Prosperity without Progress: Manila Hemp and Material Life in the Colonial Philippines

Prosperity without Progress: Manila Hemp and Material Life in the Colonial Philippines offers a compelling examination of Kabikolan's transformation from a subsistence agrarian economy to a commercialized export sector based on abaca (Manila hemp) production. The study situates the region's economic history within the broader expansion of the European-dominated world-system, contributing to global historiographical debates on capitalism, colonialism, and economic dependency. While many narr...