History matters. At the beginning of a new century and amidst the turmoil of a new democracy, a historical perspective on modern Indonesia is needed more than ever. This innovative economic history connects back to the colonial era and helps to explain why the transition from colonialism to Independence and from the New Order to democracy has been so difficult and sometimes traumatic. The Emergence of a National Economy identitifies three grand themes in this transformation: globalisation, state formation and economic integration. Globalisation affected the Indonesian archipelago even before the arrival of the Dutch—the New Order experience was only the most recent wave. Modern state formation began in Java under Governor-General Daendels (1808-11) and culminated in the centralised, military-bureaucratic state of Soeharto's New Order (1966-98). A national economy emerged gradually from the 1930s as the Outer Islands were reoriented towards an industrialising Java. These three themes link chronological chapters from the pre 1800 period through the modern colonial era to the breakdown of the colonial system after 1930, the birth of modern Indonesia, the remarkable economic transformation under the New Order, and the 'meltdown' during the Asian crisis of 1997/98. This overarching story gives a unity and rythm to Indonesia's modern history, while helping to explain why the future is likely to be different. The four authors—senior scholars from Australia (Howard Dick), Germany (Vincent Houben), the Netherlands (Thomas Lindblad) and Indonesia (Thee Kian Wie)—draw on a very wide range of sources to combine the insights of history, economic history and economics.

Indonesia is now the fourth largest country in the world, but many aspects of its economic history remain poorly understood. This book is the first comprehensive survey of Indonesian economic history in the 19th and 20th centuries, examining both the Dutch colonial era, and the post-independence period. Extensive use is made of recent work by Dutch, Indonesian and Australian scholars to develop a number of key themes relating to economic growth and structural transformation of the Indonesian economy from the early 19th century to the present.

The result of years of work by scholars from all over the world, The UNESCO General History of Africa reflects how the different peoples of Africa view their civilizations and shows the historical relationships between the various parts of the continent. Historical connections with other continents demonstrate Africa's contribution to the development of human civilization. Each volume is lavishly illustrated and contains a comprehensive bibliography. This fifth volume of the acclaimed series covers the history of the continent from the beginning of the sixteenth century to the close of the eighteenth century in which two themes emerge: first, the continuing internal evolution of the states and cultures of Africa during this period second, the increasing involvement of Africa in external trade--with major but unforeseen consequences for the whole world. In North Africa, we see the Ottomans conquer Egypt. South of the Sahara, some of the larger, older states collapse, and new power bases emerge. Traditional religions continue to coexist with both Christianity (suffering setbacks) and Islam (in the ascendancy). Along the coast, particularly of West Africa, Europeans establish a trading network which, with the development of New World plantation agriculture, becomes the focus of the international slave trade. The immediate consequences of this trade for Africa are explored, and it is argued that the long-term global consequences include the foundation of the present world-economy with all its built-in inequalities.