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10,000 BCE
Discovery of Beer
The date for which beer was discovered is unknown, anywhere between 10000 BCE was the discovery. The gathering of wild grains becomes widespread throughout the Fertile Crescent, a region in the Middle East that borders both Mesopotamia and the Mediterranean Sea allowing for the discovery of beer to take place. -
9000 BCE
Permanent Settlements
The switch from hunting and gathering to farming occurred around 9,000 BCE. People stopped simply gathering wild grains for consumption and storage instead they began cultivating wheat and barley. This is the first civilization through farming as populations grew more steadily along with barley and wheat crops to be made into beer. -
4300 BCE
Cities Emerge
Villages began to band together, forming ever-larger towns and eventually cities. Each city had its own irrigation channels and system of fields used for growing agriculture such as barley and wheat. The villages banding together, forming a stronger and harder city to attack. This would help prevent attacks and invasions from and allow for more excess grain to be available. -
3400 BCE
Writing Emerges
In a region called Sumer, south of Mesopotamia, writing emerged around 3400 BCE. Beer drinking was a distinct feature of civilization by the Mesopotamian's which is evident in the "Epic of Gilgamesh". Gilgamesh is a Sumerian King who throughout the story is talking about the importance to the Mesopotamian society of beer and bread. -
2500 BCE
Pyramid of Giza
Record indicates that during the time of the construction of the Pyramid of Giza, laborers were paid in both beer and bread. This shows the importance of which beer had on the society, Pyramids established a sense of unity between citizens and were used for taxation. Workers were paid two loaves of bread and about for liters of beer for their work. -
870 BCE
King Ashurnasirpal II of Assyria Feast
One of the greatest feasts in history was hosted by King Ashurnasirpal II of Assyria to mark inauguration of his new capital at Nimrud. The feast lasted 10 days and was attended by almost 70,000 people. Wine was seen as purely religious at this time which changed because of the wine present at the feast. Wine was now accepted as a social drink. -
700 BCE
Homer's Odyssey
Homer's Odyssey was written, one of the most popular literature works of all time. Wine is mentioned in this work of literature as a badge of status. The book states "where piled-up gold and bronze was lying and clothing in chests and plenty of good smelling oil: and in it stood jars of old sweet-tasting wine, with the unmixed divine drink in them, packed in rows against the wall." This showed the value and importance of the wine to the Greeks society. -
500 BCE
Greek Wine Exports
Greek exports have stretched as far east as the Crimean Peninsula, Egypt to the South, Danube region to the north and as far west to Southern France. Greek traders and colonists spread their knowledge in the process of cultivating and producing wine to the Sicilians in southern Italy. -
424 BCE
Acanthus switches Allies
The significance of wine trade meant that vineyards were targets during war, the Athens and Sparta commonly would destroy the vineyards. On one occasion Spartans troops arrived before harvest time for a city called Acanthus. The city of Acanthus was allied with Athens, to avoid destruction of their grapes the city switched allegiances showing how important wine was to the Greek society. -
146 BCE
The Romans take over
The Greeks in the Mediterranean are now controlled by the Romans.The Greek culture was spread and adopted by the Romans. The Greeks knowledge of wine connected both civilizations. When the Greek Civilization fell the Romans helped spread their values and knowledge. -
Period: 618 to 907
Golden Age of China
During the Tang Dynasty the Golden Age of China took place, Tea spread throughout China and became the national beverage.China was the largest, wealthiest and most populated empire in the world. Trade thrived along the Silk Road and by sea with India, Japan and Korea. The success of this period is due to the widespread adoption of Tea. -
1440
Slave trade
Europeans had captured many sugar plantations during the Crusades. They did not know how to produce sugar well so they began shipping slaves from the west coast of Africa to the Atlantic Islands. The intense labor provides by the slaves from Africa helped make the Atlantic Islands the largest sugar exporter of the world at this time. -
1492
Discovery of the New World
Christopher Columbus was looking for a westerly passage to the East indies but instead found the Caribbean Islands. There was no signs of gold, spices or silk to bring back to Spain, yet Columbus confidently declared the island good for growing sugar. Columbus took advantage of the Island and brought over slaves from Africa in return for Spirits. The discovery of the New World led to increased demand of slaves for sugar production, slaves could be purchased using spirits. -
1511
Coffee Consumption is banned in Mecca
Coffee was banned in Mecca due to the effects on the mind, they were considered to be intoxicating effects therefore they were put in the same category as alcohol. Coffee vendors and customers were beaten and punished for ignoring the ban, coffee was seized and burned. Within the following months the ruling was overturned and the governor who proposed the ban was replaced. -
English settlers find the island of Barbados
The island of Barbados was discovered to be uninhabited. Tobacco was popular in the settler's homeland causing the settler's to try and grow tobacco here. The tobacco plants were not able to grow well on the Island of Barbados causing the English settlers to bring sugarcane to the island. The sugarcane production on the island was dependent upon slave labor. -
