In the early 1860s three Swedes, Nils Wilhelm Mitander,Julius Ramsay and Gustaf Wittenström, were engaged by theBritish to build and run charcoal-based ironworks in India.These works, the Burwai Iron Works of the British Government inthe case of Mitander and the privately owned Kumaon Iron Worksin the case of Ramsay and Wittenström, were both to bebased on the most modern European technology. The projects werepioneering in Indian ironmaking. The ambitions were high andstakes big, but after only a few years the projects were closedand the Swedes returned home.Landscapes of Technology Transferpresents a detailedstudy of the Kumaon and Burwai Iron Works, from their firstconception to their final closure. The investigation isbasically empirical and a fundamental question is: Why were theworks never brought into full and continuous production?

The ironworks projects should be considered as processes oftechnology transfer rather than fully fledged and completedtransfers. In spite of this lack of success, or maybe becauseof it, the history of the ironworks and the Swedes also forms afruitful case to put other questions of wide relevance. Itexposes workings and effects of colonialism and offers anexplanation of the late development of India's iron and steelindustry and analyses of the complex totality forming theprerequisites for a successful transfer of technology. The longtraditions of bloomery ironmaking in India and ismarginalisation is also discussed.

Landscapes of Technology Transferis a comprehensiveempirical study. From a local and individual perspective ittraces lines of connection across boundaries of time andgeography. The historical landscapes of technology transfer aredescribed in their cultural, social, economic and politicaldimensions and the thesis underlines the importance of a closeacquaintance with local settings and conditions, where historyis manifested in a physical presence. The remains of theironworks and theirlocal landscapes in present-day India areused as a central source for writing their histories. There isalso a strong emphasis on the use of photographs and drawingsas sources.

The outcome of the projects was the result of the interplaybetween the local and the global, between a diversity ofconcrete factors influencing the construction of the works andtheir running and their colonial character. The studyemphasises the importance of technological systems andnetworks, both on a micro and a macro level. On a local leveldemanding logistics, a sometimes adverse climate, theprocurement of charcoal and iron ore in sufficient quantitiesand the build up of knowledge of ironmaking posed serious butnot insurmountable difficulties. Most obstacles were overcomealready during the first few years of the 1860s, the period ofthe Swedes, but to put the works into full and continuousproduction would have needed perseverance and purposefulefforts to support and protect the iron production, at leastduring an initial period. In the end the position of India as acolonial dependency, subjected to the primacy of Britishinterests, set the limits of the projects.

Key words:History of technology, industrial heritagestudies, industrial archaeology, technology transfer,diffusion, technological systems, landscapes of technology,iron and steel, charcoal iron, direct and indirect ironmaking,bloomeries, 19th century, industrial history,industrialisation, de-industrialisation, underdevelopment,colonialism, India, Sweden, Great Britain, global history,annales.

The circumpolar north has become increasingly important as a potential supply area for minerals, fossil energy resources and new shorter routes for international shipping. Allthough mining, oil and gas extraction are not new activities in the Arctic, the prospect of an ice free Arctic ocean may open possibilities for resource extraction in areas where such activities used to be unthinkable. Such visions of the future of the Arctic are not new however, there are several examples in the history of the Arctic of economic actors formulating visions of what the future of the region should be. The objective of this paper is to analyze the production of future visions for the Arctic by actors within large scale natural resource utilization industries historically and their influence on the economy and politics of the region. The paper will focus on actors involved in the coal mining industry in the Arctic archipelago Spitsbergen / Svalbard from 1898-present. The main research questions are: what futures visions have been produced by actors within the Spitsbergen coal mining industry and why? To what extent have these future visions gained influence in different time periods and why? How has companies and governments interacted in order to strengthen political influence and/or control over natural resources?

The paper is based on analyses of sources from two contexts in which companies outlined their visions of the future of Spitsbergen – in written documents and material objects. Companies promoted their visions of the future in the form of narratives published in company prospects, expedition reports, annual reports, articles in professional journals and in correspondence with potential allies such as government bodies. They also formulated their visions by constructing buildings and technological systems in the landscape of Spitsbergen – material representations of potential, real or unlikely futures, economic and / or political.

I will show that the Spitsbergen mining companies used their future visions in order to build actor networks. By constructing narratives about potential futures, they tried to enroll capital owners and political actors in to actor-networks strong enough to realize their visions. In a similar way, actors within politics and science included industry in their future visions in order to push their own agendas. Therefore, although the future visions of Arctic industry had many similar traits, the actors producing the visions often had quit different motives for producing them – economic visions hiding political agendas and strategic considerations. Moreover, the future visions has changed over the course of the 20^th century, as result of the changing economic and political contexts on Svalbard and in Europe and the USA.

The results suggest that Arctic future visions produced by industrial companies become influential if the companies share common interests with other influential actors (governments) and if they are able to build strong networks with such actors. Moreover, they show that Arctic future visions are most often elements in strategies aimed at achieving goals outside of the Arctic. The results can be used to deepen our understanding of the mineral and energy projects that underpin contemporary Arctic futures.

The objective of this paper is to analyze the role of cultural heritage in international disputes over polar areas, through the lens of heritage sites in the Arctic and Antarctic.

