The Stagnant Pre-Modern Economies of East Asia Essay by Master Researcher

This essay will assume the position that the pre-modern societies of East Asia were isolated and stagnant. It is recognized that this argument is controversial, and dependent upon certain geographical and social assumptions. "isolation" and "stagnation" are relative concepts. It will be seen that two of the main economies of the region - that of China and Japan - possessed flourishing domestic economies and some degree of trade with other economies in the region. However, given the inescapable fact that European colonial powers in this era came to dominate Asia, first economically and then politically, a balanced view of the pre-modern economic history of the region must explain why this came to pass. Key to this explanation is a recognition that, in comparison to the nations of the West, the pre-modern economies of China and Japan were stagnant and isolated.