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A History of the World in 6 Glasses timeline | Garrett Reed |

  • 150,000 BCE

    Modern Humans Exist

    Humans as we anatomically know them are proven to exist by this time.
  • 50,000 BCE

    Paleolithic Period

    Tribes migrate out of Africa in nomadic groups to wherever they could gather food and water. They used primitive tools such as hooks, needles, and bow and arrow.
  • 12,000 BCE

    Humans Start Settling

    Humans start to take up farming in a way and settle by naturally growing crops so they can harvest them at the right time of the season.
  • Period: 10,000 BCE to 4000 BCE

    Beer is Discovered

    In the fertile crescent gruel was a popular meal made of the wild cereals. Left overs would be set aside, in the heat the grains would ferment into a weak beer.
  • 9000 BCE

    Barley and Wheat Purposely Cultivated

    These cereals instead of being gathered were instead intently cultivated, this was the farming transition. Possible reasons include a decrease in food availability, an increase in population, or the cultural importance of beer.
  • 8000 BCE

    First Evidence of Currency

    A clay currency was established in the fertile crescent.
  • Period: 7000 BCE to 5000 BCE

    Domestication and Irrigation Spread

    Crops and livestock are domesticated and water transport, irrigation, are widely used concepts.
  • Period: 4300 BCE to 2000 BCE

    Urban Revolution

    Small towns join together into cities which join into one big happy civilization. The first of these being Mesopotamia and Egypt. This allowd other jobs to form istead of just agriculture.
  • 3400 BCE

    First Evidence of Writing

    The earliest example of cuneiform, an early form of writing, originating from Sumer, a city in Mesopotamia
  • Period: 2737 BCE to 2697 BCE

    Emperor Shen Nung Rules China

    Emperor Shen Nung is China's second most legendary emperors. He was accredited with inventing the plow and other agricultural tools, discovering herbs used in medicine, as well as being the first man to brew a cup of tea.
  • 600 BCE

    Democracy is Developed

    Greeks develop democracy for politics, the premise of it was also used to settle arguments, theories, and in law.
  • 539 BCE

    Neobabylonian Empire Falls

    At the hands of the Persians the empire fell. Its last ruler quotes wine is "the excellent beer of the mountains, of which my country has none." (page 50 of "A History of the World in 6 Glasses" by Tom Standage)
  • 212 BCE

    Romans Conquer Greeks

    Romans take over Syracuse thus taking over Greece, becoming the top super power of the Mediterranean
  • Jan 1, 600

    Islam Starts

    Muhammad starts Islam, the religion flourished in the Middle East but resented all alcohol.
  • Period: Jan 1, 618 to Jan 1, 907

    Tang Dynasty (China)

    This is the golden age of China where the country was at its wealthiest, in money, knowledge, and with a population larger than any other nation. During this time the flow of knowledge and goods led to cultural diffusion in the form of the Silk Road. During this great time of trade and wealth the first form of paper currency was invented by tea merchants in Fujian.
  • Jan 1, 800

    Arab Influence on Europe Ceases

    Europe is invigorated by the cease in Arab influence. European culture was cultured under the new king Charlemagne.
  • Jan 1, 1430

    Printing Press Invented

    Information could spread like never before with the printing press, invented by Charles Gutenberg.
  • Jan 1, 1492

    Americas "Discovered"

    Christopher Columbus "discovers" the Americas. Europeans would attempt to enslave the natives to cultivate the sugar cane, however this failed because they died of old world diseases, instead slaves were sent in from Africa.
  • Jamestown Settled

    Jamestown becomes Britain"s first successful permanent settlement in Virginia, they struggled with supplies (including a severe lack of alcohol).
  • Isaac Newton's book Principia is released

    Isaac Newton writes one of the greatest scientific books of all time, Principia. This book awards him the title "greatest scientist in history". He describes his research pertaining to the inverse-square law and its relationship with the elliptical planetary orbits and went from there and beyond. Although being originally thought of as the sole thinker, Isaac was originally spurred on by a question asked by a colleague by the name of Hooke who openly wondered in the local coffee shop in 1684
  • Period: to

    Britain Passes Acts Imposed in The Colonies

    1733, Molasses act, 1764, sugar act, 1765, stamp act, 1773, tea act. The American colonists resented these acts saying, "No taxation without representation", these ultimately spurred on the revolutionary war.
  • Industrial Revolution Begins

    Richard Arkwright invents the easy-to-use "spinning frame" soon replaced the harder to use spinning jenny. This frame was powered and allowed anyone to use it even with inexperience. The prototype, and soon to be actual, factories were powered by water with a waterwheel which would turn by the force of the river. Manufacture became easy, it started with textiles, but soon spread to meet the world's needs. These machines ultimately replaced a craftsman with a machine incapable of faltering.
  • Boston Tea Party

    In response to the ridiculous Tea act of 1773 (which was made by parliament to get the British East India Company out of debt) the kind protesters of New England sought to boycott British goods and, under the guise of Mohawk Indians, started the Boston tea party all along the harbor coast. The British responded by closing the harbors, but 2 years later the Americans declare independence.
  • Revolutionary War

    After the Boston Tea Party the U.S.'s founding fathers declare independence from Britain and the revolutionary war starts.
  • Period: to

    Britain Beats Dutch for the Tea Trade

    The British wanted to be the sole importers of tea in East India, however the Dutch were in the way, war broke out ending in 1784, the Dutch were defeated and ceased to exist by 1795. This allowed Britain a strangle-hold upon the tea trade, free to do whatever they wanted with the monopoly.
  • The French Revolution

    The French Revolution was started by a lawyer named Camille Desmoulins in a coffee house, he and many more rallied in one massive crowd outside the Royal Palace.
  • British Navy Wins at Battle of Trafalgar

    The British navy beats the French and Spanish navy, as well as scurvy with their government rationed beverage, grog, a rum with sugar and lime which contains vitamin C to combat scurvy. The French drank eau-di-vei instead.
  • Period: to

    The U.S. in the 1930's

    The stock market crash of 1929 caused the country to go into a steep downward spiral into what is known as the Great Depression. During this time as well alcohol became legal again since its prohibition in 1920. (Coca-Cola also had to take on a new rival, the Pepsi Cola brand)
  • Pearl Harbor pulls the U.S. back into War

    Originally the U.S. policy said to not get into other nation's wars, this was already broken in WW1, but much to many American's dismay we were back at it again for WW2. Pearl Harbor forced us really to declare war, even though we were already supporting the Allies with supplies, but this brought the U.S. to the frontline. The U.S. would not not intervene in a war ever again in short.. Coca-Cola sponsored itself, making it the drink soldiers would have on the battlefield to remind them of home.
  • Allied Victory in WW2

    The Allies beat Axis in WW2, by this time there were Coca-Cola factories all over, most places where troops wee stationed. These factories would remain and make Coca-Cola popularly known on every settled continent.
  • Vietnam War

    Many men had to be drafted into the war, it was in the grueling hot tropics of Vietnam. Many people did not come out, but of the few who did, the memories still live on within them, they were not welcomed home, in fact many just simply became homeless...
  • Berlin Wall Falls

    Families are reunited on this faithful day, West Germany and East Germany are free and the suppressed East side was opened up to a whole new world, as well as Coca-Cola, same thing, right.
  • The War on Terror Starts

    Bush sends us into another war, the Iraq War in response to the terror against the United States, this effectively became know as the attack on terror. This also affected Coca-Cola sales in the rivaled country..