LIFESTYLE
31
The Revolutionary Coffeehouses Coffeehouses were a melting pot of classes and cultures - places for sparking intellectual debates and revolutionary ideas. Alice explores the significant role these establishments have played in changing the course of history.
Revolution and Coffeehouses might seem to have little in common, but the two things are strongly linked. As empires expanded, the production of coffee increased, meaning it became available to the masses; and where better to have a drink than a coffeehouse?
“This led people to believe that wherever the coffeehouse went, revolution followed.” Public Houses serving beer had offered a social space prior to the coffeehouse, but alcohol served in such establishments dulled the conversations’ intellectual rigour. By contrast, coffee allowed for hours of debate.Coffeehouses gave the commoner a point for information exchange on everything, from the royal family to poetry, but most importantly, access to new ideas. This transformation meant that ideas considered ‘sidious’ could be spread with greater ease. This led people to believe that wherever the coffeehouse went, revolution followed. England saw the first coffeehouse in 1652. The coffeehouse remained open through the Cromwellian era when many other leisure activities were banned. However, Charles II’s restoration led to a suppression of such spaces. In Paris, complaints about whether Louis XVI was truly divine spread rapidly through these coffeehouses. It is no coincidence that the monarchy was then overthrown in 1793. Similarly, in America the Boston Tea Party led the founding fathers to be strictly coffee drinkers; it was considered a true revolutionary drink. So, whilst coffee shops are in abundance today, next time you go for a caramel latte you can think of the revolutionary history that very leisure activity is steeped in.
By Alice Nott Illustrations and Page design by Ayris Saner