Environmental History

The History of Deforestation

Michael Williams continues our series on History and the Environment by considering how long humans have been making ever-growing inroads into forests.

Pearl Harbor: The First Energy War

Charles Maechling argues that the Japanese attack, which took place on December 7th 1941, was partly a response to the country's limited energy resources.

Portrait of Britain: AD 1300

Bruce Campbell argues that a unique conjunction of human and environmental factors went into creating the crisis of the mid-14th century.

Saving the Lagoon in Renaissance Venice

Renaissance Venetians developed a sophisticated technology for keeping the city’s vital waterways free from silt and in the process, as Joseph Black explains, created a unique landscape that inspired travellers and painters.