As one of the most popular and oldest beverage, tea has shown its splendor whilst making its mark in history. Tea significantly impacted global trade over the past few centuries, spreading from China to specifically, Great Britain. The tea trade had a major social impact among women, who broke away from their domestic lives and explored society to become more socially involved. In addition, tea impacted Britain’s economy by promoting industrialization which was thriving in Britain. Meanwhile, China faced great setbacks as dominance over the tea trade was taken by the British East India Company, having a negative economic impact. The tea trade also politically impacted China as the government Overall, the tea trade played a conspicuous economic, social, cultural, and political role in China and Great Britain.
The success of tea, a major consumer demand of international trade, originated in China. Tea was first introduced into the world when the tea bush, Camellia sinensis, was discovered in the Himalaya Mountains (Dolin 46; “Tea”). The Chinese was the first to dominate an overland tea trade by utilizing an efficient method of carrying tea in bricks so that it was long-lasting and transportable (“Tea Since 1800”). Tea did not arrive in Europe until the seventeenth century when Dutch traders imported it from Japan (“English East India Company”; “Tea”). This valuable beverage quickly became popular throughout the British Empire and the British East India Company commenced importing tea from China, making substantial profit (“Tea”). England overpowered and eclipsed China as well as other European competitors for the domination of tea, becoming the largest importer of tea in the world (“Tea Since 1800”).
The tea trade had a significant social impact on British Society, as women steered away from their domestic nature and took part in the social interactions of tea. Women’s main role in Britain was centered around domesticity to ensure the happiness of their family and husbands (“Women”). Meanwhile, men spent their leisure time in coffeehouses (“The Englightenment”) which prohibited women from entering (Standage). However, with the introduction of tea, opportunities arose for women to become more socially involved. Catherine of Braganza, the wife of Charles II, was the first to introduce tea to Britain and the English court (“Catherine”; Goodwin 261). Public establishments were created to promote tea among women. As coffeehouses began to lose their popularity, Thomas Twining, the owner of a London coffeehouse, opened a tea shop that allowed women to directly purchase tea leaves (Standage). Another public establishment, as well as being the most popular, were tea-gardens. Tea-gardens specifically appealed to women as an elegant and reputable venue where opposite sex could interact and women can gather to socialize publically (Standage; Goodwin 262). Women had a great social impact due to the introduction of tea. A woman’s knowledge of tea exemplified her sophistication and prestige (Standage). Upper class women began to distinguish themselves, writing and publishing etiquette guides and other literary works. Some women such as Mary Wollstonecraft even spoke out against social strictures and advocated for women’s rights (“Women”). The introduction of tea into British society through the tea trade, changed the social roles of women from becoming domestically refined in their own homes to being able to socialize with others.
The tea trade economically benefited Britain by promoting the thriving Industrial Revolution. The Industrial Revolution was a time period in Britain where human laborers were replaced by newly discovered and advanced technology, improving productivity (Standage). People began to work in industrial factories in hope to make money. However, these factory workers had to work under harsh condition in an often filthy environment, surrounded by hazardous machinery, and high risk of industrial accidents (“Working Conditions”). The source of momentary tranquility from all of this chaos was tea (Standage). Factory owners gave “tea breaks” to the workers which sharpened their mind, allowing them to concentrate better when dealing with high-paced machines and woke them up to stay alert since they were often working for 14 hours or more (Standage; “Labor”). The Industrial Revolution also had drastic effects on British cities. The factories caused air pollution that potentially harmed humans as seen in historical engravings of cities such as Manchester, England (Engels; “Manchester”) Factories also released toxins and chemicals into rivers, poisoning ground water adcausing many waterborne diseases (Engels; Standage). However, the country’s health increased and doctors came to an agreement that the natural antibacterial elements of tea were the most probable cause of this improvement (Standage). Workers faced minimal risk of disease and there was a notable decrease in death rates (Standage). Drinking tea had significant economic impacts during the Industrial revolution because as tea provided health benefits, population increased due to lower death rates. More products were also being produced at a faster rate since tea allowed workers to concentrate in their efficiency and work for long hours (Aubin and Herlihy). The beneficial elements of tea had an economic impact on industrialization, giving factory workers a brief moment of peace from work and decreasing the threat of diseases, both allowing industrialization to prosper.
As Britain thrived from new sources of tea, China faced devastating economic impacts when their reign over tea production came to an end. China initially dominated the tea trade, with trade ports that were centers of flourishing tea-export trade (“Tea Since 1800”). However, the British East India Company’s monopoly with China was terminated, and they sought to find a new area where tea can be cultivated (Standage 213). Eventually, a tea plant was discovered to be growing in India in the region of Assam, and London merchants established the Assam Company, embracing the opportunity to create a thriving tea source in India (Standage 217). In the past, Britain imported thirty-one thousand tons of tea from China (Standage 218). However, with the discovery of India’s tea resources, the total imports from China had fallen to seven thousand tons while imports from India rose to approximately one hundred thousand tons (Standage 219). China was no longer the dominating country of tea production, India was. The overthrowing of China had devastating economic impacts, specifically because of the level of advancement (Standage 218). China was very ethnocentric, having no interest in European trading goods and the Chinese perceived Europeans as barbarians (Standage; Scott 49). The Chinese preferred to be isolated from outside ideas, resulting in the lack of change in technological advancements (Standage). By the time Britain brought over productive and efficient machinery to Indian tea plantations, China was significantly behind and stuck in traditional procedures of producing tea, which has been unchanged for many years (Standage). The new industrial methods of Britain allowed more productivity of tea which led to more profit as China’s economy was going downhill (Standage). Overall, China’s failure to catch up to modern technology led to their downfall of producing tea, causing many negative economic impacts and allowing the domination to fall into the hands of India.
Throughout the time period of the tea trade, there were many continuities and changes within Britain and China. A major change was the way in which tea was consumed and served. The Chinese originally drank tea in its simplicity, enhancing the natural flavors of the brew. They drank the tea in handless cups that could be held without the dangers of getting burnt since Chinese tea was served lukewarm. However, the British did not follow the Chinese tradition and rather, changed it to meet their own cultural standards. The British preferred to flavor their tea with sugar and milk so that the drink was sweetened, less bitter, and creamier. They drank out of cups with handles, known as teacups, because British tea had to be served hot since that is the condition in which sugar melts the best. In addition, the saucer and teaspoon were created to accommodate the British’s way of drinking tea (Dolin 53). Such changes in tradition occurred because the British were more open to foreign goods such as sugar, whereas China tried to isolate themselves from foreign products, because the Chinese believed it would not benefit them (Standage). The common British people was also influenced by Queen Catherine of Braganza who introduced the custom of sipping tea in small cups, teacups, and created an element of prestige around tea that all of the aristocrats wanted to take part in (Standage