Since 2006, when the original versions of these chapters were presented at the International Economic History Association (ieha) Congress in Helsinki, we have been asked by a number of scholars in various research fields for permission to cite them. With the publication of this volume, it is our pleasure to collect them in book form. For comments on the drafts, we thank Rajeswary Ampalavanar Brown, who served as chair of the session at ieha. The manuscripts benefited from the anonymous reviewers’ helpful suggestions. A research grant for Asian Regional Studies from the Heiwa Nakajima Foundation and Grant in Aid for Scientific Research from the Japanese Society for Promotion Sciences enabled the production of this group project. Finally, we thank the publisher E.J. Brill and Parisa Syed, the editor who shepherded this volume to publication, and we are most grateful for proofreading by Chiew-hong Ong and for copyediting by Debra E. Soled.