This two-volume study explores the economy of East Timor, of which very little has been written since the country gained independence in 2002. Currently, no comprehensive account exists of the economic history of the country. The former cannot be properly understood without a knowledge of the historical process that created the present-day situation. This research monograph is the first book to combine a historical analysis of the creation and development of the economy of East Timor from the earliest times to the present, and an analysis of the main contemporary problems facing the East Timorese economy. Volume I considers East Timor from a chronological perspective, as an occupied country up to the point at which Indonesia leave.