Early Modern History/ Contents

The Malayan economy

J. H. Drabble

The major impetus underlying international economic growth in the 19th and early 20th centuries was the demand from the industrializing countries of the West for raw materials. Malaya, with its ample resources of minerals and land, was particularly well placed to supply this demand. The shortage of labour was overcome with large-scale immigration from China and south India, and the British colonial administration provided centralized government and the necessary infrastructure for development. By World War I, Malaya possessed a fully fledged export economy as the world's leading supplier of tin and rubber.

  • Information in the full article includes
  • The basis of the export economy
  • The 20th century
Bullock

Bullock carts were used to transport tin ore from mines in the interior to the nearest railway line.