oa Nederland, land van olie en gas

The Netherlands, land of oil and gas. Embracing petrohistory for a sustainable future

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.