia

Aditya Goenka

Southeast Asia’s Credit Revolution describes and explains the rise of microfinance – the provision of credit and other financial services for the poor – in Southeast Asia, over the past four decades the most consistently successful region of the developing world. In recent years microfinance has come to be seen as a key weapon in the battle against global poverty, generating more enthusiasm and optimism than any other development strategy. Southeast Asia has a special place in the history of microfinance. Historically, Southeast Asian societies and economies were perceived as almost uniquely debt-ridden and credit-constrained. In the twentieth century, however, the region was in the forefront of the modern microfinance revolution. This book asks what factors have made it possible for formal microfinance institutions to replace moneylenders and other traditional credit providers. Bringing together economists, sociologists, anthropologists and historians, the book covers seven Southeast Asian countries. The topic is explored from cultural and institutional as well as economic perspectives, and policy-relevant lessons are offered for the design of successful microfinance institutions. Focusing on recent developments while putting them in historical context, this will be an important text for scholars and students of economic history, finance, institutional economics, and Asian Studies.

David Henley

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