CultureEurope

The coffee house

Jan 1, 1650

A place where strangers argue politics over a cup

In depth

Habermas uses the coffee house as his example of the rise of a bourgeois public sphere — a room for forming opinion outside court and church. Charles II tried to ban them in 1675 precisely because they were politically dangerous, and had to withdraw the ban after eleven days. The shift from beer to coffee as an everyday drink is no small detail either.

For children

Coffee came from Yemen via the Ottoman empire to Europe, and with it the coffee house. There people met across ranks to read newspapers and argue. Both the London stock exchange and the insurer Lloyd's began in a coffee house.

Connects to

The EnlightenmentJan 1, 1687 – Jan 1, 1789
The Dutch East India CompanyJan 1, 1602 – Jan 1, 1799
The English Civil WarJan 1, 1642 – Jan 1, 1651
The Ottoman empire at its heightJan 1, 1520 – Jan 1, 1566

Part of Terra Saga — the story of Earth on a timeline. terrasaga.org