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Vineyards of the Canaries
The introduction of wine grapes by the Spanish in the overseas colony of the Canary Islands serves as an excellent demosntration of the spread of European cultural and social values througout the Atlantic world during the first colonial era. It also demonstrates just how incredibly important cultural imperatives are in driving human action, with the Spanish developing an unorthodox method of growing grapes in an inhospitable environment in order to be able to perform Catholic Communion rites. -
L'encyclopédie, Coffeehouses, and the Enlightenment
Published in 1751, the first encyclopedia is an embodiment of Enlightenment values and ideas, as are the estabilishments where intellectuals would meet to have concersations on philosophy, economics and science over a cup of coffee. Quite fittingly, the Encyclopedia says of coffeehouses: "They are (...) manufactures of the mind" -
The Metropolis Water Act of 1852
This act of the British Parliament dealt with the regulation of the supply of water in London and included, for the first time, minimum standards of water quality. It represents well the new pressures which rapid industrialization and urbanization had put on the provision and sanitation of cities. -
Absinthe and the late 19th century
The Degas piece demonstrates how the stimulant and depressant effects of this strong spirit, as well as it's identification with the time period, make absinthe a fitting symbol of the dualism of the end of the 1800's, with pessimism and optimism marking the period. It also demonstrated the bohemian appropriation of working class cultural patterns, such as absinthe itself. -
Teacup Imperialism
Tea was first introduced in Britain as a luxury good in the 1600's, but would only be popularised in the next 200 years, when the British takeover of India made it affordable for broader sectors of the population. This relationship between tea and imperialism can also be noticed in the fact that the Great War both solidified its position as national beverage, with it comprising an important part of troops' rations, and marked the pinnacle of imperial competition and of the british Empire. -
The Cold War and Coca-Cola
Coca-Cola is the expression of the Cold War in Europe. It's availability (or lack of) was a symbol of the division of the continent by the Iron Curtain into Eastern and Western blocks, as well as representing the rise of foreign, often American, cultural influences in Europe and the decline of Europe as the centre of the global stage.
