Paste your essay in here…Grace Chen
Mary Stout C19
MMW13 Final Essay
1 June 2016
Controversial Coffeehouses: Great Britain During the Age of Discovery
During the Age of Discovery between the fifteenth and eighteenth centuries, Western Europe emerged as a dominant civilization equal to and eventually surpassing Eastern civilizations. Globalization of trade and colonization of the New World developed, leading to new commodities and resources being exchanged around the world. After the discovery of coffee beans in Yemen in the tenth century, coffeehouses rapidly cropped up around mosques in Istanbul, the center of the Ottoman Empire. Originally used for religious purposes, coffee quickly became a popular social and “business lubricant” in the Middle East. Because of coffee’s association with societal rebellion and Sufism, or Islamic mysticism, various Ottoman sultans attempted to condemn coffeehouse patronage and ownership by placing ultimately unsuccessful prohibitions on coffeehouses. These prohibitions and debates over religious and medical aspects of coffee were paralleled in Great Britain as coffeehouses spread to Europe from the Middle East. Despite authoritative and religious opposition, the coffeehouse soon became a novel urban establishment rooted in the transcontinental economy and the religious spheres of Islam and Christianity, eventually becoming a significant sociocultural influence in both the Ottoman Empire and Great Britain (McKay 505).
In order to understand the spread of coffeehouses in Great Britain, one must examine English attitudes towards the Ottoman Empire. Was English antagonistic sentiment towards the Ottoman Empire mainly overcome by the efforts of the virtuosi, whose worldview full of curiosity enabled them to start new trends and introduce new commodities? Or, as other scholars suggest, was Great Britain in an age of extreme Turkish reverie, open to Turkish culture and the social structures that came with it? Perhaps the successful spread of coffeehouses was due to a hybrid of the two, with the virtuosi a major contributor of the turquerie trend that resulted in the interdependent relationship between the Ottoman Empire and Great Britain. Because of a fading sense of English hostile sentiment towards the Turks, the virtuosi were able to become a significant influence in transferring aspects of Turkish culture back to their homeland. These cultural transfers contributed to the rise of turquerie, resulting in the interdependent relationship between the two great nations and thus facilitating the spread of coffeehouses.
The Ottoman Empire’s fearsome reputation as unstoppable Muslim conquerors was fading towards the end of the seventeenth century. Over the next two centuries, the political relationship between Great Britain and the Ottoman Empire reached its peak. Hale writes that “[c]ommerce retained an important role in Turco-British relations for the succeeding two centuries, but it could be profoundly affected by political aspects of the relationship” (2). While global trade was developing, the political relationship between the two nations was a much stronger factor than that of their commercial relationship. This secure relationship could not have come about with a sense of absolute terror of and animosity towards the Turks. The decline of the Ottoman Empire’s military reputation also served to diminish English animosity towards Turks. MacLean notes that “[t]he turban’s declining power was declared in the 1670s, a decade in which the English fleet bombarded Algiers and Libyan Tripoli, and accelerated in 1683 when the Ottoman armies fell back from the gates of Vienna” (222). Hale details further Ottoman losses, such as the “loss of Buda in 1686, and the severe Ottoman defeat of Mohacs the following year”, which in turn led to extreme political upheaval in Istanbul (29). These battles where the English reigned victorious were significant in the decline of the military prowess and political influence of the Ottoman Empire, and accordingly led to a steep regression in anxiety and fear towards the Turks. Thus, one can see that Great Britain was, at the very least, on the cusp of accepting Turkish culture.
Other scholars, such as Cowan and MacLean, argue that the atmosphere of the seventeenth century was fraught with an extreme anti-Ottoman sentiment, rather than a period of waning English apprehension. Cowan goes as far as to claim that the English perception of Ottoman Empire was that of a “vehicle for the forces of the Anti-Christ”, especially after the Turkish takeover and renaming of Constantinople, originally the center of Orthodox Christianity. He also states that the Ottoman Empire “continued to be feared [in the later seventeenth century] for their martial prowess and the despotism of their political system” (Cowan 6). Conflict between religious and societal ideas also aggravated cultural transitions of new commodities, especially that between the Islamic and Christian spheres of influence. MacLean states that “ethical ideals regarding wealth and material possessions were often contradicted by ingrained customs of [honoring] and emulating the wealthy, and that contradiction doubtless helped animate moral and economic controversies over novel imports such as…coffee” and that “[c]offee arrived with the stigma of being [favored] by infidel Muslims” (MacLean 200-201, 202). Religious wars bred severe antagonistic sentiment between the two nations, and conflicts between ethical ideas only served to highlight the extensive cultural divide. Nevertheless, while there is little doubt that the Ottoman Empire was a feared entity due to its military success and strong association with Islam, the Ottomans failed to uphold their martial repute and were therefore not seen as a serious threat after their defeats at the hands of the English in the later seventeenth century. Furthermore, both nations saw the political advantages in peace and cooperation instead of destructive warfare. Any peace treaties would have been possible only through a change in the English perception of the Ottoman Empire and a decline in Turkish military confidence, and would have been incredibly difficult to achieve during a period charged with extreme opposition.
