A History of the World in 6 Glasses

  • 10,000 BCE

    Beer-Early Old Stone Age

    Beer-Early Old Stone Age
    Beer is a liquid relic that helped with the start of civilizations. People started settling in places, like Mesopotamia and Egypt, to farm the cereal grains that were used to make beer. The ability to grow, harvest, and store cereal grains provoked the people stay in one place and grow their own crops, which was the start to the Neolithic Revolution. Beer was the beverage that started settlement and domestication.
  • 10,000 BCE

    Beer-The invention of tools

    Beer-The invention of tools
    Without the tools made in the early nomadic life for farming, many simple tasks would be very had to do. Flint-bladed sickles, woven baskets, stone hearths, grind stones, and pottery all aided in the process of harvesting the grain and making it into beer. The early people helped shape the world we live in today by simply inventing tools. To this day we still use pottery, baskets, and hearths that was first produced about 12,000 years ago.
  • 8000 BCE

    Beer-Unification

    Beer-Unification
    The sharing of a drink was the universal code for hospitality and friendship. It reveled that one could be trusted when you both drink from straws of the same vessel. The clinking of glasses symbolizes the unification of all the glasses into one where the beverage came from. This tradition originated about 12,000 years ago.
  • 8000 BCE

    Beer-Money

    Beer-Money
    Before beer was used as a currency people used to trade items. Sumerians would pay their laborers for their work with rations called sila. For a days work in the temple a women would earn two sila and a child one sila. Essentially it was "liquid money" and they could buy supplies with it or drink it. For example, in the region of Sargon it was used as a wedding payment to the bride's family; "Bride price". Liquids being easily able to divide made ideal currency
  • 4300 BCE

    Beer-Urban Revolution

    Beer-Urban Revolution
    The world's first cities began in Mesopotamia. Most people living in the cities were farmers who lived in the center of the city but then went outside the walls to tend to their farms everyday. People wanted to live in these cities instead of small villages because they would provide better protection, and they were closer to religious ceremonies. This freed people from subsistence farming and allowed administrators to lead public works like, building canals, temples, and pyramids.
  • 870 BCE

    Wine-King Ashurnasirpal's II Feast

    Wine-King Ashurnasirpal's II Feast
    Ashurnasirpal II was the king of Assyria, and he threw a giant feast to celebrate the inauguration of his new capital Nimrud. The feast was 10 days long and a total of 69,574 people attended. The king wanted to show off his wealth to everyone, so he decided to provide wine as a beverage. Wine was considered exotic in Mesopotamia because of the geography and climate in that area, so only the elite could afford it and yet he served 10,000 skins of wine at the feast.
  • 732 BCE

    Wine-Battle of Tours

    Wine-Battle of Tours
    The Battle of Tours was one of the turning points in world history. It signified the high-water mark of Arab influence in Europe. The battle was between France and Arab forces. Charles Martel, who was the prince of the French kingdom, defeated the Arab troops. When Charles Martel's grandson, Charlemagne, was crowned the Holy Roman Emperor, he rejuvenated and consolidated European culture.
  • 600 BCE

    Wine-Golden Age of Greece

    Wine-Golden Age of Greece
    The Greeks thinkers paved the way to modern Western politics, philosophy, law, and science. They thought the best way to evaluate ideas was to test then against another set of ideas. The Greeks made a democracy, philosophy lead to reasoned arguments and dialogue, science prompted trying to prove theories, and law resulted a complex legal system. The Greeks loved wine and drank it in Symposia's where they would try to out wit their opponent in contests.
  • 424 BCE

    Wine-Peloponnesion War

    Wine-Peloponnesion War
    The wine vineyards were the prime target in the Peloponnesian war between Sparta and Athens. Wine was set to such high value that when harvest season came around, the city Acanthus feared for their crop being destroyed by the Spartans, that they decided to switch alliances just to protect the vineyards. Sparta eventually defeats Athens and leaves the Greek city-states weakened for a long period of time.
  • 212 BCE

    Wine-Rome versus Greece

    Wine-Rome versus Greece
    The people of central Italy; Rome had defeated the great Greeks. But like most of the European people they liked to show off how sophisticated they were by incorporating Greek culture into their own. Rome and Greece are very similar, they share the same gods, myths, advanced the alphabet, and Rome stole Greek architecture ideas. The Romans soon realized that maybe, after all, the Greeks conquered them because the Roman culture was turning into Greek culture.
  • 1386

