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The beginning of the twentieth century saw a boom economy for the coal and coke industry. Located in the Crowsnest Pass of Alberta, the coal mining town of Lille existed for about a decade in the early twentieth century, from approximately 1901-1912. Towns such as this are ephemeral in nature, and as such, offer interesting opportunities to investigate a very definite period in time. Lille can provide a unique snapshot of life in the Canadian Rockies at the beginning of the last century. <p>Two archaeological investigations were carried out upon this time slice in 1979 and early 1981. Further analysis of artifactual material was undertaken in order to reconstruct life in a company town. The present study combines the two archaeological assemblages for study. It focuses upon material remains found at the town site, as well as spatial relationships between different residences and parts of the business district. Lille is discussed using a framework of corporate paternalism as it was a company town and it is hypothesized that there are stratified residential areas based upon occupational status. The degree to which inhabitants followed this ascribed status is investigated through their material remains. Additional factors affecting the town and its residents, such as company policy, union strikes and the coal market will be discussed. This examination of Lille provides an opportunity to explore daily life in remote mining communities in the early 20th century.

The beginning of the twentieth century saw a boom economy for the coal and coke industry. Located in the Crowsnest Pass of Alberta, the coal mining town of Lille existed for about a decade in the early twentieth century, from approximately 1901-1912. Towns such as this are ephemeral in nature, and as such, offer interesting opportunities to investigate a very definite period in time. Lille can provide a unique snapshot of life in the Canadian Rockies at the beginning of the last century. <p>Two archaeological investigations were carried out upon this time slice in 1979 and early 1981. Further analysis of artifactual material was undertaken in order to reconstruct life in a company town. The present study combines the two archaeological assemblages for study. It focuses upon material remains found at the town site, as well as spatial relationships between different residences and parts of the business district. Lille is discussed using a framework of corporate paternalism as it was a company town and it is hypothesized that there are stratified residential areas based upon occupational status. The degree to which inhabitants followed this ascribed status is investigated through their material remains. Additional factors affecting the town and its residents, such as company policy, union strikes and the coal market will be discussed. This examination of Lille provides an opportunity to explore daily life in remote mining communities in the early 20th century.

Ce travail de recherche étudie l’histoire des impacts environnementaux de l’extraction du charbon dans les bassins miniers du Couchant de Mons et du Valenciennois du 18e siècle jusqu’à l’Entre-deux-guerres ainsi que l’émergence de la logique extractiviste en Belgique et en France. Il met en lumière les fondements culturels et les bases scientifiques et législatives qui ont permis l’expansion de l’extraction du charbon dans ces deux pays, notamment au point de vue de la régulation des dégâts miniers. Ensuite les réactions des États, des entreprises minières et des habitants des bassins aux dégradations environnementales causées par l’extraction du charbon sont abordées. Les processus de négociation, les jeux de pouvoir et les mouvements d’opposition au charbon sont au cœur de cette interrogation. Le poids important des charbonnages dans la régulation des dégâts miniers, la volonté des gouvernements à permettre l’extraction du charbon et le développement d’une « guerre contre le charbon » par les habitants des bassins houillers sont analysés à partir de plusieurs situations exemplatives. Enfin, la thèse envisage l’influence des géologues et des ingénieurs des mines dans la création d’une « science des dégâts miniers » à travers trois controverses scientifiques : la séismicité induite, les théories des affaissements miniers et les inondations engendrées par l’extraction de la houille. / This is a study on the history of the environmental impacts of coal mining in the « Couchant de Mons » and the « Valenciennois » basins and the development of extractivism in Belgium and France from the 18th century to the Inter-war Period. It highlights the cultural foundations and the scientific and legal basis explaining the expansion of coal mining in these two countries, especially regarding the regulation of mining damages. Reactions of the States, mining companies and the inhabitants of the basins to the environmental damages caused by coal extraction are also analyzed. Processes of negotiation, power strategies and movements against coal mining are at the heart of this thesis. The heavy weight of collieries in the regulation system of mining damages, the willingness of governments to allow the extraction of coal and the development of a « War against coal » by the inhabitants are analyzed from several exemplary situations. Finally, this work considers the influence of geologists and mining engineers in the creation of a « science of mining damages » through three scientific controversies : induced seismicity, theories on mining subsidence and flooding engendered by coal mining.