Due to the decline in English trepidation of the Ottoman Empire, virtuosi were able to introduce goods and ideas from foreign cultures. The virtuosi were a small elite class of English gentlemen who sought to embrace the “aesthetic of rarity” and possessed insatiable curiosity for the growing world around them. They were influenced much by Renaissance court ideals, though not courtiers themselves, and prized the “pursuit of true knowledge” above all else (Cowan 11). However, one may note that while this objective seems quite noble, it prioritized a virtuoso’s quantity of knowledge rather than quality. The position of the virtuosi in society was and is highly contested, as proponents celebrate their scientific achievements while critics scorn their perceived facetiousness in their efforts to climb up the social ladder. Still, the pivotal role that the virtuosi played and their far-reaching influence in society cannot be ignored.
While the virtuosi may not have been the roots of coffee’s commercial success, they were the primary source of the exposure of coffee to the English populace and a major factor in the shaping of coffeehouse society. Cowan recounts several travel reports of virtuosi as they sought out this exotic drink in faraway Eastern lands. For example, Henry Blount writes that he “set out on his Turkish travels in order to gain a better understanding of ‘humane affaires [sic]’”. Blount exemplifies the virtuosi perspective, one who possesses a curious and open mind about the wider world around him. Besides the examination of cultural differences, other virtuosi pointed to “divine providence” and economic benefits to defend the value of long-distance travels. These voyages to lands far away from Great Britain were at the frontier of cultural encounters, and brought back novel commodities and ideas that in turn shaped the English culture of the day. The virtuosi were also particularly inspired by the writings of Francis Bacon, who “stressed the need for…reliable observations about the products and workings of the natural world” in order to form a “comprehensive natural history” (Cowan 19, 20, 21). Indeed, they were the first to research and extol the medicinal benefits of coffee, publishing fiscally successful texts that contained accounts of coffee in great detail. These travel reports and texts introduced the strange new plant to the English populace with praises of its virtues, piquing the common public’s curiosity and consequently aiding in the early commercial success of coffeehouses. During the mid-seventeenth century, virtuosi eagerly flocked to the first coffeehouses in Great Britain due to their zeal for all things exotic. Cowan states that the coffeehouse was an “alternative space for the promotion of virtuosic interests”, albeit entirely separate from the university, and “brought virtuosi culture into direct contact with the commercial world of metropolitan London” (91, 89-90). Since coffeehouses were initially places of informal learning, people of every class could now learn of novel concepts from virtuosi patrons. Coffeehouses became more urbanized and accessible to the common populace as the metropolitan mingled with the cosmopolitan. Clearly, the virtuosi enthusiasm for learning and discovery paved the path for commoner clientele in English coffeehouses and thus facilitated the public acceptance of coffeehouses.
The title of virtuoso has been somewhat controversial throughout the centuries, and even today is still debated by scholars, including Ultee, Choco, and Hough. Virtuosi have always been associated with science and the pursuit of knowledge, although the true depth of knowledge that comes with the title of virtuoso is widely contested. Ultee defines the virtuoso as an “undiscriminating collector who lacked understanding of scientific principles” (1), and Chico declares that the virtuoso was a “person engaged in ‘futile and indiscriminate study’” (30). Virtuosi were often seen by critics as amateurish dabblers in whatever took their fancy, engaging in useless threads of thought. However, scholars acknowledge that the title of virtuoso also had a positive connotation in certain cases. Hough claims that modern scholars are led astray by the changing connotations of “dilettante”, from the seventeenth century meaning of “one who delighted…in learning and art” to its present day position as a condescending synonym for “amateur” (55). Moreover, despite his earlier declaration, Chico also recognizes the virtuoso’s original connotation as a “man of learning” (30). Although the reputation of the virtuosi of the seventeenth century may be debatable, the virtuosi themselves were clearly established as passionate gentlemen in search of scientific knowledge.
Other scholars, such as Chico, argue that the virtuosi were primarily concerned with climbing the social ladder. Chico asserts that “the virtuoso was motivated by a desire for reputation and social standing, even ‘snob appeal’” (30). This claim may be true to some degree, as the virtuosi’s emphasis on social standing was indeed a factor in their patronage of coffeehouses. However, anyone who styled himself a virtuoso would have had to dedicate himself to an adequate education in order to uphold his reputation. Hough argues that the virtuoso is a “student…[who] devotes much of his time, and in which [subject of study] he is…an authority” (53). A virtuoso could show off the breadth and depth of his knowledge he had gained in his studies on the informal stage of the coffeehouse, thus hopefully maintaining and perhaps improving his social standing. Although virtuosi were known to have been avid collectors of curios, these collections were the basis of modern museums and a symbol of natural philosophy. Additionally, while much of the work of virtuosi may not have been focused on utilitarian purposes, the pursuit of encyclopedic knowledge was not a futile one since knowledge for knowledge’s sake was the very expression of the inherent virtuosic curiosity.
