Coffee and power covet and exploit each other, altering the course of world history.

01 Coffee, the 'black drink' that dominated the Islamic world

Why were Sufi monks, a mystical Islamic sect, so fascinated by coffee?
ㆍ What is the hidden meaning of the saying, ‘Coffee was originally wine’?
The Mecca Incident, a coffee suppression incident that left a distinct mark on the history of the Islamic coffee world.
A Yemeni coffee merchant's legendary hit copy: "Coffee has the same calming effect as the holy water."

02 Islamic and European merchants who recognized the commercial value of coffee and maximized profits

ㆍYemen, the country that was the sole supplier of coffee to the global market in the 17th century
Cairo merchants who took the coffee trade monopoly away from South Arabian merchants
ㆍWhy were European merchants so obsessed with creating a "commodity image" for coffee in the 17th and 18th centuries?
A Dutch merchant who first operated a coffee plantation in history, maximizing profits and completely changing the mechanism of the coffee industry.

03 British coffee loses its place of glory to black tea

ㆍ In the late 17th century, coffee houses became a useful tool for Britain, which had to 'continue to create from nothing'.
ㆍ Is it really a coincidence that London's first coffee house opened during the height of the Puritan Revolution?
Coffee houses have established themselves as "incubators" of modern civil society.
What drove the British away from coffee and coffeehouses?

04 Coffee and Cafes: The Incubators of the French Revolution

ㆍ In the 16th century, 'black soup' and coffee were crucial in the Ottoman Empire's conquest of Budapest, Hungary.
ㆍ The reason why Ottoman Turkish ambassador Suleiman Aga was able to paradoxically become a decisive contributor to the establishment of coffee culture in France, a hostile country.
ㆍ The popular belief that 'coffee is bad for your health' actually became the catalyst for the development of a unique coffee culture in France?
Montesquieu's "Letters of the Persians," a book that gave the French the decisive impression of "what a wonderful drink coffee is."
The coffee tree presented by the Mayor of Amsterdam to Louis XIV, which completely changed the course of French coffee history.
The secret and cruel reason why coffee came to be called 'Negro sweat'
ㆍ Leading and supporting actors who contributed to the formation and development of French coffee culture
ㆍIf there had been no coffee and cafes, there would have been no French Enlightenment?
ㆍ A historical café that served as a hideout and fuse for the French Revolution
ㆍHaiti coffee plantations, a key axis in French coffee history

05 Power that wants coffee, coffee that wants power

Why was Napoleon, who became the French emperor, so obsessed with coffee?
ㆍ Why did Frederick the Great of Prussia order his doctors to spread the false rumor that 'coffee is poisonous'?
ㆍ Was the reason why Germans in the Prussian era fought in the anti-Napoleonic war of liberation due to their strong desire for ‘real coffee’?
ㆍ Conditorai of Berlin who obtained citizenship through militaristic mechanisms
ㆍ What does the saying 'Coffee speaks Portuguese' mean?

06 In the late 19th century, Germany was obsessed with East African coffee plantations through colonial policy.

ㆍ In the late 19th century, the reason Germany belatedly entered the imperialist colonial competition was because the development of contraceptives was delayed, leading to an explosive population increase?
ㆍ In the late 19th century, why did Germans jump into the coffee plantation industry with a passion bordering on madness?
The fundamental reason why German coffee plantations were destined to fail
The last black rebellion that led to the destruction of the German East African colony
Walter Rathenau, who revolutionized Germany's East African coffee plantation paradigm
Coffee made by Germans on the Bukoba plantation in Africa became a huge hit in Europe under the name "Mocha."
ㆍ The African colonial administration, which became a source of trouble for Germany after World War I and was difficult to heal,

07 Brazil's "Mass Coffee Dump" that suffocated the Weimar Republic

Why coffee civilization and war are bound to be mortal enemies
The German Revolution sparked by the "black drink" coffee
Despite coffee becoming the national beverage, the hidden reason why political cafes haven't taken hold in Britain and France.
ㆍ Why did Brazil, a coffee powerhouse that produced more than three-quarters of the world's coffee and had 90 percent of its population engaged in coffee production, dump a huge amount of coffee into the ocean or incinerate it in the 1930s?

08 European powers imposing 'extreme monoculture' on their colonies and coffee-producing countries.

ㆍWhy Rudolf Hess, the commander of Auschwitz concentration camp, falsely promised Jews "warm coffee after their bath" while driving them to the gas chambers.
The duality of coffee, a representative product of the capitalist commodity society
Why European powers imposed an "extreme monoculture" on their colonies and coffee-producing countries.

References

A black drink that gives you energy despite being almost nutrient-free.
Napoleon's efforts to distribute coffee to his army sparked the Industrial Revolution.
Changing world history

“I can make your country like this too!”

