COFFEE AS A SYMBOL OF COLONIALISM: THE SOCIAL HISTORY OF COFFEE AS PART OF GLOBAL POWER RELATIONS AND CULTURAL DIFFUSION

Abstract

The article presents an analysis of the history of the spread of coffee in Europe in the context of colonial processes, particularly those related to the conquest and exploitation of South American and African territories. Based on an analysis of foundational data, information was gathered on the origins of coffee, its cultivation and expansion, as well as the broader historical and social background in which the beverage gained global significance. Particular attention was paid to the role coffee played in shaping relations between colonizing and colonized countries, both economically and culturally. The article analyzes 11 sources, providing an in-depth understanding of colonial processes, the symbolism associated with coffee, its journey from a local product to a commodity of global significance, and related social and economic transformations. A particularly important aspect of the analysis is to show how coffee cultivation and distribution were intertwined with mechanisms of exploitation – particularly the system of slave labor – and how European colonial empires used the human and natural resources of conquered countries for their own enrichment. The article also highlights the role of coffee as an element of material culture and a tool of cultural domination. It draws attention to how coffee houses developed in European cities – spaces not only for consumption, but also for intellectual and social life, which played an important role in the public life of the 18th and 19th centuries. Coffee, being a colonial product, became a symbol of modernity and luxury, available initially only to the elite and, over time, to wider social strata. The conclusions of the analysis are not limited to the past – the contemporary effects of colonialism, present in the global structures of coffee production and trade, in economic inequality and in entrenched cultural stereotypes, are also highlighted. The article attempts to show coffee not only as a popular beverage, but also as an important symbol of the historical processes that have shaped the modern world and the relationship between the Global North and South.