This volume brings to the reader the history of the alteration of environment by human action, and the reciprocal influence of the environment upon human history. The collection traces the long history of geographical shifts in human occupation, the difficult path to industrialization, the forced displacements and destruction of forests and marshes, the state-led industrialization in response to poverty, and the destruction of forests due to European colonialism etc. A set of macro- and micro-regional studies of environmental history and economic development with respect to India, China, Bangladesh, and Brazil are discussed. As a whole, this collection offers some of the best recent works at the intersection of two new sub-disciplines taking history, economics, and nature into account. Contributed by experts in the fields of sociology, history, ecology, and economics, this pioneering work is an invaluable resource for academics of all social science disciplines, environmentalists, economists, anthropologists, urban policy planners, and researchers.