This book outlines and analyzes the global economy and its sectoral andregional division of labor and cyclical dynamic from 1400 to 1800. Theevidence and argument are that within this global economy Asians and 20particularly Chinese were preponderant, no more"traditional" thanEuropeans, and in fact largely far less so. The historical documentationposes an 'emperor has no clothes' challenge to all received Eurocentrichistoriography and social theory from Montesquieu, Marx and Weber, or 20Toynbee and Polanyi, to Rostow, Braudel and Wallerstein.

The books'sglobal economic analysis offers a more holistic theoretical alternative.'The Rise of the West' was not due to any 'European Miracleexceptionalism' that allegedly permitted it to pull itself up by itsown bootstraps as Weberians have contended. Nor did Europebuild a 'European world-economy around itself" a la Braudel and thereby 20as per Marx and Wallerstein [as well as Frank's own WORLD ACCUMULATION1492-1789] initiating a European centered 'Modern Capitalist World-System'primarily by exploiting the wealth of its American and African colonies.Instead, Europe used its American silver to buy itself marginal entry intothe long since existing world market in Asia, which was much larger, moreproductive and competitive, continued to expand much faster until 1800,and was able to support a rate of population growth in Asia that was thandouble that of Europe until 1750.

Then changing world economic/demographic/ ecological relations and relative factor prices in thecompetitive global economy resulted in the temporary 'Decline of the East'and the opportunity for the also temporary 'The Rise of the West'. Europetook advantage of this world economic opportunity through importsubstitution, export promotion and technological change to become NewlyIndustrializing Economies after 1800, as is again happening today in EastAsia. That region is now REgaining its 'traditional' dominance in theglobal economy, with the Chinese 'Middle Kingdom' again at its 'center.'