These are the words spoken by General Napoleon Bonaparte to the Austrian government delegation as he watched the coffee cup he was holding fall to the floor and shatter into pieces.
This was in 1797, when Napoleon attacked the eastern hegemon, the Habsburgs, and drove them to the brink of defeat, then threatened the envoys who refused to make peace.
People who had a bad habit of thinking that the sight of coffee would bring to mind a national crisis trembled and cried as they agreed to the treaty by eating mustard.

Napoleon, who became emperor, immediately swept away the Holy Roman Empire, which was in a state like a broken coffee cup, and dismantled it.
It was 1804.
After entering Berlin in 1806, Napoleon declared the Berlin Edict and blockaded the continent (here, 'continental blockade' does not mean blockading the continent, but blockading the sea from the continent).
This was a naval blockade implemented by the brilliant strategist Napoleon, calculating that he could control the Baltic Sea, following the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea, in a situation where the great power of Prussia had been brought to its knees by France.
The problem is that if the coast is blocked, coffee is also blocked.

It is almost certain that Napoleon had coffee in mind when he issued the Continental System.
Because he was the first person to introduce coffee to the military as a edible beverage.
Why did he go to such lengths to distribute coffee to his troops? He was fascinated by the "black drink," which, despite its low nutritional value, somehow instilled energy.

How can we supply coffee in large quantities to the military? We have no choice but to rely on industry.
Napoleon, as if trying to prove his famous saying, “There is nothing impossible in my dictionary,” displayed great drive and execution to supply massive quantities of coffee to his army.

At Napoleon's behest, the French government encouraged the Industrial Revolution by offering prizes for inventions and technological developments in various fields, including improving textile machinery, developing a substitute for indigo, and producing new types of sugar.
Coffee, a unique drink that "contains almost no nutrients but somehow gives you strength," became intertwined with Napoleon's ambition to conquer not only Europe but the world, leading to rapid growth in the overall French industry and becoming the foundation of the "Industrial Revolution" that would completely change the European and global economy in the near future (when thinking of the "Industrial Revolution" of the 18th century, it is easy to think of Britain alone, but France's development and contribution at the time were not at all inferior to those of Britain).
The effort to distribute coffee to the military proved to be a pivotal moment that revolutionized the industrial structure of 18th-century France, Europe, and, by extension, the entire world.

A coffee tree presented by the mayor of Amsterdam to Louis XIV
Changing the course of coffee world history

In the 18th century, the Netherlands was Europe's leading country in coffee cultivation.
In 1706, the city of Amsterdam imported coffee trees from Java, which were very well received throughout Europe.
At that time, the French consul stationed in Amsterdam succeeded in sending a coffee tree to Louis XIV after long negotiations with the city of Amsterdam.
This happened in 1714.
On July 29th of that year, a sturdy, young coffee tree, 150 centimeters tall, arrived at the Château de Marly and was sent to the Royal Botanical Garden greenhouse, where it took root and began to grow vigorously.

Gabriel de Clieu is recorded in history as the man who discovered the tremendous potential in the 'Coffee Tree of Louis XIV' and realized that potential.
He was a naval captain who had served in the French island of Martinique. His first significant experience was when he returned to Paris briefly during his military service in 1721 and witnessed people buying, selling, and consuming coffee in large quantities.
The coffee was grown by the Dutch in their colony of the East Indies.

A sudden thought flashed through de Clieu's mind.
"If the East and West Indies have the same name, wouldn't their climate and local customs be similar? If so, coffee could easily be grown on Martinique, an island in the West Indies where I served in the military." De Clieu wasn't the type to waste time harboring brilliant ideas, so he quickly put them into action.
He used a high-ranking lady as a connection to the king's physician, M., who was in charge of bringing the coffee tree directly to Louis XIV.
It moved the heart of de Chirac, and he eventually obtained a young coffee tree.
De Clieu left Nantes with the coffee tree in his possession and headed for Martinique.
It was in 1723.

De Clieu kept his precious coffee trees in glass boxes designed to receive ample sunlight.
This is because it was judged that sunlight is a more important factor for growth than water or anything else for coffee trees that mainly grow near the equator.
He would artificially illuminate the coffee trees when he felt they were lacking sunlight during transport.
Even with such meticulous care, the voyage across the Atlantic was long and arduous.
During the process, an incident occurred where a passenger, jealous of de Clieu's contemporary calling, stole the glass case.
Off the coast of the Portuguese island of Madeira, there were also raids by Tunisian pirate ships.
There was even an incident where we were caught in a strong storm and almost got shipwrecked.
After enduring all kinds of hardships, de Clieu and the coffee tree arrived safely in Martinique.

After enduring many trials and tribulations, the coffee trees that de Clieu brought back from France achieved remarkable yields.
In 1759, about 35 years later, Martinique and Guadalupe exported 11.2 million pounds of coffee, and in the same year, coffee harvests in Haiti, Martinique, and Guadalupe reached 70 million, 10 million, and 7 million kilograms, respectively.

