Prior to the mid-nineteenth century, it would be broadly accurate to describe Southeast Asia
as being in ecological balance, or equilibrium. This balance was based, in the more densely
populated areas, on wet rice (paddy) agricultural systems. But in the second half of the
nineteenth century, the colonizing European powers forced a series of one-sided
commercial" agreements" on the region. These agreements were motivated by the need to
provide expanding industrial concerns in Europe with raw materials, while creating outlets …