Geoscience Reference
In-Depth Information
Chapter 1
Energy in History
Paolo Malanima
Abstract The topic of energy is of central interest today. Although a long-term
view can be useful in order to clarify contemporary trends and future perspectives,
scholarly literature provides little information on the consumption of energy sources
by past societies, before the beginning of the 20th century. In the following anal-
ysis, the topic of energy will be discussed from the viewpoint of economics, with a
long-term historical perspective. After a brief introduction in Sects.
1.1
and
1.2
will
examine some de
nitions and concepts, useful when dealing with energy and the
role of energy within the economy. Section
1.3
will focus on the relationship
between humans and energy in pre-modern societies. Section
1.4
will discuss the
energy transition, that is changes in energy and environment from the early modern
age to the present day. In the Conclusion (Sect.
1.5
) general estimates will be
proposed of past energy consumption on the whole.
1.1 Introduction
Scholars disagree about the role of energy within the economy. An optimistic view
is shared by many economists. Their opinion is that raw materials played virtually
no role in the modern development of the economy, as growth depended and
continues to depend on knowledge, technical progress and capital. The contribution
of natural resources to past and present growth is almost non-existent; and energy is
a natural resource. After all energy represents today
—
they say
—
something less
than 10 % of aggregate demand in the advanced economies.
Scholars with interest in environmental changes support the opposite view on the
role of material goods and nature in the economy. Environment and natural
materials played an important function in the development of human societies and
in history on the whole. Energy in particular is of central importance in economic
