In the nineteenth century, coal mining developed into a vital industry, as steam engines and railways became increasingly widespread. After running a basic search on “risk”, the tool was then used to show the frequency of the term “mines” within the results for “risk”. The graph created by the Term Frequency tool in Gale Primary Sources. While this upsurge of articles is also a direct consequence of the rising production of newspapers, it is also representative of increasing awareness of the risks tied to mining and attempts to reduce them through the use of (supposedly) safer equipment and risk-prediction technologies. The Term Frequency tool in Gale Primary Sources shows a great rise in discussion in the press about mines and risk between 18. Risk management in mines became a major source of concern during the nineteenth century. Gale’s Historical Newspapers allow us to better understand how the canary came to be emblematic of shifting attitudes towards risk during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries in the English-speaking world. The canary’s role in mines became so engrained in the English language that “a canary in the coalmine” is now a well-known phrase, used to refer to early indicators of potential hazards. Thus, oddly, an increasing reliance on fossil fuels induced a new rapport with nature and animals. This was because they were particularly sensitive to carbon monoxide, a substance which led to numerous mining accidents in the aftermath of industrialisation. In the nineteenth century they were used as exceptional risk predictors in mines. Most of us see bright-feathered, warbling canaries as pets, yet these tiny birds were not always just household companions. │By Amelie Bonney, Gale Ambassador at the University of Oxford│ The Importance of Archives – Preserving the Past and Contextualising the Present - May 11, 2022.The Potential and Importance of Interdisciplinarity in Academia - May 17, 2022.A Conversation With Master’s Student Bokhutlo Tlhabanelo on Her Use of Gale Primary Sources - May 31, 2022.Introducing My Students to Digital Humanities Research Techniques - June 7, 2022.How State Papers Online Can Support an Undergraduate History Dissertation - July 12, 2022.Latest posts by Gale Ambassadors ( see all)

Bird in a gale