    Spirits-Charles II of Navarre

    Spirits-Charles II of Navarre
    On a winter night in Navarre, King Charles had a fever and paralysis, he summoned the doctors to his chambers. His doctors treated him with a medicine with miraculous powers; distilled wine. Distilled wine had the title of "the water of life". King Charles earned the nickname "Charles the Bad" by the people because he suppressed a revolt with unnecessary violence and cruelty. His hobbies included plotting against his father-in-law, the king of France.
  • 1401

    Spirits-Age of Exploration

    Spirits-Age of Exploration
    The Age of Exploration started as a result of the fall of Constantinople into Arab hands. The countries wanted to find an alternative route to the East Indies. During the Exploration the Columbian Exchange traded, Europe would trade textiles and rum to Africa for the price of slaves. On the ships a disease called scurvy was common due to the lack of Vitamin C, beer was replaced with rum and then limes were added to it, the limes got rid of the disease and the men on the ships were healthy again.
  • 1492

    Spirits-Christopher Columbus

    Spirits-Christopher Columbus
    In 1492 Christopher Columbus sailed the ocean blue. He had been looking for another East Indies route but instead landed in the Caribbean islands. There was no gold, spices, or silk like he promised to the royalty of Spain but he did say that the climate there was ideal for growing sugarcane. The attempts to enslave the natives to the land failed, so instead they shipped millions of slaves from Africa over to the Americas to work on the sugarcane plantations.
  • 1511

    Coffee-Ban of Coffee

    Coffee-Ban of Coffee
    Coffee was a none alcoholic alternative for Muslims who could not drink coffee, but some Muslim scholars thought that it was intoxicating and subjected it to the same probation as alcohol. A local governor, Kha'ir Beg put coffee on trial. After a long discussion the council agreed with him and decided that coffee should be banned. All coffee in Mecca was seized and burned in the streets. But within a few months Cario overturned the ruling and coffee was to be openly consumed again.
  • 1543

    Coffee-Scientific Revolution

    Coffee-Scientific Revolution
    The Scientific Revolution started as a result of the end of the Reformation and limitations of the power of the church. Scientists wanted to challenge everything and nothing was to be assumed. A skeptical approach was adopted to scientists of philosophy, politics, religion, and commerce. People now thought with criticism, tolerance, and freedom to new ideas and theories. Coffee was an influence of the start to the scientific revolution, it promotes sharpness and clarity of thought.
  • Coffee-Age of Reason

    Coffee-Age of Reason
    Many new Scientific advances were discovered in coffeehouses. Halley, Hooke, and Wren, three scientist turned to the theory of gravity trying to prove it while taking sips of coffee, none of them figured it out but Halley later went to his colleague Isaac Newton. Newton devoted himself to finding out the laws of gravity, and soon enough he did. Denis Diderot was the author of the Encyclopedia, who used the coffeehouse as his office, he completed it in 1772 with 28 volumes.
  • Coffee-Pope Approves Coffee

    Coffee-Pope Approves Coffee
    Before the death of Pope Cement VIII, he was asked to state the Catholic Church's position on coffee. At the time in Europe, coffee had little popularity and was only known among medical men and botanists. Many people thought it was evil because Muslims were unable to drink wine; their holy drink, so the devil gave them coffee. The Pope decided to taste the drink before making his decision, and he was charmed by the taste and aroma that he allowed coffee to be drunk by the Christians.
  • Spirits-America

    Spirits-America
    European countries thought America would be the land of riches with a surplus of gold and jewels but, the climate was harsh and it turned out to be the opposite. With such hardship there the colonists wanted a reliable supply of alcohol, soon to be discovered was rum. In 1773 England passed the Molasses Act, which put taxes on foreign molasses to increase sales for Britain but many ignored it. The passing of the Molasses Act was the first step on the road of American independence.
  • Spirits-The First English in Barbados

    Spirits-The First English in Barbados
    The English first arrived in Barbados in 1627 which was an uninhabited island. At first they wanted to grow tobacco there but the plant did not adapt well to the climate so they decide to grow sugarcane. The island heavily used slave labor to manufacture the sugarcane. It not only grew sugarcane but it also fermented the by-products and made it into distilled alcoholic drinks. The island of Barbados dominated the sugar trade market, and the men who started it were among the richest in the world.
  • Coffee-Coffeehouses Open

