ABSTRACT
Resources entered the realm of politics with the dawn of the oil age. Previously, before the early part of the twentieth century, coal had been the dominant fuel mineral. Industrialised countries relied upon their own or nearby resources and very little coal entered world trade. Global trade relied upon shipping and ships were fuelled by coal. To ensure supplies, bunkering points were established along the main sea-lanes at ports such as Aden, but fuel mineral vulnerability was never considered a serious threat. Furthermore, coal is distributed far more evenly globally than oil and, in emergency, alternative supplies would have been readily available. Also, it must be remembered that the Great Powers controlled the world order far more tightly at that time.
