Editing Economy of Myanmar (section)

===Classical era===
Burma has been the main trade route between China and India since 100 BC. The [[Mon Kingdom]] of lower Burma served as important trading centre in the [[Bay of Bengal]]. The majority of the population was involved in rice production and other forms of [[agriculture]].<ref name="tay">{{Cite book |last=Taylor |first=Robert H. |title=The State in Myanmar |publisher=NUS Press |year=2009 |isbn=978-9971-69-466-1 |pages=38–40}}</ref> Burma used silver as a medium of exchange.<ref name="tay" /> All land was technically owned by the Burmese monarch.<ref name="stein">{{Cite book |last=Steinberg |first=David I. |url=https://archive.org/details/burmastateofmyan0000stei/page/125 |title=Burma, the state of Myanmar |publisher=Georgetown University Press |year=2001 |isbn=978-0-87840-893-1 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/burmastateofmyan0000stei/page/125 125–127]}}</ref> Exports, along with oil wells, gem mining and teak production were controlled by the monarch.<ref name="stein" /> Burma was vitally involved in the [[Indian Ocean]] trade.<ref name="tay" /> Logged teak was a prized export that was used in European shipbuilding because of its durability, and became the focal point of Burmese exports from the 1700s to the 1800s.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Goodman |first=Michael K. |title=Consuming space: placing consumption in perspective |publisher=Ashgate Publishing, Ltd. |year=2010 |isbn=978-0-7546-7229-6 |pages=241}}</ref>

Under the monarchy, the economy of Myanmar had been one of redistribution, a concept embedded in local society, religion, and politics ([[Dāna]]). The state set the prices of the most important commodities. Agrarian self-sufficiency was vital, while trade was only of secondary importance.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Myanmar - The initial impact of colonialism|url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Myanmar|access-date=2021-10-07|website=Encyclopedia Britannica|language=en|archive-date=4 May 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210504062055/https://www.britannica.com/place/Myanmar|url-status=live}}</ref>