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3900 BCE
Adoption of Farming for Beer
In the Fertile Crescent, many of the civilians living in the region decided to adopt farming for food and beer which became socially and ritually important in their society. They had to make the grain available in abundance so there would be plenty of beer for everyone who wanted it. Many people even attribute it to people settling down and stop living a nomadic life. Beer was essential in the early civilizations and led to the adoption of farming in these civilizations. (pg.21) -
3400 BCE
The Beginning of the Civilized Man
In Mesopotamia, they felt as though when they consumed bread and beer they went from being savages to humans. They became more civilized when they drank beer and ate bread. In the story The Epic of Gilgamesh the Mesopatamians talk about how Enkidu drinks beer for the first time and eats bread for the first time because eating bread and drinking beer is the way of the land it is how you become human. He became civilized after this experience just like all of the Mesopotamian's did. (pages 26-27) -
3200 BCE
Beer Leads to Writing
Sumerians were one of the first to write something down as a form of receipt for wage lists and tax receipts and the symbol for beer was included on those receipts. They originally invented writing to record people serving and accepting grain, beer, bread, and other goods. Beer was even one of the most popular symbols that was written on documentation, receipts, and other forms of writing. Beer was important in discovering writing which lead to other ways of communication. (pages 30-31) -
2500 BCE
Means of Income and Taxation on Beer
In Egypt and other civilizations, beer was used as a form of payment to workers in the civilizations. The lowest rank member in the workforce would get one sila a day which is a pint of beer and you would get another pint of beer if you were higher ranked. The highest rank got 5 sila. Beer, barley, wheat, and other goods became taxed in these civilizations because they would use the money to fund public works. Beer was more than a drink, it became widespread forms of currency. (pages 35-36) -
1550 BCE
Beer Related to Health
Mesopotamian's and Egyptians both used beer medicinally in their civilizations. They would use them in recipes for herbal remedies and they would cure things like constipation, ingestion, and even labor pains. They used beer because it was less likely to be contaminated than water and had the advantage of ingredients dissolving more easily in it. Some even said you should consume beer and bread every day to ensure a healthy lifestyle and growth and development. (pages 35-38) -
870 BCE
Wine and Wealth
In Northern Mesopotamia, King Ashurnasirpal 2 had a feast for his new capital Nimrud. He displayed his 10 thousand skins of wine to demonstrate his wealth. Also, if you were able to serve wine from distant regions in your civilization would show the amount of power you have. People even grew vines in their gardens to make wine and it was usually the rich eople that grew them to show wealth and power. It also showed you were very formal and civilized person. (pages 45-46) -
870 BCE
Trading Wine
Wine was trading vastly across the Mediterranean and into other civilizations. It became one of the top commodities for people of wealth because the more wine you had the richer you were. Wine was taxed heavily in the beginning of it being traded and it was very expensive due to their not being a lot of it. The trading of wine though allowed for cultural diffusion to happen. Along with trading wine they traded ideas and inventions as well when they traded wine. (page 49) -
425 BCE
Wine's Economic Importance
The Greeks used wine on their currency because it was so important to their culture and living. The trading and importance of wine became a target in the Peloponesian War. Vineyards would be trampled or burned which would cost the civilization a lot of money and lose some of their wealth. Wine cost about one shekel of silver which was about one days worth of work for a middle class man. It was clearly hard to get unless you weren't in the high middle class or high class. (pages 54-55) -
400 BCE
Being Formal with Wine
The Greeks used wine to show formality and structure. They drank it at formal parties and when they drank wine they would be very formal and behave very proper. They thought anyone who didn't behave this way was barbaric and didn't belong with them. Usually people who they thought were barbaric drank beer or drank wine but acted very improper. Wine became the civilized drink in place of beer after a while. You were wealthy, civilized, proper and powerful if you drank wine properly. (page 52) -
300 BCE
Love, Truth and Wine
