Bo Poulsen
Main interest in environmental history, history of science, social and economic history. Likes to try out new methods & data across timeframes, disciplines and traditions.
Address: Aalborg University
Fibigerstræde 1
9220 Aalborg Ø
Danmark
Address: Aalborg University
Fibigerstræde 1
9220 Aalborg Ø
Danmark
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This article explores the impact of the collapse of the main source of income for the small market town of Nibe following a failing herring fishery. Through the use of historical disaster theory and an array of demographical data from the 1830s and 1840s the effects on the town following the sudden collapse of the herring fishery in 1829-1830 is explored. While Nibe proved resilient as a market town many of the vulnerable individuals of the town had to migrate. The population of Nibe saw the disappearance of the herring fishery as a catastrophe and this
article attempts to understand and explain how a fishing community reacted by adapting as well as adjusting to the disaster of losing their main marine resource.
The migration patterns discovered in the article suggests that most migrated to the large market town of Aalborg and other towns in the near proximity to Nibe, while migrants employed with fishing showed significantly more geographical mobility.
This article explores the impact of the collapse of the main source of income for the small market town of Nibe following a failing herring fishery. Through the use of historical disaster theory and an array of demographical data from the 1830s and 1840s the effects on the town following the sudden collapse of the herring fishery in 1829-1830 is explored. While Nibe proved resilient as a market town many of the vulnerable individuals of the town had to migrate. The population of Nibe saw the disappearance of the herring fishery as a catastrophe and this
article attempts to understand and explain how a fishing community reacted by adapting as well as adjusting to the disaster of losing their main marine resource.
The migration patterns discovered in the article suggests that most migrated to the large market town of Aalborg and other towns in the near proximity to Nibe, while migrants employed with fishing showed significantly more geographical mobility.
Til de pludselige og mest gennemgribende forandringsprocesser hører sygdomsepidemierne, som dem der ramte en række landbrugsbesætninger i 1700-tallet med store konsekvenser til følge i bl.a. det svenske knaphedssamfund. Denne type forandring står i modsætning til planlagte reformprocesser, som dem der i 1800-tallet sikrede overgangen fra en slægtsbaseret til en individbaseret ejendomsret i Sverige med store konsekvenser for landbrugsjorden som ressource.
Hvor jord er placeret et specifikt sted, lader dens afgrøderne og de fleste andre ressourcer sig som regel transportere. Det gælder også menneskelige ressourcer, som dem der udgjorde omdrejningspunktet for den transatlantiske slavehandel, og bogen opregner forudsætningerne for handlen og dermed også hvad der siden gjorde det af med den igen. At mennesker også i andre sammenhænge betragtes som en væsentlig ressource, fremgår af et bidrag om befolkningsspørgsmål i 1940'ernes Finland, hvor behovet for flere mennesker i en krisetid igangsatte en planlagt reformproces, der skulle øge befolkningstilvæksten.
Når målet har været at øge en ressource, er det ofte knyttet tæt sammen med forsøget på at mindske en anden. Det gælder også den række af kampagner, der skulle gøre Danmark til foregangsland for energibesparelser ved at reformere synet på ressourcerne og mindske forbruget - i 1970erne med henblik på at spare penge og fra slutningen af 1980erne af hensyn til miljøet. I et andet af bogens bidrag fokuseres på immaterielle ressourcer i form af den historie og kulturarv, som skaber rige muligheder for identitetsdannelse og sammenhængskraft, og som ændrer sig som følge af omvæltninger i verden, mens bogens afsluttende kapitel analyserer ressourcer og reformprocesser i et årtusindlangt perspektiv.
Bogen leverer nogle helt konkrete eksempler. Den beretter om indbyggernes forhold til sognekirkerne i danske købstæder, og om de mange forordninger der skulle opdrage og ensrette dem. Den berører holdningen til den katolske kirkekunst, og fortæller om den norske digterpræst Petter Dass og lanceringen af en protestantisk hekselære, der fordømte lokale helbredere og knyttede overtro til dele af den folkelige kultur, bl.a. hos samerne. Netop de er omdrejningspunkt for et af bogens øvrige bidrag, som fortæller om den langvarige proces med at udbrede luthersk kristendom til hele den samiske
befolkningsgruppe.
For Finlands vedkommende fik den russiske annektering særlig betydning, fordi de ortodokse tsarer opfordrede finnerne til at følge de lutherske doktriner samtidig med at de russiske myndigheder i andre henseender brød kontakten med svenskerne. Derved skabtes en særlig national finsk-luthersk identitet.
Virkningshistorien er også temmelig bemærkelsesværdig, når det gælder nordiske migranter i USA, hvor den lutherske lære stod så stærkt, at det at være norsk og protestant blev overensstemmende. På den måde kom Reformationen i Norden til at række langt ud over regionens grænser.
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I sommeren 2017 afholdes det 29. Nordiske Historikermøde i Aalborg i Danmark. Hovedarrangøren er Historiestudiet på Aalborg Universitet.