Over the last centuries, entrepreneurs and states have competed for control over territories and resources in the Arctic and Antarctic. Previous research has analyzed this struggle on different arenas – in diplomacy and in the Polar landscapes, where scientific research and resource utilization has served as bases for claims to political influence or exclusive extraction rights. Less is known about the role of the historical remains of these activities, in current sovereignty controversies in the Arctic and Antarctic. What is the role of heritage sites in the competition for influence and resources in the Polar Regions?

The paper analyzes industrial heritage sites in two contested areas in the Polar Regions – the Antarctic Peninsula and South Georgia in the Antarctic, and Svalbard in the Arctic – sites remaining from large scale whaling and mining in the 20th century. The analysis is based on extensive industrial archaeological field research conducted in the Arctic and Antarctic within the framework of the International Polar Year project LASHIPA (Large Scale Historical Exploitation of Polar Areas).

The cases analyzed shows that industry heritage sites have been used in the struggle between the main competitors for sovereignty in those regions, through practical re-use, by narration and through heritage management. The results show that industrial heritage sites in the Polar Regions can play a significant role in competitions for political influence and resources there. By enrolling the heritage sites into actor networks, competing stakeholders populate sparsely populated places with allied actors and actants. In these networks, the heritage sites can play different roles, defending national prestige, attracting tourists, creating a sense connectedness to distant polar places, as well as legitimizing claims for influence over territories and natural resources.

The purpose of this thesis is to analyse the development of a mining industry in Spitsbergen and its relationship to Swedish scientific polar research. The empirical focus is the history of Swedish coal mining on Spitsbergen between 1910 and 1934 and the mining activities at Sveagruvan 1917-1925. The aim of the thesis is to explain why this coal-mining project was started, why it was developed and why it was terminated. It critically examines a linear model that has been used to explain the development of this mining project, i.e. the idea that scientific research leads on to technological development and industrial activities in a linear sequence.

A theoretical and methodological framework called Actor Network Theory (ANT) is used to describe and analyse the Swedish coal-mining project. In the construction of an actor network human as well as non-human actors are involved, shaping the project and influencing its results. If an industrial project shall be successful, the project leadership must maintain control over both the local and global parts of the network and maintain a flow of resources between them.

The actors that initiated the Swedish coal-mining project on Spitsbergen in 1910 wanted it to fulfil both economic and political needs. Investors from the iron- and steel industry wanted Swedish coal for the production of coke for blast furnaces. At the same time the Swedish government wanted to stop Norwegian attempts to take control over Spitsbergen – at the time a no-mans land. By opening up Swedish coalfields on Spitsbergen, Sweden would strengthen its position in future international negotiations on the legal status of this Arctic Archipelago.

Over time, the motives for the project were changed. This was a result of shifting economic and political priorities. The quality of the coal resources was not suitable for coke production, but good enough for steam production. There was also a shift in focus from foreign policy to the politics of energy after the Svalbard treaty was signed in 1920.

With the use of the theoretical model of the thesis, an attempt is made to prove that the project failed for three main reasons. First, the actors financing the project did not deliver the necessary resources to maintain the industrial activities. Second, the Swedish coalmine Sveagruvan did not deliver enough resources to maintain the support of the politicians and the private investors. Third, the project managers failed to maintain their control over the project.

In the thesis it is shown that the linear model can be questioned, in this case with regard to the idea that the coal-mining project was a product of Swedish polar science. No doubt the input of geo-scientific knowledge from Swedish polar scientists was important, but so were other forms of knowledge and other actors. The linear model was a useful instrument, however, in the construction of history – a history valuable as a tool to enrol investors and to defeat political enemies. In the last-mentioned sense, the model was used to create a prestigious Swedish history of Spitsbergen – a history that gave Swedish citizens credit for the industrial development of the Arctic Archipelago.

Why do people decide to leave everything behind to find work in harsh Arctic environments? This is an important question, if we want to explain the development of industry in the Polar Regions. In this presentation we will try to answer it, by analyzing the stories of employees in the Spitsbergen mining industry in the early 20^th century.

The late 19th and early 20th centuries experienced the culmination of an exceptional hero cult surrounding polar scientists and explorers. Far less celebrated, but probably no less important, were the numerous mining workers and engineers present and active in industrial enterprises in the High Arctic at about the same period. While the motives and driving forces of polar scientists and explorers have been relatively carefully examined, very little attention has been paid to these, less glamorous, people and their choice to earn a living in an Arctic industrial community.

By examining a unique material of written accounts, diaries, newspaper articles and images from the Swedish coal mining establishment of Sveagruvan (the Svea Mine) on Spitsbergen, in production during the first two decades of the 20th century, we will analyze the narratives of workers, foremen and managers, men and women, expressing their views of the time they spent on Spitsbergen. The material will be discussed from four identity creating perspectives:  gender, nationality, class and profession. How did individuals in different positions narrate their life and work at the Svea Mine? What was the source of inspiration for those narratives? To what extent were they inspired by the established heroic picture of the Arctic scientists and explorers? What does this tell us about the motives for working in the High Arctic?