Coal And Empire

Author : Peter A. Shulman
Publisher : JHU Press
Page : 333 pages
File Size : 43,5 Mb
Release : 2015-07-01
Category : History
ISBN : 9781421417073

Get Book

Coal and Empire by Peter A. Shulman Pdf

The fascinating history of how coal-based energy became entangled with American security. Since the early twentieth century, Americans have associated oil with national security. From World War I to American involvement in the Middle East, this connection has seemed a self-evident truth. But, as Peter A. Shulman argues, Americans had to learn to think about the geopolitics of energy in terms of security, and they did so beginning in the nineteenth century: the age of coal. Coal and Empire insightfully weaves together pivotal moments in the history of science and technology by linking coal and steam to the realms of foreign relations, navy logistics, and American politics. Long before oil, coal allowed Americans to rethink the place of the United States in the world. Shulman explores how the development of coal-fired oceangoing steam power in the 1840s created new questions, opportunities, and problems for U.S. foreign relations and naval strategy. The search for coal, for example, helped take Commodore Matthew Perry to Japan in the 1850s. It facilitated Abraham Lincoln's pursuit of black colonization in 1860s Panama. After the Civil War, it led Americans to debate whether a need for coaling stations required the construction of a global empire. Until 1898, however, Americans preferred to answer the questions posed by coal with new technologies rather than new territories. Afterward, the establishment of America's string of island outposts created an entirely different demand for coal to secure the country's new colonial borders, a process that paved the way for how Americans incorporated oil into their strategic thought. By exploring how the security dimensions of energy were not intrinsically linked to a particular source of power but rather to political choices about America's role in the world, Shulman ultimately suggests that contemporary global struggles over energy will never disappear, even if oil is someday displaced by alternative sources of power.

Author : Shellen Xiao Wu
Publisher : Stanford University Press
Page : 280 pages
File Size : 55,6 Mb
Release : 2015-04-22
Category : History
ISBN : 9780804794732

Get Book

Empires of Coal by Shellen Xiao Wu Pdf

From 1868–1872, German geologist Ferdinand von Richthofen went on an expedition to China. His reports on what he found there would transform Western interest in China from the land of porcelain and tea to a repository of immense coal reserves. By the 1890s, European and American powers and the Qing state and local elites battled for control over the rights to these valuable mineral deposits. As coal went from a useful commodity to the essential fuel of industrialization, this vast natural resource would prove integral to the struggle for political control of China. Geology served both as the handmaiden to European imperialism and the rallying point of Chinese resistance to Western encroachment. In the late nineteenth century both foreign powers and the Chinese viewed control over mineral resources as the key to modernization and industrialization. When the first China Geological Survey began work in the 1910s, conceptions of natural resources had already shifted, and the Qing state expanded its control over mining rights, setting the precedent for the subsequent Republican and People's Republic of China regimes. In Empires of Coal, Shellen Xiao Wu argues that the changes specific to the late Qing were part of global trends in the nineteenth century, when the rise of science and industrialization destabilized global systems and caused widespread unrest and the toppling of ruling regimes around the world.

Author : On Barak
Publisher : Univ of California Press
Page : 340 pages
File Size : 40,6 Mb
Release : 2020-03-24
Category : History
ISBN : 9780520973930

Get Book

Powering Empire by On Barak Pdf

The Age of Empire was driven by coal, and the Middle East—as an idea—was made by coal. Coal’s imperial infrastructure presaged the geopolitics of oil that wreaks carnage today, as carbonization threatens our very climate. Powering Empire argues that we cannot promote worldwide decarbonization without first understanding the history of the globalization of carbon energy. How did this black rock come to have such long-lasting power over the world economy? Focusing on the flow of British carbon energy to the Middle East, On Barak excavates the historic nexus between coal and empire to reveal the political and military motives behind what is conventionally seen as a technological innovation. He provocatively recounts the carbon-intensive entanglements of Western and non-Western powers and reveals unfamiliar resources—such as Islamic risk-aversion and Gandhian vegetarianism—for a climate justice that relies on more diverse and ethical solutions worldwide.

Author : Crosbie Smith
Publisher : Cambridge University Press
Page : 473 pages
File Size : 48,9 Mb
Release : 2018-07-05
Category : History
ISBN : 9781107196728

Get Book

Coal, Steam and Ships by Crosbie Smith Pdf

An innovative account of the trials and tribulations of first-generation Victorian mail steamship lines, their passengers and the public.