As virtuosi brought back ever more commodities from distant lands, there was one culture in particular that played the heartstrings of the English populace. Turquerie was a sociocultural phenomenon that swept Europe in the mid-seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, a distinct period of intense cultural trade and diplomatic contact between the Ottoman Empire and Great Britain that was characterized by a “set of responses to an increase in the movement of Ottoman goods and ideas” (Bevilacqua 75). Commodities that displayed their oriental origins, such as textiles, tobacco, carpets, and pottery from the Ottoman Empire, became increasingly popular amongst the English populace to the point where even domestically manufactured imitations struggled to keep up with the demand of the masses. Islamic ideas and inventions in the sciences and arts were also in vogue, although some at the time railed against the religious implications of the new Turkish concepts (MacLean 201).
Turquerie was poised to take over Europe as hostility towards the Ottoman Empire slowly waned and travelers and traders exchanged commodities all over the known world. As anti-Ottoman sentiment diminished, the political relationship between Great Britain and the Ottoman Empire significantly grew. This increased political interaction was due to Great Britain’s desire to strengthen its military and political position against Spain in the Protestant-Catholic wars and its aspiration for a greater role in the commercial trade between the “Ottoman dominions and Western Europe” (Hale 1). Because of this increase in political maneuvering with the Ottoman Empire, Great Britain was able to shore up its position as a rising power in the Afro-Eurasian sphere and simultaneously open itself up to foreign cultural contact. The Ottoman Empire’s shift in political objectives also had a hand in the rise of the turquerie trend. Bevilacqua notes that the Ottoman government focused its attentions on the “administration of already acquired territory” instead of military expansion and that “sultans…metamorphosed from [active] warriors…into elegant…patrons of magnificence”. He relates these political influences to the age of turquerie, stating that “the intensification of diplomatic contact increased cultural traffic between Europeans and Ottomans” (Bevilaqua 78-79, 77). This increase in cultural transfers formed the basis for the turquerie trend as transcontinental trade bloomed, with economic prosperity weighing out any worries and critics about the Islamic implications of goods from the Ottoman Empire endangering the Christian world.
As mounting quantities of commodities from the Islamic world entered Great Britain, the English became increasingly enraptured by these fantastic novel imports. MacLean writes that the English “‘Oriental Obsession’ took root…as a craving for specific luxury goods as well as for objects whose aesthetic qualities advertised the oriental origins of their design and thus increased their social value” (201). The popularity of these commodities were intrinsically linked to their association with the oriental world. However, as the turquerie trend continued, the public grew progressively accustomed to the initially novel merchandises. MacLean argues that the “transformation of exotic imports into domesticated commodities underwrites the history of many of the material goods that came from the Islamic world”, especially that of coffee (201). Although coffee itself was surrounded by religious controversy when it first arrived, English acceptance of coffeehouses as social spaces where class distinctions were blurred was instrumental in stripping “dangerous religious connotations” from the drink (MacLean 201). Once these foreign commodities were seen as domesticated by the English, the easier it was for these commodities to take hold in English culture and increase in popularity. This surge in admiration for and prevalence of Turkish goods were thus the very heart of the turquerie trend.
Clearly, the arrival and rising popularity of coffeehouses in Great Britain was no straightforward event. One must attempt to detangle the web of religious, economic, political, and social factors of co-existing and past cultures surrounding the popularization of the coffee trade to fully explore the reasons behind the coffee phenomenon. Great Britain engaged in friendlier diplomatic relations with the Ottoman Empire due to its decline of anti-Turkish sentiment and political aims, opening up opportunities for virtuosi-facilitated cultural transfers that eventually culminated in the age of turquerie and laying the groundwork for the acceptance of coffeehouses. However, further research may need to be done on the English populace’s reactions and objections to coffeehouses and the intertwined political history between the Ottoman Empire and Great Britain in order to fully grasp the complexities of the cultural encounters between the two nations. Though coffee may have appeared to be simply an odd and exotic drink to English consumers, its ideal position in the social and economic climate of the times exemplifies the rich cultural network between the Ottoman Empire and Great Britain and the integration of the Afro-Eurasian sphere.
Works Cited
Bevilacqua, Alexander, and Helen Pfeifer. "Turquerie: Culture in Motion, 1650-1750." Past & Present 221.1 (2013): 75-118. Web.
Cowan, Brian. The Social Life of Coffee: The Emergence of the British Coffeehouse. Yale University Press, 2005. Web.
Chico, Tita. “Gimcrack's Legacy: Sex, Wealth, and the Theater of Experimental Philosophy”. Comparative Drama 42.1 (2008): 29–49. Web.
Hale, William M., and A. İ. Bağış. Four Centuries of Turco-British Relations: Studies in Diplomatic, Economic and Cultural Affairs. Walkington, Beverley, North Humberside: Eothen, 1984. Print.
Houghton, Walter E. “The English Virtuoso in the Seventeenth Century: Part I”. Journal of the History of Ideas 3.1 (1942): 51–73. Web.
MacLean, Gerald M., and Nabil Matar. Britain and the Islamic World: 1558-1713. Oxford: Oxford UP, 2011. Print.
McKay, John P. et al. A History of World Societies. 10th Edition. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2015. Print.
Ultee, Maarten. “Sir Hans Sloane, Scientist”. The British Library Journal 14.1 (1988): 1–20. Web.