Wood shortage in the 18th century? A report on the wood shortage debate of the 1990s
2006
Schenk, W. (Universitaet Bonn, Bonn (Germany). Geographisches Institut)
At the beginning of the 1990s forest historians turned against the economic historian Joachim Radkau, who argued that lamentations in forest instructions around 1800 regarding wood shortage (scarcity) should rather be interpreted as an instrument of feudal authorities to regulate and constrain usage as well as a means to subjugate and discipline their subjects. By contrast, forest historians judged these lamentations to be an indication of actual shortcomings that existed before the advent of governmental forest management. As a result, many studies were undertaken that dealt with the social relevance of woods and forests in pre-industrial times. The present article starts with the status quo and traces back the complexity of the so-called wood emergency debate by taking a closer look at these early studies. It demonstrates how regional studies that were based on a wide range of sources contributed to the understanding of pre-industrial wood shortage events as complex phenomena related to distinct forest conditions and energy shortage discussions.
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