Author : Donald Quataert
Publisher : Berghahn Books
Page : 284 pages
File Size : 55,6 Mb
Release : 2006
Category : Business & Economics
ISBN : 1845451341

Get Book

Miners and the State in the Ottoman Empire by Donald Quataert Pdf

Table of Contents 1 Introduction and historiographical essay 1 2 The Ottoman coal coast 20 3 Coal miners at work : jobs, recruitment, and wages 52 4 "Like slaves in colonial countries" : working conditions in the coalfield 80 5 Ties that bind : village-mine relations 95 6 Military duty and mine work : the blurred vocations of Ottoman soldier-workers 129 7 Methane, rockfalls, and other disasters : accidents at the mines 150 8 Victims and agents : confronting death and safety in the mines 184 9 Wartime in the coalfield 206 10 Conclusion 227 Appendix on the reporting of accidents 235.

Author : Steven Gray
Publisher : Springer
Page : 289 pages
File Size : 55,5 Mb
Release : 2017-09-25
Category : History
ISBN : 9781137576422

Get Book

Steam Power and Sea Power by Steven Gray Pdf

This book examines how the expansion of a steam-powered Royal Navy from the second half of the nineteenth century had wider ramifications across the British Empire. In particular, it considers how steam propulsion made vessels utterly dependent on a particular resource – coal – and its distribution around the world. In doing so, it shows that the ‘coal question’ was central to imperial defence and the protection of trade, requiring the creation of infrastructures that spanned the globe. This infrastructure required careful management, and the processes involved show the development of bureaucracy and the reliance on the ‘contractor state’ to ensure this was both robust and able to allow swift mobilisation in war. The requirement to stop regularly at foreign stations also brought men of the Royal navy into contact with local coal heavers, as well as indigenous populations and landscapes. These encounters and their dissemination are crucial to our understanding of imperial relationships and imaginations at the height of the imperial age.

Author : Edward Hull
Publisher : Unknown
Page : 528 pages
File Size : 41,9 Mb
Release : 2015-07-01
Category : Nature
ISBN : 1330543564

Get Book

The Coal-Fields of Great Britain by Edward Hull Pdf

Excerpt from The Coal-Fields of Great Britain: Their History, Structure, and Resources; Description of the Coal-Fields of Our Indian and Colonial Empire, and of Other Parts of the World So many years have elapsed since the publication of the first edition of this work, and so great has been the advance in our knowledge of the Coal-fields of nearly all countries within this period, that, in order to make the reader acquainted with it, I have found it necessary to re-write the greater portion of the book. Within the interval here alluded to, the following are some of the more important events which have occurred in reference to the subjects herein treated: - 1. A great step towards completion has been made in the Government surveys of the British coal-fields. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

Author : Edward 1829-1917 Hull
Publisher : Legare Street Press
Page : 532 pages
File Size : 49,5 Mb
Release : 2021-09-09
Category : Electronic
ISBN : 1013735005

Get Book

The Coal-fields of Great Britain by Edward 1829-1917 Hull Pdf

This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. To ensure a quality reading experience, this work has been proofread and republished using a format that seamlessly blends the original graphical elements with text in an easy-to-read typeface. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

Author : Ralph Crane
Publisher : Reaktion Books
Page : 206 pages
File Size : 40,6 Mb
Release : 2021-04-15
Category : Science
ISBN : 9781789143676

Get Book

Coal by Ralph Crane Pdf

While concerns about climate change have focused negative attention on the coal industry in recent years, as descendants of the industrial revolution we have all benefitted from the mining of the black seam. Coal has significantly influenced the course of human history and our social and natural environments. This book takes readers on a journey through the extraordinary artistic responses to coal, from its role in the works of writers such as Émile Zola, D. H. Lawrence, and George Orwell; to the way it inspired the work of painters, including J. M. W. Turner, Claude Monet, and Vincent van Gogh; to the place of coal in film, song, and folklore; as well as the surprising allure of coal tourism. Strikingly illustrated, Coal provides engaging and informative insight into the myriad ways coal has affected our lives.

Author : Richard Martin
Publisher : St. Martin's Press
Page : 288 pages
File Size : 55,6 Mb
Release : 2015-04-14
Category : Science
ISBN : 9781466879249

