SHIPWORM · 'A transregional and interdisciplinary study of the societal impact of the shipworm epidemic in the North Sea region in the eighteenth century'

'A transregional and interdisciplinary study of the societal impact of the shipworm epidemic in the North Sea region in the eighteenth century'

The main issue addressed in this research is how an environmental crisis affects society at large. An environmental crisis is viewed as a development – either with a natural or a human cause – that severely degrades or even destroys a local or a global ecosystem. The degradation or destruction of such an ecosystem can have an important impact on human society, especially when this concerns the human ecosystem. To better understand how environmental crisis affect society this research has focused on the Great European Shipworm epidemic in the 1730s, which particularly hit the Low Countries (Belgium and the Netherlands). Shipworms are vermiform wood-eating molluscs that bore tunnel-like holes in immerged wooden structures in a marine environment. The appearance of these marine organisms in the North Sea created havoc in the water protection system, as all the dikes protecting the low-lying lands were made of wood. Also the shipping industry faced grave problems as shipworms were destroying both the commercial fleets, as well as military fleets. On the brink of disaster, these coastal societies had to face a wide-spread panic that led for instance to religious fanaticism (mass execution of homosexuals), economic hardship (taxation) and social unrest, but also to political change (enlightened democratisation or increased absolutism), technological innovation (water protection systems) and a changing geopolitical context (new shipbuilding techniques e.g. in the military). In other words, to face the threats of an environmental crisis these societies had to show a certain degree of resilience, or the ability to change and innovate. Since human society is now facing an existential threat due to global warming, it is important to gain a better knowledge of how mankind reacts to environmental crisis. The overall objects of the research is to find out when and why a society ends up in deadlock, that is a situation where that society is unable or unwilling to find a solution. In the same way, what kind of societies (and why) are able to move forward and put an end to the environmental crisis. It is equally important to research if the solution to the environmental crisis has an impact – positive or negative – on the researched societies or other societies , whether these are neighbouring or more distant. By looking at both the Belgian and Dutch societies in the 18th century it is possible to obtain a better understanding of the mechanisms in battling environmental crisis.

Текст от CORDIS, на английски · Данни: CORDIS, © Европейски съюз