    Coffee-Coffeehouses Open
    In England's coffeehouses they were more respectable and gentle alternative to taverns. They had bookshelves, was well lit, had nice furniture, and had pictures and mirrors. They were a place of political gathering and had more freedom of speech. It was also a place of academic discussions, meetings with builders, and even a place where scientific experiments took place. Although women were not allowed in the coffeehouses, patrons were to leave social differences at the door.
  • Tea-British East India Company

    Tea-British East India Company
    The British East Indian Company had a monopoly in the tea industry. King Charles II gradually granted powers to the company, which included the right to gain territory, issue currency, maintain an army, form alliances, declare war and make peace, and dispense justice. The simple trading company that started out had turned into the appearance of the British power in the East. It wielded more power than any other commercial organization in history.
  • Tea-Tea Gardens

    Tea-Tea Gardens
    Tea was no longer just a drink, it became an entirely different meal. Tea gardens were first to show up in London, it was in a park, and had bandstands, all kind of performers, and food and drink stands. They were regarded as elegant, and respectable venues where you could meet members of the opposite gender. Women had always been excluded from certain events and now for the first time they were allowed to mingle at the tea gardens.
  • Tea-Industrial Revolution

    Tea-Industrial Revolution
    The spinning mill powered by horses was the start to the industrial revolution. It was the replacement of humans for flawless machines. Mill owners offered their workers "tea breaks" as a pump-up. Tea was given instead of beer because it made the workers more alert and kept them awake for longer. The machines were moving at top notch speeds so the workers had to stay on their toes when working around them. It also eliminated many of the sick days because of its antibacterial properties.
  • Tea-Boston Tea Party

    Tea-Boston Tea Party
    Britain was trying to strengthen its grip on America but with doing so it enraged the colonies even more. The Tea Act was passed and the colonies were angry because Britain granted the East India Company a monopoly. Consequently on December 6, 1773 a group of protesters dressed up like the Mohawk Indians and dumped 342 chests of tea into the harbor. The British government then closed the Boston harbor until the East India company had compensated for their loss.
  • Tea-Duch War

    Tea-Duch War
    Tea was the largest traded item, and the only thing standing between Britain and total dominance of the East India Company was the Dutch. Wars had been fought and it ended in the dissolvent of the Dutch East India Company in 1795. This permitted British counterpart almost total control of world tea trade. At this point tea trade was thriving.
  • Coca-Cola-Great Depression

    Coca-Cola-Great Depression
    Coca-Cola took the place of coffee as a social drink, and was thought to be consumable for all meals of the day. Archie Lee made the advertisements for Coca-Cola cheery and family-friendly to escape the gloomy atmosphere of the economic distress. It was associated with glamor and feeling care-free, the reason it got through the depression. It was a non-alcoholic drink that could be drunk in any season, had caffeine, and could hold its own against alcoholic beverages.
  • Coca-Cola-World War II

    Coca-Cola-World War II
    During World War II Coca-Cola showed support and patriotism for their country. An officer serving in the war wrote "We sincerely hope that your Company will be able to continue supplying us during this emergency. In our opinion, Coca-Cola could be classified as one of the essential moral-building for the boys in the Service." The Company used this and more evidence to exempt the sugar rationing to supply the soldiers in the war with what they wanted, more Coca-Cola.
  • Coca-Cola-Pearl Harbor

    Coca-Cola-Pearl Harbor
    Japan's surprise attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941 put an end to the United States isolationism. America sent its armed force around the world and with it, came Coca-Cola. The Japanese plan was to destroy the Pacific Fleet so they would not be able to fight back as Japan's forces spread about the South Pacific, but their plan had failed to cripple the Pacific Fleet. The air bombs killed 2,500 and wounded 1,000, this was the official start to World War II for America.
  • Coca-Cola-American Century

    Coca-Cola-American Century
    By 1946 America had been in both of the World Wars and had shown its military power. It also had a booming economic system after it rebuilt itself from the great depression. The United States stood unchallenged as the world's only superpower. The rise of the United States, globalization of war, politics, trade, and communications were reflected by the rise of the brand of Coca-Cola. Coca-Cola was the brown, fizzy, sugary, liquid that fueled America through the twentieth century.
  • Coca-Cola-Cold War

    Coca-Cola-Cold War
    Coca-Cola went world wide during the Cold war. The Soviet Union's military leader, Zhukov, took a great liking to Coca-Cola but didn't want to be seen with something so closely associated with America. He sent request to make Coca-Cola clear so it looked like Vodka. Coca-Cola agreed and made it in a barrel-shaped bottle with a Soviet star. The two sides in the war were evenly matched in military power so it came down to economic power, soon the Soviets could no longer afford to compete.