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AP World History Summer Assignment Section I: Summaries Beer Beer was the basically the first “elaborated” drink. Its origins are closely related to the origins of civilization itself. The discovery of beer involved the switch from the huntergatherer lifestyle to a more settled life, and the beginning of the agricultural practices because the “first” beer was derived from barley and wheat. It also involved the development of tools and equipment to store and process grain that were meant to be helpful in future food shortages. With these developments, the first civilizations started to emerge. People began to band together, near the important religious or trading centers, and eventually they formed the first cities. The two earliest examples of civilizations are Egypt and Mesopotamia. They both saw beer as the important component of their cultural and religious identity, and had great social importance. Moreover, with beer, writing also emerged. As we can see, beer was the beginning of the modern world. Wine Though beer had not disappeared, wine started to gain popularity when the King Ashurnasirpal II of Assyria served it in his feast, as a sign of his wealth to all the foreign dignitaries invited. The origin of wine remains unclear, but the earliest evidence of its making comes from a Neolithic village in the Zagros Mountains (about 5400 BCE). From this place, knowledge of wine moved to the regions of modern-day Turkey, Syria, Lebanon, Israel, and Greece, where it had a big impact. Wine was plentiful enough to be widely affordable in Greece because of the climate and terrain, which were perfect for viticulture. In ancient Greece, wine was symbol of sophistication, and more in the private all-male aristocratic drinking parties called “symposions”. It was in these parties that philosophy began to appear, as the gathered exposed truths and their thoughts. When Rome took over Greece, the Romans actually adopted all Greek cultural aspects, including the drinking wine tradition. However, different from the Greeks, Romans made wine a symbol of social differentiation, a mark of wealth. Wine was accepted in the medicine and Christian worlds, and the Islam rejected it because of the effects it could have when drunk in excess. Spirits The time for the boom of the spirits was the colonial period. It played a very important role in the establishment of the colonies; in the economical basis of the time: sugar and slaves. Spirits were the first drinks to be transported around the world. They were drunk by European colonists and slaves in the New World. They also had participation in the start of the American Revolution for independence from England. The production of rum had found market among slave traders, and Americans were importing sugar from the French islands. This led to the British government to punish American producers by passing laws like the Molasses Act (1733) which taxed the imports from France, Sugar Act (1764), Stamp Act (1765), the Townshend Acts (1767) and the Tea Act (1773) which ended up in the Boston Tea Party, which was the beginning of the revolution. Spirits played a role in the enslavement and displacement of people, establishment of colonies and countries, like the United States. Spirits marked a new era in the world, and in history. Coffee In the seventeenth century, coffee emerged as the official drink of scientists, intellectuals, merchants, and clerks, which were part of the Age of Reason that included the Scientific Revolution and Enlightenment. New thinkers were questioning ancient Greek thought, wishing to reach a new level, and started to analyze the known human knowledge and to rebuild it. Coffee was believed to promote sharpness and clarity of thought. Although wine was not accepted in the Islam, was not the case of coffee. Coffee was openly accepted in Europe and in the Islam (introduced by the Arab world) and became a social drink. The creation of coffeehouses allowed people to enjoy a new environment for social, intellectual, political and even commercial exchange. Although the Arabs had the monopoly of the coffee, it was broken by the Dutch and the French. They started their own plantations in Netherlands, France, and in several colonies in the New World, making Brazil the world’s dominant coffee supplier. Coffee is associated with advance, reason and networking; and had a big impact in the course of history. Tea Tea is closely related to British history. Tea provided the basis for the European trade with the East. Tea was in the beginning imported from China to Britain, the most tealoving country, with enormous historical consequences. Tea was being drunk for everyone: from the wealthiest to the poorest. The rise of tea was due mainly to the actions of the British East Company, which had the monopoly on imports to England from the East. They displaced the Dutch East India Company in 1795, and obtained the total control of the global tea trade. The British East Company had great influence in the British government. This was because the company meant a big part of the total revenue of the government. Every time the company was in need, they require the government to pass laws in its favor, like was the Tea Act of 1773, which ended with the Boston Tea Party. Tea marked the beginning of relationships with China, a rare nation, unknown to some, which was ruined by the imperialism shown by Britain, thanks to the tea power. Tea also meant the new interest of Britain in India, its new tea supplier after China. The story of tea is associated with power and imperialism, and was the main part in the expansion of the British Empire. Coca-Cola Coca-cola is the most known and most drunk beverage around the world. Its story has marked world history tremendously. Coca-cola is always associated with American values, including economic and political freedom of choice, consumerism and democracy. The beginning of Coca-cola was soda water. Soda water was, in its beginning, used mainly because of the similarity with mineral water, which were believed to cure several diseases. As the time went by, soda water became very popular. Coca-cola was created thanks to the temperance movement; people accepted it as an alternative to the prohibited alcoholic drinks. What did possible the success of Coca-cola and allowed it to become the national drink of the United States was, definitely, the hard times it passed with Americans. It survived to the Great Depression, when everyone thought that would be the end; Coca-cola showed it was the happy, family-friendly drink that Americans needed in this time of difficulty. When the United States joined World War II and soldiers were sent overseas to fight the conflict, Coca-cola went along with them. With the war, Coca-cola reached almost every corner of the world, and was seen as the sign of the American philosophy spreading out. Coca-cola was part of the rise and triumph of the United States, of the victory of the capitalism over communism. Coca-cola played an important role in the American history and marked the course of history surviving and winning over territories that nobody thought it would. Section II: Questions 1. How might beer have influenced the transition from hunting and gathering to agricultural-based societies? Before beer was discovered, humans used to be nomads, looking for new species to hunt in every different territory. When beer was discovered, it made necessary the cultivation of the grains of which beer was made of, and because beer allowed the creation of new technologies for the storage of the grain. As more people reunited in one territory and practiced agriculture and made beer, the first civilizations emerged. 