The shift in financial power from the United States to the East has led to increasing academic attention on the history of Asian economies. The booming ‘tiger’ economies of the late twentieth century have their origins in the colonial period when many of their industries and much of their infrastructure was first established. This primary resource collection focuses on the economic development of the areas of South East Asia with which Britain had a trading relationship – Borneo, Brunei, Burma, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand. Covering the main period of development (1880–1939), the economic growth of the region is revealed through a selection of rare primary resource documents organized thematically with sections dedicated to agriculture, mining, trade, labour, finance and infrastructure. The collection provides an opportunity to observe the trade and business links for the region as a whole rather than just the stories of individual nations. It charts changes in the growing and processing of key commodities such as tea, rice, coconuts, palm oil, opium and rubber, as well as covering finance, construction and development of the region’s transport and communications systems. The social and economic impact of the inward migration from China, Indonesia and India and the effects of white settlement on native populations are also documented. It will be an important resource for those researching Asian history, empire and colonialism and economic history.