Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia – Could it be that marriage actually becomes the beginning of a disaster that bothers people all over the world and speeds up the world's 'doomsday'? That's what happened at the wedding of the King of England, Henry VIII, 491 years ago.

The story begins in 1533 when King Henry VIII wanted to divorce his first wife, Catherine, to remarry. However, this wish could not be realized because the Church of England, which was still affiliated with the Roman Catholic Church, prohibited divorce cases among the faithful.

However, his mind was not dead. Instead of following religion, Henry VIII decided to separate the Church of England from the Roman Catholic Church. As a result, he was able to divorce and remarry. However, the story doesn't just stop there.

Afterwards he also decided to seize coal-rich church lands in northern England. The land was then given to royal nobles to develop through business mechanisms so they could make a profit. At this point, the disaster begins.

It should be noted that coal as an energy source at that time was not yet considered.

Barbara Fresse in Coal: A Human History (2003) stated that British people still use firewood as an energy source. Coal is only used on a small scale and business is not developing.

It was only when Henry VIII married and issued this decree that coal began to exist. The British nobles who had lots of money were very serious about developing the coal business. They really want to make big profits from the new energy business.

So, there was massive exploitation of coal accompanied by the emergence of new industries. Since then, the eyes of British society have begun to open. They are starting to abandon coal because it is more effective than firewood. Moreover, at the same time wood was also starting to become scarce. These two combinations then make the urgency of energy transition unstoppable.

“The switch from wood to coal was arguably the most important thing in energy history.” said Roger Fouquet, energy researcher at the London School of Economics and Political Science, quoted from Power Through the Ages (2017).

Since then, the coal business has developed rapidly. Moreover, within 100 years, industry and households began to use coal as the main energy source. Thanks to Henry VIII, the English nobility of course made money.

One of the most impactful aspects of this transition is of course the environment. The British sky, which was originally bright blue, turned black, full of smoke. Since the 1600s, Barbara Fresse noted that English people began to complain of suffocation due to dirty air.

However, environmental changes have not dampened the steps of coal businesses and their users. Coal continues to be used and is even welcomed by scientists through various kinds of technological innovations.

One of them is the steam engine discovered by Thomas Newcomen and further developed by James Watt. Thanks to this machine, the era of massive industrialization or industrial revolution was born and spread throughout the world.

Coal, which was initially not considered, then became the main energy source. Coal entrepreneurs continue to emerge looking for profits.

Behind all that, of course, there is something that will pay a heavy price in the form of a climate 'doomsday'. Coal is known to contribute 40% of global carbon dioxide emissions and various other pollutants. Thanks to the massive use of coal since the 16th century, climate change is accelerating and difficult to stop.

Of course, this all started with the wedding of the King of England 491 years ago: when Henry VIII married, the world was touched.

[Gambas:Video CNBC]

(mfa/mfa)