What you drink is believed to reveal bits of your personality. Whether that is true or not is still a mystery, but what is not a mystery is how it affected civilizations. According to the book, "The World in 6 Glasses" by Tom Standage, beverages have been a catalyst for societies construction since the beginning of civilizations. “Thirst is deadlier than hunger…only breathing matters more” (Standage 1). People can survive for days without food, but they need water. In the past, clean sanitary water was rare, and this created a need for an alternative drinks. Six global beverages were created, and all had an impact on society. These six beverages have an intertwining connection with the other. Beer, wine, coffee, tea and Coca-Cola brought about social, medicinal, political and economic changes since the first ancient civilization to present day. Their diffusion, changes and continuity structured global society. All six beverages had continuities with change and diffusion in regards to civilization over time.
Many drinks were created as alternatives to unsafe drinking water. The first alternative discovered in ancient Mesopotamia was beer which was later discovered again by accident when gruel was left for a couple of days, and it turned into beer. “Beer might have played a central role in the adoption of agriculture… Farming paved the way for the emergence of civilization” (Standage 20). This caused the Egyptians to think it came from the gods and had medicinal and ceremonial uses. The Incas offered it to their gods whereas the Aztecs and Chinese used it at funerals and other ceremonies. People in this era began using it just for medical purposes and as remedies. This led to medical advancements in the future.
Wine was used religiously and socially as well. Wine was also used as a disinfectant like beer and thought to cure body imbalances. “An imbalance of the four humors: blood, phlegm, yellow bile, and black bile” (Standage 81). In global context, this influenced the world’s medical development. The difference between wine and beer was that the elite and rich people drank wine, but the poor drank beer. Wine was consumed at banquets by the elite, while beer was consumed casually. Also, wine was not used in religious ceremonies the way beer and tea were used. Wine was not used by Muslims because it conflicted with their religious beliefs, “Satan seeks to stir up enmity and hatred among you by means of wine…” (Standage 87). The punishment for drinking wine was forty lashes. This made wine a bad trade in the Mediterranean countries which were predominantly Muslim, but it would be a beneficial trade in the Middle East.
Spirits were used to trade for slaves as well as quench sailors thirst, and they started the American Revolution with the Molasses Act. Spirits were also used to exploit the local Indians and influence the scientific revolution. Spirits were used to barter for trade, “Distilled drinks played a central role in this evil trade…The Africans who supplied the Europeans with the slaves accepted a range of products in exchange, including textiles, shells, metal bowls, jugs, and sheets of copper. But most sought after by far was strong alcoholic drinks” (Standage 104). It also exploited the American Indians' beliefs of spirits as a supernatural power. Spirits made Britain’s Navy superior to the French because it was diluted with lemon and lime juice which prevented scurvy. It also assisted in the rebirth of science because distillation was used in experiments which led to the scientific revolution kick starting coffee.
Coffee was used by workers before spreading to other demographics of the population. This is because it stimulated them and kept them alert, along with being calming and sobering. Also, the coffee houses led to intellectual conversations causing the Scientific Revolution. In Europe, tea was a casual worker's beverage whereas the Chinese and Japanese used it for rituals, ceremonies and medicinal reasons. In Japan, they had tea ceremonies. Coca-Cola was first created as a medical tonic and nerve stimulator before becoming a casual soda drink. It became globalized – leaving a little bit of America in each country which caused controversy during the Cold War.
These six beverages affected how society was formed. Beer was one of the first building blocks to civilization, “It helped humanity along the path to the modern world” (Standage 10). Beer became a major crop over time and was seen in ancient writings. Since they began to harvest more grain for beer, it caused plant domestication. The domestication of wheat lead to the domestication of other plants which created agriculture. This was the beginning of a modern civilization. The use of agriculture caused people to settle down in one spot, leading to the creation of cities.
Wine created social status in a society. Royalty, like kings and the elite drank wine as a symbol of power and sophistication. Wine was also used to bridge the cultural gap between Rome and Greece. “Wine offered one way to resolve this paradox, for the cultivation and consumption of wine provided a way to bridge Greek and Roman values” (Standage 70). Romans saw wine to be a prestigious crop, and Roman gentlemen farmers saw it as a way to stick to their roots while also drinking it at parties. Spirits resulted in the rebirth of distillation which helped scientific advancements with chemistry and was used in experiment. “He devised an improved form of distillation apparatus…” (Standage 94-95).
