History of Horticulture1Lecture 35 Lecture 35 Horticulture, Politics, and World Affairs:Tea and ColonialismTea: Camellia (syn. Thea) sinensis, TheaceaeOne of the most inexpensive beveragesConsumed as an infusionArabs drink tea with mintEnglish consume it with milkIce tea popular in the US SouthStimulating due to the alkaloid theobromine(very similar but less physiological reactive than caffeine from coffee)Evergreen or semi-evergreen tree, 15 m tallAdapted between 13°– 30°N & S, subtropics and mountainous areas of tropics, Will withstand frost when dormantCommercial production on pruned hedges; bud and leaf sequentially harvestedHistory of Horticulture2Major Tea Producing Regions of the World (tonnes)Tea plant showing flowers and fruitsTea on the road to BandungHistory of Horticulture3Tea estate, Sri Lanka (Ceylon), 1968Tea pluckers, Sri Lanka, 1968Tea fieldsHistory of Horticulture4Chinese (var. sinensis): tolerant to coldAssam (var. assamica): fast growing tall trees Require high temperaturesDjarling: Hybrids between the above(from Djarling, India)Types of TeaWithering and dryingRolling and sortingFermentationDrying, sorting, grading, and packingOolong: Partially fermentedProcessingBlack: FermentedGreen: UnfermentedLong Grown in ChinaTea ceremony important in JapanBrought to Europe in 16thcenturyReached Eastern Europe after 1650(after coffee well established)Became general in Europe in 18thcenturyReplace coffee in Britain who spread the habit to EmpireTea HistoryHistory of Horticulture5A woman wearing kimono performs a tea ceremony. Visible in the image are the kettle, the hearth (ro), and the tea bowl Boston Tea Party an incident precipitating American War of IndependenceRebellious colonists in Indian disguise destroy shipment of tea protesting taxMay have been responsible for reducing tea consumption in USUS since committed to coffee; now soft drinksTea and Politics: England & American ColoniesIncreasing usage in England based on importations of tea from ChinaBritish East India Company granted monopoly to control the trade in tea between England and ChinaGreat publicity followed first shipments of tea by sailing shipsTrade favored China who demanded paymentin goldEngland and ChinaHistory of Horticulture6England sought to leverage position in India by trading opium grown in IndiaEnglish considered opium a minor vice perhaps similar to our feeling concerning alcohol and tobacco The opium habit had entered China from India but the Chinese grew concerned (similar to our concern over South American cocaine and Afghanistan heroin)Emperor found the habit reprehensible and prohibited importation in 1729 and 1800 and the habit was in declineHowever, China had not the power to prevent importation by BritishThey insisted British traders put up bond to ensure compliance with prohibition on opium imports, and destroy stocksEnglish found these measures arbitrary, dictatorial, and unacceptable!!Armed conflict began from 1839 to 1844, known as the Opium WarsChina lost and ceded Hong Kong to British controlThe Opium wars strengthened English claims on China followed by other western countriesLed to other revolts such as the Boxer RebellionThe story of tea is not dissimilar to the story of oil in the
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