Plantations and Empire

History of Coffee and Coffeehouses

Course 1 · Chapter 5 · Coffee, Plantations and Empire

As European demand grew, merchants wanted to grow coffee outside the Ottoman monopoly. Dutch, French and later Portuguese and other planters took the plant to Java, the Caribbean and Brazil. Much of this production relied on enslaved labour, and the story of coffee cannot be told honestly without it. Dates and figures are flagged "check".

Key Ideas

The Dutch

The Dutch East India Company obtained coffee plants from Mocha and grew them in Java in the late seventeenth century (check). "Java" became a name for coffee.

The French

Coffee reached the French Caribbean in the early eighteenth century; the story of Gabriel de Clieu carrying a seedling to Martinique in 1720 is well known but embellished (check). Saint-Domingue, now Haiti, became a leading producer (check).

Brazil

Coffee reached Brazil in the 1720s and expanded greatly in the nineteenth century, with Brazil becoming the world's largest producer (check). Slavery there lasted until 1888 (check).

At a Glance

RegionNote (check each)
JavaDutch colonial plantations; forced cultivation in the nineteenth century.
CaribbeanFrench colonies relied on enslaved African labour.
BrazilLarge estates; abolition of slavery in 1888.
East Africa and Central AmericaLater expansion, with colonial and national land policies.
Who picked the coffee Behind every cup was labour, often forced. Naming the producers, and the conditions in which they worked, is part of an accurate history, not an add-on.

Further Points

  • The de Clieu story. A popular tale of a seedling carried on a ship and shared with a thirsty plant; check how much comes from his own account.
  • Haiti. The Haitian Revolution (1791 to 1804) disrupted a major supplier (check).
  • Colonial design. Plantations were designed to supply Europe's demand, not local needs.
A British comparison British readers may know the parallel with sugar and tea, whose growth also depended on empire, colonies and, for sugar, slavery.
Check the details Dates, names and figures here are from general knowledge and flagged "check". Verify them against specialist histories and primary sources, and label unproven stories as "claimed".

Exercises

Exercise 1

Explain why European powers wanted to grow coffee outside the Ottoman world.

→ Solution
Exercise 2

Why should the story of Gabriel de Clieu be treated with care?

→ Solution
Exercise 3

Describe the role of enslaved labour in the growth of coffee, with one named region.

→ Solution

Quick Reference

  • Java: Dutch cultivation, late seventeenth century (check)
  • Caribbean: French, early eighteenth century (check)
  • Brazil: from the 1720s; slavery until 1888 (check)
  • Point: the labour is part of the history