Coffee made society more productive. Since it was not intoxicating, and the caffeine energized people so their work was more productive. It also helped start the scientific revolution by providing coffee houses for intellectual conversation, which had continuity with spirits in the advancements of science. Tea also set up a class structure in England because only the aristocrats drank it due to wine’s role in class structure. Tea changed from a workers' drink into a political power for Britain with the East India Company. “This and other gifts won in Charles’s favor, and he gradually granted sweeping power to the company, including to rights to acquire territory, issue currency, maintain an army, form alliances, declare war and make peace, and dispense justice… a simple trading company ended up as the manifestation of British power in the East, wielding more power than any other commercial organization in history” (Standage 190).
Tea also caused the Opium War of 1839-1842. It started when the Chinese began using opium to buy tea since silver was hard to obtain. In the end, the Chinese signed a peace treaty allowing the British to have five ports for free trade of all goods. Coca-Cola became the image of globalization for America and left its mark all over the word. During World War II solders drank it, “Coca-Cola Company, issued an order that ‘every man in uniform get a bottle of Coca-Cola for five cents…” (Standage 251), and it was controversial with communist countries during the Cold War. Tea and coffee are also stimulants like Coca-Cola, and they all diffused rather rapidly.
Many things contribute to a country’s economy, but beverages are a factor that is rarely mentioned. Beer affected the commerce of Egypt and Mesopotamia because they placed taxes in the form of grains. Beer was used as payment for soldiers, scribes, women and children. It was also as a “bride prize.” This practice was carried on with spirits. Wine caused both a negative and positive impact on economy depending on the location of the trade. Since Muslims did not buy wine because it conflicted with their religion, it took the power from the Mediterranean and gave it to the Middle East. This was a negative economic effect on the Mediterranean because they could not sell a lot of wine, but it was a positive impact on the Middle East because it received the power over the trade of wine. Spirits played progressive role for Britain and America. Spirits, specifically rum, were used as a barter for slaves which helped build America. It was also used to subject the indigenous people and exploit them and their culture. Spirits were a major product, so much so that their taxation and regulation became matters of great political prominence.
The control of coffee traveled through many countries from Arab control to the Dutch then Europe and the East Indies. The country that controlled the trade of coffee had high commerce and economic power. The creation of coffee houses gave a place for commercial exchange. Tea produced power for Europe. Besides being a major revenue and source of commerce, it was also a political supremacy. The trade of the East India Company was so powerful that their rules became the area's guidelines. “Linking these imperial and industrial expansion was a new drink- new to Europeans, at least… Tea provided the basis for the widening of European trade with the best. Profits from its trade helped to find the advance into India of the British East Indi Company” (Standage 176). Tea was a major trade that is caused the Opium War because opium was used to buy tea. The East India Company had the rights to gain territory and use currency. Since the British controlled the tea trade, they received a lot of economic power. Coca-Cola is infamous since its diffusion. It became a popular drink when it was first introduced as a tonic. It was and still is a great commerce for America. Coca-Cola is a global drink – meaning, America is gaining money from all around the world and a piece of America is in every country. The corporation is a very large and results in economic development.
Beer, wine, spirits, coffee, tea and Coca-Cola were alternatives to water, led to the creation of civilizations and economic development. Beer was used as currency and to tax and led to medical advancements whereas wine was a symbol of wealth that had an increase in economic development from trading. Coffee sparked intellectual thinking and the scientific revolution. Tea was used for control like spirits were and like Coca-Cola, tea was globalized. “Tea trickled down to become the beverage of a working man” (Standage 176) like coffee has. Incidentally, water – the very thing they were trying to replace – may just be the next major beverage. Water is still a scarce item in less developed countries. This makes the power of beverages come full circle. The six beverages changed society, civilization, economy and many other things. Their continuities are similar even though they emerged in different times and places. All of the drinks diffused to different countries if not globally. Throughout history, the drinks have been making a major impact in the world.