Get Book

Coal Wars by Richard Martin Pdf

Since the late 18th century, when it emerged as a source of heating and, later, steam power, coal has brought untold benefits to mankind. Even today, coal generates almost 45 percent of the world's power. Our modern technological society would be inconceivable without coal and the energy it provides. Unfortunately, that society will not survive unless we wean ourselves off coal. The largest single source of greenhouse gases, coal is responsible for 43 percent of the world's carbon emissions. Richard Martin, author of SuperFuel, argues that to limit catastrophic climate change, we must find a way to power our world with less polluting energy sources, and we must do it in the next couple of decades—or else it is "game over." It won't be easy: as coal plants shut down across the United States, and much of Europe turns to natural gas, coal use is growing in the booming economies of Asia— particularly China and India. Even in Germany, where nuclear power stations are being phased out in the wake of the Fukushima accident, coal use is growing. Led by the Sierra Club and its ambitious "Beyond Coal" campaign, environmentalists hope to drastically reduce our dependence on coal in the next decade. But doing so will require an unprecedented contraction of an established, lucrative, and politically influential worldwide industry. Big Coal will not go gently. And its decline will dramatically change lives everywhere—from Appalachian coal miners and coal company executives to activists in China's nascent environmental movement. Based on a series of journeys into the heart of coal land, from Wyoming to West Virginia to China's remote Shanxi Province, hundreds of interviews with people involved in, or affected by, the effort to shrink the industry, and deep research into the science, technology, and economics of the coal industry, Coal Wars chronicles the dramatic stories behind coal's big shutdown—and the industry's desperate attempts to remain a global behemoth. A tour de force of literary journalism, Coal Wars will be a milestone in the climate change battle.

Author : Edward Hull
Publisher : Palala Press
Page : 524 pages
File Size : 51,6 Mb
Release : 2015-09-01
Category : Electronic
ISBN : 1340868024

Get Book

The Coal-Fields of Great Britain by Edward Hull Pdf

This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work was reproduced from the original artifact, and remains as true to the original work as possible. Therefore, you will see the original copyright references, library stamps (as most of these works have been housed in our most important libraries around the world), and other notations in the work. This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work.As a reproduction of a historical artifact, this work may contain missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

Author : James L. Holton
Publisher : Unknown
Page : 0 pages
File Size : 48,8 Mb
Release : 1989
Category : Electronic
ISBN : 0962084417

Get Book

The Reading Railroad: The twentieth century by James L. Holton Pdf

Author : John R. Bradley
Publisher : Unknown
Page : 134 pages
File Size : 42,9 Mb
Release : 1935
Category : Coal mines and mining
ISBN : UIUC:30112101553912

Get Book

Fuel and Power in the British Empire by John R. Bradley Pdf

Author : Jeremy Paxman
Publisher : HarperCollins UK
Page : 379 pages
File Size : 40,9 Mb
Release : 2021-09-30
Category : History
ISBN : 9780008128357

Get Book

Black Gold: The History of How Coal Made Britain by Jeremy Paxman Pdf

From the bestselling historian and acclaimed broadcaster ‘A rich social history ... Paxman’s book could hardly be more colourful, and I enjoyed each page enormously’ DOMINIC SANDBROOK, SUNDAY TIMES ‘Vividly told ... Paxman’s fine narrative powers are at their best’ THE TIMES

Author : Victor Seow
Publisher : University of Chicago Press
Page : 413 pages
File Size : 41,8 Mb
Release : 2023-05-12
Category : History
ISBN : 9780226826554

Get Book

Carbon Technocracy by Victor Seow Pdf

A forceful reckoning with the relationship between energy and power through the history of what was once East Asia’s largest coal mine. The coal-mining town of Fushun in China’s Northeast is home to a monstrous open pit. First excavated in the early twentieth century, this pit grew like a widening maw over the ensuing decades, as various Chinese and Japanese states endeavored to unearth Fushun’s purportedly “inexhaustible” carbon resources. Today, the depleted mine that remains is a wondrous and terrifying monument to fantasies of a fossil-fueled future and the technologies mobilized in attempts to turn those developmentalist dreams into reality. In Carbon Technocracy, Victor Seow uses the remarkable story of the Fushun colliery to chart how the fossil fuel economy emerged in tandem with the rise of the modern technocratic state. Taking coal as an essential feedstock of national wealth and power, Chinese and Japanese bureaucrats, engineers, and industrialists deployed new technologies like open-pit mining and hydraulic stowage in pursuit of intensive energy extraction. But as much as these mine operators idealized the might of fossil fuel–driven machines, their extractive efforts nevertheless relied heavily on the human labor that those devices were expected to displace. Under the carbon energy regime, countless workers here and elsewhere would be subjected to invasive techniques of labor control, ever-escalating output targets, and the dangers of an increasingly exploited earth. Although Fushun is no longer the coal capital it once was, the pattern of aggressive fossil-fueled development that led to its ascent endures. As we confront a planetary crisis precipitated by our extravagant consumption of carbon, it holds urgent lessons. This is a groundbreaking exploration of how the mutual production of energy and power came to define industrial modernity and the wider world that carbon made.