Nederland, land van olie en gas: De omarming van de petrogeschiedenis voor een duurzame toekomst

Gertjan Plets; Marin Kuijt; Christiaan Vonk

doi:10.5117/TVG2025.1.005.PLET

Nederland, land van olie en gas: De omarming van de petrogeschiedenis voor een duurzame toekomst

Translated title of the contribution: The Netherlands, land of oil and gas: Embracing petrohistory for a sustainable future

Gertjan Plets, Marin Kuijt, Christiaan Vonk

OGKG - Cultural History

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Academic › peer-review

Abstract

The Dutch twentieth century was defined by oil and gas. In this article we introduce the concept of 'petrohistory': a (national) history structured around petroleum and its effects on economy, politics, culture, and infrastructure. We use this as a tool to explore the influence of fossil fuels on Dutch history. We argue that oil and gas created path dependencies in different domains, especially the economy, politics, culture, and infrastructure. Finally, we call on historians to investigate the development of these dependencies. In light of climate change and energy transition, historians must study the fossil past of the Netherlands and how this past threatens our future.

Translated title of the contribution	The Netherlands, land of oil and gas: Embracing petrohistory for a sustainable future
Original language	Dutch
Pages (from-to)	60-73
Number of pages	14
Journal	Tijdschrift Voor Geschiedenis
Volume	138
Issue number	1
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.5117/TVG2025.1.005.PLET
Publication status	Published - May 2025

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© Gertjan Plets, Marin Kuijt & Christiaan Vonk.

Keywords

climate change
energy history
path dependency
petrohistory
the Netherlands

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

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10.5117/TVG2025.1.005.PLETLicence: CC BY-ND

TvG2025.1.005.PLETFinal published version, 2.31 MBLicence: CC BY-ND

Cite this

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Nederland, land van olie en gas: De omarming van de petrogeschiedenis voor een duurzame toekomst

Abstract

Bibliographical note

Keywords

UN SDGs

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