Blog #4
I was surprised to learn that Africans actively participated in the slave trade. I always presumed that the slaves were captured by Europeans who were raiding the shores. I never thought that Africans were going around enslaving other Africans. I always assumed that Africans were on the same side and were against the Europeans. What shocked me the most was reading about how one European captain mistreated an African King and was physically punished by the king's guards.
Chocolate was a much bigger luxury than I had previously thought. It is amazing how something that we take for granted meant so much only a couple hundred years ago. The affects of drinking the chocolate amazed many of the Elite Europeans, but are common knowledge now. I found the chocolate parties that were held by the Spanish Elite very interesting.
I would relate the coffeehouses of the time to today's bars. At the time drinking coffee and chewing/smoking tobacco were considered vices and were looked down on by most religions. That is very similar to the way that most religions view bars that sell alcohol. Smoking tobacco and drinking coffee were associated with unwholesome and promiscuous behavior. This also sounds a lot like the way that people view others who attend bars.