Europe’s northern resource frontier : the political economy of resource nationalism in Sweden and Norway 1888-1936

Abstract

Trade in raw materials was a crucial part of what is now often referred to as the “first global economy”. As populations increased and the west industrialized, demand for raw material surged. Helped by falling barriers to trade, improved transport and communication technology made it possible for localities further and further afield to efficiently supply the industrial centres. Technology also created demand for completely new resources, or made the price of resources previously considered worthless soar. The Thomas-process turned phosphorescent iron ore from inconsequential rocks into a strategic commodity. Modern paper production turned useless timber into the raw material of the ever-increasing mass media. And electricity turned picturesque waterfalls into unlimited suppliers of “white coal”.