Forests of Fortune?: The Environmental History of Southeast Borneo, 1600-1880

The book deals with the relationship between people and the natural environment in Southeast Borneo, based on many hitherto unused primary sources. It describes the ways in which people made a living within the wide range of environments found here, focusing on agriculture, hunting, fishing, animal husbandry, forest exploitation, and the collection of products for the market. It deals with the impact of these activities on the natural environment and attempts to explain why most areas were strikingly little affected until modern times, yet others showed clear signs of human occupation and exploitation from an early date.