Who Lit This Fire? Approaching the History of the Fossil Economy

Abstract

Global warming projects new meaning onto the past two centuries: since the early nineteenth century CO2 emissions have soared, driving humanity into an unprecedented crisis. This article outlines a historical research agenda for the study of the fossil economy as the main driver of this process. It argues for studying history in climate, as distinct from the preoccupation with how climate fluctuations have affected societies in the past. While narratives of “the Anthropocene” point to the human species as the agent of fossil fuel consumption, this article scents a narrower set of suspects. Study of colonial India and other parts of the British Empire demonstrate that imperial agents introduced large-scale extraction and combustion of coal in those areas but found the “natives” ill-disposed to the project. Turning to present-day India, I argue that inequality and capital accumulation should be in focus when studying the historical dynamics of our warming world.