The vast quantities of coffee produced in the French West Indies had an impact on the Islamic world, and furthermore, it changed the landscape of the global coffee industry and trade.
French coffee from the West Indies, introduced by de Clieu, dealt a fatal blow to the Cairo merchants who had dominated the coffee trade in the Islamic world until the first half of the 18th century.

Coffee from Haiti, Martinique, and Guadalupe passed through Marseille and entered West Asia, the birthplace of coffee.
The tenacious efforts of Gabriel de Clieu, who discovered amazing potential in a single, young and sturdy 150-centimeter-tall 'Louis XIV's coffee tree', turned the tide of the coffee world's history.

British coffee and coffee houses once enjoyed great glory
The reason why I ended up leaving alone, pushed out by Hongcha and the tea house
Because women were excluded?!

Coffee was originally a drink enjoyed by Islamic Sufis to 'control desires and cultivate spiritual practice.'
That unique 'black drink', paradoxically, began to transform European and global culture by stimulating the seething desires of 17th-century European merchants and political power holders.

Coffee from Arabia spread across the sea to England through 'coffee houses'.
The first coffee house opened in London, England in 1652.
The man who opened the doors to that historic coffee house was not a British man, but a Croatian man named Pasca Rose from Dubrovnik.
He was a servant to Daniel Edwards, a merchant active in the Levant, and his habit of brewing coffee for his master every morning led to the establishment of a coffee house.
The London coffee house that started out that way had its ups and downs for a while, but at some point, it began to grow explosively.
As a result, the number of coffee houses increased to about 3,000 in 1683, just 30 years after the first coffee house opened, and to about 8,000 in 1714.

Britain, which had been doing almost nothing, was in a situation where it had to constantly create something out of nothing.
This was the situation in the late 17th century, when the number of coffee houses was exploding and the coffee industry was growing rapidly.
Coffee houses, which were suitable for use as multi-purpose spaces, were exquisitely suited to the contemporary circumstances and needs of Britain, and led to the rapid growth of the coffee industry and coffee culture, deeply penetrating the daily lives of citizens.

The popularity of coffee houses in England did not last long.
Coffee houses, which were a central part of London life from the late 17th century to the early 18th century, declined rapidly in the mid-18th century.
In fact, statistics were published showing that the number of coffee houses in London, which had exceeded 8,000 in 1714, had decreased to 551 in 1739.

Why did the once-eternal, immensely popular British coffeehouse suddenly fade? And what was the primary reason for that enthusiasm shifting to tea and teahouses? First and foremost, one key reason is that British coffeehouses fulfilled their social function.
In addition, there is another interesting and impressive factor: the British coffeehouse was born and grew by completely excluding women from the beginning, and so it was hit hard by strong opposition such as the 'Women's Petition' and went into decline.
This not only changed the fate of British coffee and coffee houses, but also escalated into the Opium War with China, which was mediated by black tea, and changed the course of world history.

The black drink that Sufis drink to curb their desires
Coffee paradoxically stimulates the desires of commercial capitalists and those in political power.
The story of conquering Europe and the world

The 'Changed World History' series has been recognized for its content and value, establishing itself as a bestseller and steady seller in major online and offline bookstores, including Kyobo Bookstore's history category bestseller for 65 consecutive weeks (『10 Medicines That Changed World History』), Kyobo Bookstore's '100 History Books that Shined in 2019' #1 (『13 Plants That Changed World History』), 2021 Education Office Student Education and Culture Center Recommended Book (『10 Medicines That Changed World History』『13 Plants That Changed World History』『Fish Stories That Changed World History』『10 Infectious Diseases That Changed World History』), School Library Journal Recommended Book (『13 Plants That Changed World History』『Fish Stories That Changed World History』), and Book Morning Book for Kyobo Bookstore CEOs (『13 Plants That Changed World History』『Fish Stories That Changed World History』『10 Infectious Diseases That Changed World History』).
People and Trees Publishing Company has republished a revised edition of this series, “The Story of Coffee That Changed World History.”

How did coffee change world history? "The Story of Coffee That Changed World History" poses fundamental questions surrounding coffee, offering sharp insights into them. These include, "What is the hidden meaning behind the saying, 'Coffee was originally wine?'", "The secret and cruel reason coffee came to be called the chilling nickname 'Negro sweat'?", and "Why are coffee civilization and war inevitably mortal enemies?"
This book also covers interesting and fascinating stories such as, "If there had been no coffee and cafes, the French Enlightenment and the French Revolution would not have happened?!?", "Is it true that coffee triggered the German Revolution that changed the course of world history?", "Why did Frederick the Great order his doctors to spread the false rumor that 'coffee is poisonous'?", and "The reason Germans in the Prussian era fought in the anti-Napoleonic war of liberation was because of their intense desire for 'real coffee'?", and how the 'black drink' that Islamic Sufis drank as a tool to suppress their desires paradoxically stimulated the 'black desires' of commercial capitalists and political power holders, leading to their conquest of Arabia, Europe, and even the entire world.