Konferencens overordnede tema er ”Reformation”. Begrebet betegner den proces, som går ud på at forandre en tilstand – som regel under henvisning til en anden, der opfattes som bedre eller mere oprindelig. Temaet er valgt i anledning af, at Martin Luther for 500 år siden ophængte sine 95 teser på døren til Wittenberg Slotskirke. Men krav om reformer finder løbende sted, og de efterfølgende forandringsprocesser er klassiske studieobjekter for historikere.
I forbindelse med det 29. Nordiske Historikermøde udgives tre bind med udvalgte bidrag fra konferencen:
Redaktører: Kari G. Hempel, Poul Duedahl og Bo Poulsen
Antal sider: 226
Udgivelsesår: 2017
Version: 3. bind, 1. udgave
ISBN: 978-87-7112-644-0
ISSN: 2246-2023
This leads to a starting point of formulating three overarching questions.
1. What were the main forces stimulating changes in the exploitation of North Sea herring in the period of c. 1600-1860. In other words, what were the dynamics of this particular historical system?
2. What was the role of the natural environment in this?
3. What caused the long term decline of the Dutch herring fisheries?
This silent film consists of c. 20 different sequences, and it is now available at Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ZVx261JH1E
There is a very instructive introduction to the fishing gear, as it is being deployed in the sea, although this is supplemented by camera shots from what is clearly an aquarium, where the functioning of the water sampler is shown in action. As the Dana moves into the Pacific Ocean the focus of the film also changes. In the sections from the Pacific and Indian Oceans the film includes captions describing the local inhabitants of the Polynesian islands and Indonesia.
This Danish version was ready by December 1930. Schmidt later produced different versions aimed at French and English audiences.
The life and career of Johannes Schmidt is at the center of this new monograph: Global Marine Science and Carlsberg – The Golden Connections of Johannes Schmidt, 1877-1933, (Leiden: Brill, 2016) written by Associate Professor, Bo Poulsen, Aalborg University:
http://www.brill.com/products/book/global-marine-science-and-carlsberg-golden-connections-johannes-schmidt-1877-1933
systematic way with the theoretical backgrounds of this discipline. Major theories and methods are introduced by leading scholars of the field. The book seeks to encapsulate
some of the major novelties of this fascinating new discipline and its contribution to the management, conservation and restoration of marine and coastal ecosystems as well as the cultural heritages of coastal communities in different parts of the world.
For Brazilian environmental historians, the Museum is a particularly cherished space. It is connected to the Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro and generations of Brazilian scientists have graduated there. Many environmental historians have explored the archives of the National Museum, taken classes there, studied the paleontology collections, written theses, articles and books about the artifacts and those who collected the precious artifacts, and about what the Museum meant to national science and to the concept of nature in Brazil.
As Brazil is preparing to host the 3rd World Congress of Environmental History in July 2019, in Florianópolis, this loss is deeply felt. In light of this devastating loss, we ask for help from the international community of environmental historians. If you have researched at the National Museum, if you have images of the collections, the artifacts, or any related documents, please send copies to museunacional.ufrj.br/memoria (it is an institutional link.) If your institution would like to support the National Museum of Brazil in a more concrete way, write to falecomdiretor@mn.ufrj.br
Due to these exceptional circumstances, the Organizing Committee of the 3rd World Congress of Environmental History agreed to extend the deadline for proposal submissions until October 1st.
We hope this extension will allow for everyone interested in taking part in proposals for the academic program of this exciting conference.
Download and check out the flyer and the save the dates for hundreds of inspiring talks, excursions and a truly global meeting of scholars and scientists exploring past and present relationships between man and nature.
Keep an eye out for Call for Papers to be announced shortly
"Poulsen's book enriches the English-speaking world with the most valuable insight into the intentions and efforts of Denmark prior to World War II. It has a great value in the way the book enlightens the role of the ocean as a shaping force in human history. To be acquainted with Poulsen's narrative, is to gain insight into the importance of the sea, the marine science, and how Johannes Schmidt conciously embedded marine knowledge as a part of Danish self-understanding. Poulsen's Global Marine Science and Carlsberg is a most welcome addition to deepen our understanding of the history of marine science in the twentieth century"
Bo Poulsen, Global Marine Science and Carlsberg. The Golden Connections of Johannes Schmidt (1877–1933), (Brill) Leiden/Boston, 2016, 524 pages, (illustrated, references and with an index).
By a historical coincidence, the celebrated brewery, Carlsberg, helped promote marine science during the period from around 1900 to 1930. The key actor in cajoling support from the Danish brewery and organizing scientific expeditions was the zoologist Johannes Schmidt. In this recently published biography, Poulsen studies how Schmidt managed to coordinate the efforts of a private foundation, public fisheries investigations in Denmark, and the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES). In doing so, he gives a profound analysis of how private and public means were successfully linked in the service of science and national honour. Schmidt launched twenty-six ocean expeditions but is most famous for his discovery of the breeding grounds of the Atlantic eel in the Sargasso Sea. Poulson’s book adds to the overall history of marine science, as it highlights the importance of collaborations between marine scientists from different countries and examines the numerous connections between science, the economy, and foreign policy. This finely written book provides historians with hitherto little-known information about the national Danish scene, and at the same time enriches the international field of the history of oceanography.