History of the World in 6 Glasses  by Tom Standage

ISBN 10: 0-8027-1552-4       ISBN 13: 978-0-8027-1552-4

This book provides an excellent & thought-provoking look at world history through the humble beverage.  What we drink is something that most people take for granted, not giving their potables a second thought.  Yet, what we drink, the clothes we wear, the technology we use, and the religion or outlook we practice all reflect interrelationships in history.  

The completeness, correctness, and neatness of this assignment are paramount.  Please keep in mind that this assignment should be completed entirely on your own; you may not work collectively on this assignment.  Your  paper should  be  TYPED,

double-spaced, size 12 font, and stapled.   (Point value: 100 points) 

Section I - Summaries:

Write a ½ page summary of the author’s main points for the Prologue, for each of the last three of the six beverages (coffee, tea, & coca cola), for the epilogue.  (i.e. FIVE half-page summaries)  Explain when, where, why, and how that beverage became important and what effect it had on world history.  Give specific examples of how the beverage affected history. 

Section II - Reading Questions: 

The questions provided are meant to get you thinking about history.  You do not need to rewrite the questions, but should answer the questions in complete sentences. 

Ch. 4 - COFFEE:

1) Who did Europeans get coffee from & how did coffee spread to Europe? 

2) Why was it so important to Europe’s development that many people’s beverage of

     choice was switched from alcohol to coffee?

3) Describe coffee’s effect on the global balance of power in terms of commerce? 

4) How did coffee play a pivotal role in the Scientific Revolution?  (give lots of detail)

5) How did coffee play a pivotal role in the “financial revolution”?

6) How did coffee play a pivotal role in the French Revolution?  (give lots of detail and discuss the Enlightenment)

Ch. 5 - TEA:

1) When did tea first become a mainstream drink in Asia?  In Europe?

2) How did the consumption of tea in Europe differ from how it was consumed  in    

    China or Japan? 

3) If tea arrived in Europe around  the same time as when coffee did, why did it not find

    the immediate success that coffee had? 

4) How did tea transform English society?  Who were its main consumers and what

    were some of the new rituals that surrounded tea? 

5) How was tea an integral part of the Industrial Revolution?

6) What was the connection between tea and politics? 

7) How was tea connected to the opium trade and the Opium War of 1839-1842? 

8) What role did the tea trade and production play in the British rule over India?

Ch. 6 - COCA COLA:

1) What was the origin of coke?

2) How was this beverage used medicinally and what were the additives?

3) What was the relationship of coke and World War II?

4) How was coke thought of by the communist during  the Cold War?

5) What is meant by “globalization in a bottle”?

6) How did Coca-Cola basically become seen as an American value?  How did this

    help and hurt Coca-Cola (and, in some ways, American itself)? 

EPILOGUE:

1) Describe how the scientific advancements of the 19^th century brought the history of

    beverages full circle.

2) Which water’s quality is more tightly controlled: tap or bottled?

3) How many people have no access to safe water today?

4) How has access to water affected international relations?