First Coffee House in London Opens
Pasqua Rosee, the Armenian servant of an English merchant Daniel Edwards opened London's first coffee house. Pasqua Rosee would prepare coffee for Daniel Edwards and his friends. Edwards and his friends were so enthusiastic about Rosee's coffee they opened a business for him to sell coffee. Rosee became very successful causing local taverns to complain to the lord mayor about him, Rosee was eventually kicked out of the country for not being a citizen. -
Oliver Cromwell's Death
Oliver Cromwell came to power at the end of the Civil War after the execution of King Charles I, as a result the first coffeehouses appeared. After Cromwell's death coffeehouses became the center of the political debate and many wanted to restore the monarchy. -
The British East India Company
The British East India Company contributed to the rise of tea, they first brought tea as gifts to the king from the Netherlands. This constant gifting of tea to the king eventually won him over giving the British East India Company power. The British East India Company became the most powerful company in East Britain. -
King Charles II Marriage
When King Charles II got married to Catherine of Braganza, daughter of King John IV of Portugal. She was a "devoted tea drinker" and brought her tea customs with her. -
"Proclamation for the suppression of Coffee-houses,"
Following King Charles II succession of the throne, Charles has been waiting to move against them coffeehouses. King Charles II issued "Proclamation for the suppression of Coffee-houses," which declares such establishments are evil and have dangerous effects. This causes public out roar, coffeehouses were so popular that this proclamation was ignored. A further proclamation was issued which was also ignored, coffee could not be stopped. -
Thomas Twining
In 1717 Thomas Twining, the owner of a London coffee house, opened a shop specifically to sell tea to women only. This was due to the fact that coffee shops were men-only establishments The only other option previously was to send out your servant with a large sum of money to the coffee shop which some understandably did not trust. -
Gabriel Mathieu de Clieu
Gabriel Mathieu de Clieu was a French Naval Officer who wanted to introduce coffee to the French West Indies. De Clieu traveled to Paris in order to take a cutting of a coffee tree, he could not go into the well guarded area in which the tree was kept, so instead he got a cutting of the tree from the Royal Doctor. De Clieu took the sample with him back to Martinique, he had to share his water ration with the plant in order to keep it alive. De Clieu planted the cutting and spread it to others. -
Molasses Act
British sugar producers were losing to the French in the sugar market, the British producers called for government intervention which created the Molasses Act. The passing of this act allowed for British products to be cheaper than the French products, with this the British hoped the New England Distillers would buy from the British islands instead of the French. The Molasses act was not strictly enforced and the New England Distillers still found the French Superior which led to smuggling. -
The French and Indian War
The British and American troops fought together to defeat the French for land. The result of this fight was British victory but also resulted in debt for the British. In attempt to get rid of their debt the British strengthened the Molasses Act. The British government set new rules to make sure the act was not ignored this time. This led to rum distillers further disliking the British and caused many Americans to have opposing views. -
Tea Act
Smuggling tea into Britain and its colonies was very popular, this provided a cheaper way to get tea because the duty is not imposed on tea smuggled in. With smuggling occurring companies had stockpiles of tea and got the government involved, as a result they brought the price of the companies tea to lower than the smuggled tea. This caused the infamous British Tea Party where American's boycotted British goods and a group of protesters boarded the ships when they came into the Boston harbor. -
John Pemberton
Pharmacist John Pemberton creates his new drink, "Coca-Cola." This was his second drink following his first drink French Wine Coca which was prevented from being sold due to a prohibition law. Coca- Cola was a hit, Coca-Cola eventually had 3 different companies with their own version of Coca-Cola competing with him. -
World War II
After the attack on Pearl Harbor dragging the U.S. into World War II troops were sent all around the world. The soldiers sent around the world all had Coca-Cola with them, when the U.S. emerged as a global superpower Coca-Cola was right there with them in the spotlight becoming a symbol to represent America. -
Marshall Plan
America attempted to reconstruct war torn Europe through the Marshall Plan. Many in Europe rejected America's growing power, in France activists targeted Coca-Cola. French Activists tipped Coca-Cola trucks which angered American's at home, Coca-Cola represented America so to many Americans this was complete disrespect and caused many to want the Marshall Plan to end. -
Fall of the Berlin Wall
When the fall of the Berlin wall occurred it represented a win for capitalists. When the wall came down Coca-Cola and Western Consumerism was there to greet the people. This drove out communism in many areas, Coca-Cola represented a symbol of freedom. -
Iraq War
The American led invasion of Iraq led to Muslim Protesting. Throughout the previous wars Coca-Cola represented America and there has many ads with American soldiers. In response to the American led invasion Muslims poured Coca-Cola on the ground to show their Anti-Americanism, other Cola's gained popular in the region
