The History of the World in Six Glasses
A History of the World in 6 Glasses (Questions/Answers)
Spirits
1) From which advanced civilization did Europeans get the ‘science’ of how to make spirits?
A) The Arabs, who first started distilling wine and other substances for their experiments.
2) In what ways was the discovery and use of distillation important to the rebirth of science in Europe?
A) Distillation and distilled wine were considered a therapeutic and medicinal miracle. It went hand in hand with the infant science of perfume making and helped the rebirth of science in Europe by introducing new chemistry principals and by translating texts into many different languages. Ancient texts from Greece, India, and Persia were all centralized and translated in to Arabic, and as the technology of distillation spread, those texts were translated to Latin, which could be read by educated people throughout Europe.
3) How did spirits advance/accelerate colonialism?
A) Spirits were easily transported on ships because they were much more durable and less likely to spoil then wine. Spirits soon became a sort of currency among slave traders, who basically turned the Africans who provided the slaves into alcoholics, then used spirits to barter for the slave labor they needed to run the huge plantations in the colonies.
4) In the 18th century, how did spirits help Britain have a more superior navy than France?
A) Sailors in the 18th century faced many dangers, but probably the most common was a disease called scurvy, which comes from a lack of vitamin C, commonly found in citrus. Because citrus spoils easily on long voyages, it was impractical for ships to carry large amounts of the fruit onboard. In 1655, rum was substituted in the place of beer on Royal Navy ships, and it quickly became the preferred drink throughout the Navy. To decrease cases of intoxication, it was ordered that rum be mixed with two pints of water, which, more importantly, was mixed with sugar and lime juice. When the inclusion of
Spirits
1) From which advanced civilization did Europeans get the ‘science’ of how to make spirits?
A) The Arabs, who first started distilling wine and other substances for their experiments.
2) In what ways was the discovery and use of distillation important to the rebirth of science in Europe?
A) Distillation and distilled wine were considered a therapeutic and medicinal miracle. It went hand in hand with the infant science of perfume making and helped the rebirth of science in Europe by introducing new chemistry principals and by translating texts into many different languages. Ancient texts from Greece, India, and Persia were all centralized and translated in to Arabic, and as the technology of distillation spread, those texts were translated to Latin, which could be read by educated people throughout Europe.
3) How did spirits advance/accelerate colonialism?
A) Spirits were easily transported on ships because they were much more durable and less likely to spoil then wine. Spirits soon became a sort of currency among slave traders, who basically turned the Africans who provided the slaves into alcoholics, then used spirits to barter for the slave labor they needed to run the huge plantations in the colonies.
4) In the 18th century, how did spirits help Britain have a more superior navy than France?
A) Sailors in the 18th century faced many dangers, but probably the most common was a disease called scurvy, which comes from a lack of vitamin C, commonly found in citrus. Because citrus spoils easily on long voyages, it was impractical for ships to carry large amounts of the fruit onboard. In 1655, rum was substituted in the place of beer on Royal Navy ships, and it quickly became the preferred drink throughout the Navy. To decrease cases of intoxication, it was ordered that rum be mixed with two pints of water, which, more importantly, was mixed with sugar and lime juice. When the inclusion of