The Greeks used wine as a way of romance. When people drank wine they would talk about love and the conversation was fueled with wine. Wine was almost always a factor when it came to talking about romance or romance happening. Wine was also used to see the true nature of someone.They would use wine to reveal the truth about someone. They could be proper, barbaric or however they acted it was revealed through wine. Wine was essential in the life of romance and truth. (pages 62-63) -
100 BCE
Tea as a Food and a Medicine
Tea when it was first discovered was first used as a medicine and a foodstuff before it was a drink. If you rubbed tea leaves on your wounds it was said to heal the wounds. They would also mix tea leaves with shallot, ginger, and other ingredients. They would eat that mix for food and medicinal purposes. It also prevents waterborne disease because it is boiled. Tea leaves became very important in society during this time but not even as a drink, it was important for medicine and food. (page 178) -
Oct 13, 780
Tea as Currency
Paper money had became one of the main forms of currency during this time. The item that became a very popular form of currency was tea. If paper money failed or you didn't have any, tea was your back up for money. Paper money's value decreased the farther you took from the imperial center and tea's value actually increased in rural areas. Brick tea even remained as currency in China into modern times. Tea had to be taxed eventually because it became so important in society. (page 180) -
Jun 12, 1300
Spirits as Medicine
Spirits or the distillation of wine has been known in this time period to cure disease. Charles 2nd had been struck with paralysis and fever and they called doctors to come. They treated him with distilled wine because they believed it cured disease fast and effectively. A professor from Montpellier named Arnald of Villanova wrote down the way to distill wine. He believed it prolongs life, clears away ill-humors, revives the heart, and maintains youth. (pages 98-99) -
Jun 19, 1510
Coffeehouses and the Social Aspect
Coffeehouses originated in the Middle East. They became an important social aspect in many cultures around the world where intellectual people could go drink coffee, talk about politics and other things happening. The government in the Middle East felt threatened by coffeehouses because they didn't like the idea of people talking about the government in a place with a lot of people. Coffeehouses were socially important around the world and even allowed for cultural diffusion. (pages 138-139) -
The Intellectual Drink, Coffee
Coffee was a new drink that promoted the sharpness and clarity of thought. Many of the most intellectual people in society favored the drink at the time like your scientists, merchants and clerks. The drink helped them stay awake. The idea of rationalism throughout Europe was shown through coffee as people had a smarter way of thinking with this new drink. The realized that opinions and actions are based on reason and knowledge rather than religion or emotional response. (pages 134-135) -
Medicinal Purposes of Coffee
Supposedly coffee had medicinal purposes even though it was usually for the purpose of drinking. It supposedly was effective against sore eyes, headaches, coughs, dropsy, gout, and scurvy. It was also effective against hangovers. It is able to help or cure hangovers. The only problem is that it allows the alcohol to stay in the blood for a little longer. Alcoholic drinks were very popular and this drink allowed for people that drunk a lot to cure that morning hangover. (pages 142-143) -
Slaves and Rum
Slaves were brought into the islands like Barbados in the Caribbean to work on the sugar plantations. Sugar was quickly put into an alcoholic drink and became known as rum. Rum became very popular on the islands as well as in Europe and other countries. It became a very demanding product so they needed more slaves to work on the plantations. Rum contributed to the slave trade greatly. They would give 2 to 3 gallons of rum a year to the slaves as a form of payment. (pages 108-109) -
Coffeehouses Becoming a Main Source of Trade
London was becoming a commercial empire during this time. Coffeehouses were just another thing that made this commercial empire thrive. Many business deals would go down in coffeehouses and the trading of goods would occur as well. Business and politics became two hot topics in coffeehouses. Trading occurred of ideas, coffee, and other goods or inventions in coffeehouses. Trade thrived in coffeehouses. Coffeehouses became the central meeting place for business and politics. (pages 142-143) -
Coffee Empires
The Middle East ran a monopoly on coffee. They supplied coffee for every country which means every country depended on them. European countries started to worry about the dependency on the Middle East. The Dutch broke this monopoly and started growing their own coffee beans. The Dutch then were granted the coffee trade within a few years. Then other European countries started growing coffee beans like the French. The coffee trade market became very important in society. (pages 148-150) -
Molasses Act
