The paper takes a historical perspective in analysing past systemic social-ecological transition processes. It explores two major energy transitions of the past: the transition to the use of fossil fuels (e.g., starting with coal in the UK in the 17th century, and continuing in the rest of the world with coal and oil since) on the one hand, and the marked transition in the mature industrial economies in the early 1970s, in association with the first and second oil price shocks.