3 ms·
I wonder how much the fact that coffee was a hotly traded item played a role in this. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_coffee https://en.wikipedia.org/
by geocrasher 6y ago
I wonder how much the fact that coffee was a hotly traded item played a role in this.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_coffee https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_coffee
Apparently by 1675 when Lloyds opened, there had been over 3000 coffee houses and they were often used for "deep religious and political discussions among the populace" as the article says.
It's no suprise that later, the very traders who brought coffee to the UK probably got talking about it at the coffee house they all spent time at. The only surprising part is that someone was quick enough to pick up on it and monetize it so successfully.
- jon-wood 6y agoI once read an interesting theory that coffee was a fundamental part of the renaissance because it gave people something to drink late into the night other than alcohol, provoking huge swathes of sober (and likely somewhat hyperactive) conversation between peers which would previously have devolved into drunken rambling.
- luxpir 6y agoNot forgetting the sugar trade supporting the wave of coffee consumption, all based on the major trade not yet mentioned yet in the thread; humans. Britain somehow managed to offshore the distasteful parts of that trade. The monetisation you mention must specifically include making fraudulent insurance claims on murdered humans and all the rest of it that still gets brushed under the carpet. So great were they at making returns on their capital through popular products and services that the applause drowned out the shameful practices. Doesn't sound wholly unfamiliar at this point in time either!