The New England colonies use of foreign countries molasses called for a government meeting in Britain. They passed an act to tax molasses sixpence per gallon of molasses imported from foreign countries. This made the colonies mad but they smuggled molasses in from foreign countries anyways. This created lots of tension and conflict between the colonies and Great Britain. Britain eventually resented the act and the colonies lost respect for them which led to a revolution. (pages 118-119) -
The Rum Trade
Rum was a very popular drink during this time because it was inexpensive. You could also easily make it so it was a plentiful drink. They used this drink to pay the slave traders for the slaves. They even made the drink stronger for the slave traders. Rum was even traded for other goods as well. The British sugar islands were upset because they were importing molasses for rum from the French islands instead of from them. This caused lots of tension between them. (pages 116-117) -
Tea Act
The Tea Act was an tax put on tea from Britain to America. Britain went into debt because of the war and felt like the colonies should pay for it cause they fought for them. They decided to tax tea. The Americans didn't take to kindly to this because they didn't have representation in parliament so they couldn't vote on the act hence the very famous "no taxation without representation." The Americans wanted to choose where they get there tea from and not be stuck under one company. (page 204) -
Trading Tea
A new drink arised and became very popular throughout the world. That drink was tea. The Chinese first created the drink and it started to become almost as popular as water. The Chinese traded this drink with the Europeans while they were trading other goods with each other. The Europeans quickly adopted this drink and it became very popular in Europe. The Europe started to trade tea and it helped profit the British East India Company. Tea became very poplar as a drink and in trade. (page 176) -
Grog Gets Rid of Scurvy
Many of the sailors couldn't get their source of vitamin C because they were sailing and couldn't figure what had vitamin C in it and what didn't. They drank a lot of beer which had no vitamin C and many sailors were dying of scurvy which is a disease because of the lack of vitamin C in your body. They soon figured out that this new drink grog had vitamin C in it so they could get rid of scurvy and or prevent it. They could now get vitamin C because of grog. (page 110) -
Coca-Cola as Medicine
Coca-Cola became a very popular beverage when it was made but it also served the purpose of a medicine. It served as a valuable Brain Tonic. It also served as a cure for all nervous affections like Sick Head-ache, Neuralgia, Hysteria, and Melancholy. The drink contains valuable Tonic and Nerve Stimulant properties of the Coca plant. Many people used it as a source of medicine towards these symptoms and it helped. The drink even became a patent medicine. (page 238) -
Coca-Cola Prospers During Depression
Coca-Cola prospers during the Depression because the ads would have people like Santa who were jolly and always happy. The drink represented a care free, happy world which made it prosper because everyone was depressed from the Depression. Everyone was losing money and fighting for jobs but that one point in the day where they would drink Coca-Cola they would realize everything will be okay and that they should be happy. People needed that happiness and Coca-Cola gave that to them. (page 247) -
Coca-Cola Globalizes
Coca-Cola quickly became a globalized drink which led America to become a global superpower. Coca-Cola was being sold in many countries once the U.S. stopped being an isolated country and decided to fight in World War 2. This led to Coca-Cola becoming globalized, traded, and sold throughout the world. Many countries even started depending on this drink from the U.S. and we even set up places to make Coca-Cola in other countries. The U.S. became a superpower because of Coca-Cola. (page 251) -
Coca-Cola's Effect on the War
Coca-Cola played a huge role in World War 2. They set up places to make Coca-Cola wherever the troops were because they had such a high demand for the drink. They called the workers at these factories "Coca-Cola Colonels" because they were just as important as the guys who worked on the planes and tanks. The company was even exempt from sugar rationing in 1942 because it was essential to the war effort. Coca-Cola made an effort in the war to help our country as much as possible. (page 252) -
Values of Coca-Cola During Cold War
Coca-Cola became associated with America during World War 2. During the Cold War it became associated with broader western values of freedom, democracy, and free-market capitalism. Communist countries hated Coca-Cola because of the values it symbolized. Those communist countries included the Soviet Union who was in a Cold War with America. Coca-Cola represented everything the Soviets hated in America therefore they didn't allow the drink in the Soviet Union. (page 257)
