Thanks to Starbucks, Columbus “Discovered” America

Have you ever thought about how we came to be here in America? As a history teacher, I have always believed that the largest doors often hang on some of the smallest hinges. So, coffee and coffee houses have a rather significant role to play in discovering America.

Around the year AD 1100, problems in the eastern empire of what had been the Eastern Roman Empire, with their capital at Constantinople, led to a request for assistance of the Roman Catholic Pope in Roman. The Turks were threatening Constantinople, and an army was needed to stave off an invasion. The Roman Pope realizing that aiding the head of the newly formed Eastern Orthodox Prelate would be unpopular, but at the same time, if the Turks were not stopped, they would soon be on his doorstep, and so he agreed to help. The Pope billed the call as a holy war (jihad) against the Muslims who held the Holy Land. It was a half-truth since the Seljuk Turks were generally Muslim, so why not take advantage and kill two birds with one stone, and so the Crusades were born. Interestingly the terminology of holy war was first Christian long before it became Muslim.

The Pope called for volunteers to walk to Jerusalem in a holy war against the Seljuk Turks/Muslims to retake the Holy Land from the infidel. He promised remission for sins to all who had blood on their hands from murders and other atrocious sins. Thousands of the unwashed masses joined kings and potentates to go to Jerusalem in the name of God to retake the holy city.

My purpose here is not to teach Crusade history, but one exciting exposure on the trip changed western history. Those who journeyed to Jerusalem encountered coffee for the first time and sugar. Coffee was a Muslim drink, and Christians referred to it as the “drink of infidels.” The Muslims loved their coffee, and all along the trip, Christians encountered coffee houses much like our own Star Bucks In these establishments, men met to relax and drink coffee or discuss business.

Intellectuals met to read and share intellectual discussions. Do not let your Western lens blind you to the fact that up to the end of World War I, the Muslims were the go-to people for learning, philosophy, and the arts. In 1100 CE the West was yet in the Dark Ages, and the Muslims preserved much of our past and saved it from being lost to history.

Christians liked coffee so much that the Pope placed a blessing on coffee so that the Muslims were not the only ones who could enjoy the benefit. After the Crusades ended, a healthy trade ensued between the Middle East and Europe as coffee, sugar, and spices became the talk of the countryside. Unfortunately, the exchange ended in CE 1200 when Saladin and his Seljuk Turks retook the Holy Land and stopped the trade. No more coffee for you!

The trade-in coffee, sugar, and spices shifted to Constantinople in the East, and overland traders endured great danger and wear and tear to keep the trade alive. More expensive than before, the goods most desired by Europe kept traders moving towards the East. Then in AD 1453, the unthinkable happened. Constantinople fell to the Muslims, and once again, trade ended. The coffee and sugar trade ended almost overnight.

That was 1453, just 40 odd years before Columbus. Forty years found Europeans needing a coffee fix. It left Europeans edgy but with a great desire to find new ways to India for these commodities upon which they were so dependent.. Columbus came up with his plan to sail East to get to the West and all the coffee, sugar, and spices they could sell. And now you have the rest of the story! Coffee and sugar were the primary reasons for the race to reach the East the quickest and easiest way possible!