triss ward

Many individuals dismiss coffee by considering it an unnecessary luxury. To some extent, it is true in the sense that it does not provide nutrition, but it plays a vital role in labor and social stimulation as well as hunger diminution. In the nineteenth century, the trade for coffee intensified globally to the extent that it was among the top three most valuable internationally traded commodities all over the world. In the early nineteenth century, Europeans highly consumed coffee whereby Americas played a significant role in both its production and consumption. During this era, coffee international trade expanded to most continents including Africa and Asia. Religion and colonialism globally promoted coffee commodification.

For years, many individuals have regarded coffee as an unproblematic commodity. Its inherent attractiveness enables it to conquer the market once introduced to consumers in a new region. According to reports, coffee originated from Ethiopia then passed over to Yemen. It is from Yemen that coffee spread to other parts of the world. Since its discovery in Ethiopia, coffee was viewed as a symbol of wealth offering an opportunity for colonial exploitation. Although many individuals regard coffee as a European colonialism crop, it is Yemen that started domesticating the plant and further monopolizing its trade in the early fifteenth century. During this period, there were a small number of types and grades of coffee; however, with time, the quantity of commercial coffee cultivars and market categories increased. In many regions, coffee was regarded as a non-tropical luxury good that was grown mainly for export but not domestic consumption. The private sector highly contributed to the establishment of grades, standards, and prevention of adulteration. However, the battle for this establishment did not bear fruits up to the twentieth century when most states intervened. The lack of data on international trade and domestic consumption of coffee led to the neglect of internal trade infrastructure and underdeveloped coffee markets.

However, coffee did not become an internationally traded product as a colonial commodity, since the Yemenis were concerned only with avoiding worldliness. They were more concerned with their Muslim cultural practices. Despite the Yemenis starting exporting coffee, it took a century and a half for them to start trading with Western Europe. As it was strictly confined to Islam, coffee first spread to Mecca, Java, India, Turkey, and western Africa. Colonialism facilitated the global commodification of coffee. For instance, in Egypt, the Ottoman conquest highly contributed to the commodification of coffee as it opened new regions for its diffusion. The Ottoman officials highly favored the growth of coffee. Despite coffee trade being taxed by colonial officials, it remained pre-capitalist. It contained no merchant capitalism at its starting period. The market forces revolutionized coffee production in Yemen thereby enhancing the emergence of coffee as a world commodity. The global economy further absorbed the Yemen coffee as a result of the intervention of Indian merchants who acted as middlemen.

The colonial powers contributed to the global commodification of coffee whereby the Dutch emerged as the first power to enjoy fruits of coffee in their colonies in the 18th century. In Java, the Dutch forced peasants to grow coffee and later sell it at a specified price to Dutch East Indian stores. The coffee was transported to Amsterdam where it was auctioned. During this period, the coffee market was inflexible until when the government’s share reduced. Java's coffee production was highly reduced in the nineteenth century when a disease attacked the coffee plantations. The French became the second colonial power to venture into new coffee production after attaining seeds from Yemen. Their contributions were much related to the Dutch's efforts. Coffee colonialism was highly boosted after its production spread to the Americas.

Coffee was introduced to the Americas from Europe in the eighteenth century. The British were the first European power to introduce coffee in the Americas. It is believed that John Smith who previously worked in Turkish service was the one behind the introduction of coffee in Virginia. However, the British were not much concerned in the exportation of coffee. North Americans were much eager and contributed more to the spread of coffee. Coffeehouse culture widely spread in most regions of North America thereby increasing the demand for coffee. With the spread of coffee consumption in North America, the British indirectly got profits hence increasing their interest in coffee in the nineteenth century. The increased interest of British in coffee enhanced its global commodification as many landlords engaged in coffee planting.

In the early nineteenth century, almost all the volume of coffee exported on the world market was obtained from European colonies. The major share was from the French colonies. During the nineteenth century, coffee was treated in a different way as compared to other crops. Coffee requires little technological demand implying that any independent country could engage in its large-scale production. However, during the Age of Empire, coffee prices remained low due to slave labor and cheap land. After gaining independence, Brazil's coffee exports highly increased. Moreover, since coffee was already introduced in many regions, the world coffee consumption rate grew in this period. The Brazil's gain of independence highly contributed to the commodification as it raised competition among the European colonies. Towards the end of the nineteenth century, Brazil became the largest producer of coffee in the world providing more than half of the world’s coffee. The price of coffee went high thereby increasing its value in the market.

The commodification of coffee, therefore, can be traced back to Yemen. Yemen Muslims started domesticating the crop and spreading it to other regions. The colonial powers further influenced the global commodification by introducing it to their respective colonies. For instance, the Dutch, French, and British colonial powers ventured into coffee business thereby facilitating the spread of coffee as a valuable commodity. Despite its low prices in this period, coffee was among the top trading products. As a result, the consumption of coffee highly increased in most parts of the world. The increment in mass global consumption in the nineteenth century facilitated the global commodification of coffee. The demand for coffee increased all over the world thereby making many individuals join the coffee market. The value of coffee raised with the gain of independence of most nations. As opposed to the previous coffee market that was highly controlled by European colonial powers, independent state such as Brazil increased competition thereby setting up new prices for coffee. By the end of the nineteenth century, coffee was internationally traded whereby Brazil emerged as the world's largest exporter and the U.S. as the largest consumer.

About the author: Triss Ward is a bachelor in English philology and literature at California University. Triss is currently working as one of the best writers at the creative definition essay topics She also studies feminine psychology