Key Resources Throughout History?

[Borachio]

Land.

Not a lot you can do with nothing to stand on.

Someone will mention air before long.

And fresh water is definitely a key resource everywhere but especially in places where it's lacking. And fossil water is a key resource in Australia and Israel, amongst other places, with a finite supply.

 

[innonimatu]

Black people.

Bah, you can make do with peasants and plebs too.

 

[EnglishEdward]

Someone will mention air before long.

And gravity.

 

[dutchfire]

Energy

And gravity.

Beat you to it

 

[Borachio]

Dark matter.

Dark matter is estimated to constitute 84% of the matter in the universe and 23% of the total energy density (with almost all the rest being dark energy)

Narrativium

The Disc's Universe's nature is fundamentally teleological; its basic composition is determined by what it is ultimately meant to be. This primary element, out of which all others spring, is known as narrativium, the elemental substance of Story.

 

[JohnRM]

 

[Dachs]

Ask a stupid question...

 

[Borachio]

Even the most carefully planned thread starters can go sadly astray.

How much more likely is it with one that has had no planning at all?

Spoiler :

As far as I can tell there's no obvious correlation.

 

[Agent327]

Actually, iron has been pretty much the key resource throughout much of history, well into the industrial age (until the development of steel).

 

[Winner]

Water as a strategic resource? I keep hearing that but I don't believe, for the reason stated by SiLL.

In certain arid regions, water already is a key strategic resource whose control is critical for the survival and/or economic success of whole nation groups.

See the 'holy land' to see what I mean.

Strategic value of a resource depends on its utility and distribution. (Clean) Water is critical, but in most of the world still relatively plentiful. Oil is necessary to fuel the current model of economy, but is not nearly as freely available to everybody, giving the few countries which can export it in significant quantities a tremendous clout (potentially).

 

[innonimatu]

Actually, iron has been pretty much the key resource throughout much of history, well into the industrial age (until the development of steel).

Iron was found everywhere. Only by the time of the industrial revolution did the quantities or ore necessary require large mines which only some regions possess. And by that time there was already a long-distance iron ore trade to supply far-away industries. France, for example, came to import iron ore from north Africa, shipping it to Europe.

Water may be strategic in some areas of the world.

 

[Silurian]

When large scale iron production begins then coal becomes a strategic resource because charcoal production can not keep up with the iron production.

 

[Agent327]

Iron was found everywhere.

Well, not everywhere - otherwise there would have been no need for iron trade, would there?

 

[Masada]

Well, not everywhere - otherwise there would have been no need for iron trade, would there?

That doesn't necessarily follow. It might simply have been the case that one region might have had a significant comparative advantage in the production of iron.

 

[Borachio]

Iron does seem to get pretty much everywhere. But its concentration varies greatly from region to region. Bog iron, and iron "hard pans" are pretty common. But it's not really economical to use them for extraction.

(Speaking from my very extensive lack of any real geological expertise.)

 

[Joecoolyo]

Loose lips sink ships.

 

[Borachio]

 

[Terxpahseyton]

Black people.

Classic

Ask a stupid question...

Hardly. Have there not been natural resources of overarching and crucial strategic importance? Maybe the "high" standards of OT required a bit more precision than the OP was willing to give, but some good faith would do just as fine, also.

 

[Masada]

Classic

I wasn't quite joking. 'Captive' labour, including serfs and slaves and whatnot, was/is important.

 

[timtofly]

Is not each person their own key resource?