2. What opportunities associated with wine drinking did men have in ancient Greece that women did not? Wine was believed to “awake” the wisdom of the drinker. Men gathered in winedrinking parties, and they shared and discussed with each other the way they thought, and that is how philosophy began to take shape. However, women were totally excluded from parties and were not allowed to drink wine. 3. Why was wine adopted in Christianity, but Islam prohibited the use of alcohol? Wine was totally adopted in Christianity because was associated with some of the Jesus’ miracles. Islam prohibited the use of alcohol because of the effects alcoholic drinks had in the drinkers. The teachings of the Prophet Mohammed regarded wine as the cause of incidents between people and as hated by Allah. By forbidding wine, Muslims were rejecting the old nations of civilization. 4. Describe coffee’s effect on the balance of power between various regions of the world. When coffee started to be popular, the Arabs were the ones who have the monopoly as the supplier of coffee. As the demand increased, other countries searched the way to have their own plantations of coffee. That is how Netherlands, first, displaced Portugal as the dominant nation ruling the East Indies, taking the control of the trade overseas and started to produce coffee. Then, France started its own harvesting of coffee. The taking over of the Arab monopoly of coffee allowed other regions in South America to grow and export the coffee plant. 5. Why was tea important to China’s economy and its relationships with other countries? Tea was the main crop grown in China, and its trade was the basis for China’s economy. Countries like Britain and Portugal imported Chinese tea. Thanks to the production of tea, China became an important place for trade in which many countries were fighting over the rights to place ports in China to guarantee tea trade. 6. How did tea change history in India? British producers of tea were looking for a new territory in which to grow tea because Britain did not want to depend anymore on the Chinese monopoly. They went to India and found a new reliable source of tea. Growing tea in India would benefit both the British and Indians. Indians would have a new source of job and the entering to the world trade. After a few years, India dethroned China as the main tea producer, and still is nowadays. 7. How did Coca-cola become the world’s most recognized product? Coca-cola was American culture itself. With the entering to the world stage of the United States due to the intervention in both World War I and II, so did Cocacola. Coca-cola traveled every corner of the world where the United States was present. 8. How does Coca-cola affect, and how is it affected by, people’s views of the United States? Coca-cola is the representation of the American life wherever it is present. Cocacola represented the American ideals of spreading consumerism and democracy. It was seen as the national drink for Americans. They identified themselves with Coca-cola, and that was the id which they introduced America to the world. 9. One criticism of this book is that the author focuses too much on Europe and not on other parts of the world. Do you agree or disagree with this criticism? Which parts of the world do not receive much attention in this book? The book focuses mostly in Europe, I think because most of the modern history took place in the old world. However, there are other parts of the world mentioned in the book, though not as much as is Europe. The part of the world in which the author does not focus his attention is mostly in Latin America. The author does not focus in how the Latin American cultures took everything that was going on around them. The criticism may be true; however the book gives a general view of the course of history. 10. What do you think of Standage’s approach to history? Is this a useful way to think about history? What other approaches might one take? The approach of Standage in this book is very interesting. Usually we think of history as boring, not-able-to-see facts in chronological order. However, this book gives us a new way to think of history: through the different types of beverages in each period of time. It is amazing how something as simple as a beverage may affect, not only history, but the future too. As Standage made an approach to history through the drinks, people can make other approaches like dances or other cultural aspects of a certain period of time and see how everything is related to history. 11. What do you think will be the next drink to influence world history? Why? Before I read the epilogue, I was thinking about this question and I thought a good answer may be the energetic drinks. This kind of drink has become very popular, especially among the youth. It is not a surprise to see a young person drinking Red Bull or another energetic drink. The routine and speed which all of us are living in the twenty-first century, require a new source of energy, because is really tired. However, after I read the epilogue, I kind of agree with the author, with the fact that we are going back to the source: water. It is not a surprise, either, to see people carrying their own bottled water. Maybe the spot of the next drink to influence world history will be disputed between water and Red Bull. 12. Did you like this book? Why or why not? This book is very interesting. Personally, I liked it because after you read it, you will never drink a coup of coffee or a coke in the same way. It is unbelievable how you have a piece of history in your hands when you are drinking coffee, a coke, tea or a beer. It makes you think that history is not just a narration of things that happened in the past, but it is also present and is around us.