Madeira wine and tea. When the United States began to overturn the table and fight for independence, these two drinks were divided into representatives of revolution and counter-revolution.

The British are the biggest tea dealers. They bought large quantities of tea from China, India, Sri Lanka and other places at low prices, and then sold them to other European countries and colonies that did not produce tea at high prices. Before the outbreak of the American Revolution, the tea tax was already an important financial pillar of the British government. During the Revolutionary War, when the United States and Britain were at odds, tea imported from Britain became a target of boycott.

From the time when the first British immigrants arrived in North America in the early 17th century to the end of the Seven Years' War in 1763, a unique national identity and political consciousness formed among the North American colonies. After the Seven Years' War, in order to make up for the financial deficit caused by the war, starting in 1764, the British government successively levied sugar tax and stamp duty in North America, which aroused resistance from the colonial people. They advocated "no representation and no taxes" and organized the "Free People's Society" to fight against the British government with violent means. They staged demonstrations in protest, vandalized the residences of colonial officials, and even boycotted British goods—tea being the first to bear the brunt.

In Britain, the Whigs also opposed taxing North America. The British government therefore made moderate concessions to the North American colonies: in 1766, the British Parliament passed a bill to cancel the taxation bill for North America, and at the same time passed the Proclamation Order, reaffirming the British Parliament's legislative power over overseas colonies. The situation in North America then eased.

Just a year later, in 1767, Charles Townshend became Chancellor of the Exchequer, and another trouble occurred. The British government successively promulgated several tax laws targeting North America, namely the "Townshend Act", which stipulated the imposition of new taxes on glass, tea, paper, paint, etc. in North America. The revenue will be used to pay the salaries of colonial officials. The Townshend Act triggered a new round of protests and even violent conflicts in North America. In early March 1770, a British army was attacked in Boston and fired back, resulting in five casualties. This incident was exaggerated by those who advocated American independence as a "massacre" and therefore called for the complete withdrawal of British troops from the North American colonies.

George III was furious when he heard this. He said, "These people are rebellious subjects and... must be completely destroyed." But Parliament did not agree with the king's opinion.

In April, the cabinet approved a plan with a vote of 5:4: to cancel the newly added taxes in the "Townshend Act", and the British government will not levy new taxes in North America in the future. It is also specifically mentioned that the tea tax was retained "due to the insistence of the king" as "a symbol of British authority." The situation in North America eased again for four years. Americans just think, if you charge a tax on tea, I won’t drink it. I’ll just drink coffee ashes. Until now, compared with Europeans, especially the British, Americans definitely prefer coffee to tea.

Madeira wine was also brought to the Americas by the British. How come it has not been boycotted and is still considered a revolutionary wine?

Let’s first talk about the origin of Madeira wine. Madeira wine is produced in the Madeira Islands belonging to Portugal, and Portugal has been a close partner of Britain since the signing of the Treaty of Menuhin.

Ordinary wine is very delicate and will be irreparably damaged after being heated or over-oxidized. But Madeira is not afraid of these, so Madeira is called the wine of immortality. How is the wine of immortality made? To put it simply, spirits are added to wine, deliberately allowed to undergo high-temperature oxidation for a period of time, and then bottled for aging. Generally, wine will go bad directly after being oxidized at high temperatures, but Madeira has experienced this during the brewing process. After being reborn from the ashes, it has become very stable and has a fragrant oxidation aroma (caramel, nuts, preserved fruits, butter, etc. )

Because the leather is durable and the taste is also punchy (the alcohol content is higher than that of ordinary wine, the alcohol content of ordinary wine is around 13 degrees, while the alcohol content of Madeira is about 17-19 degrees. Very sweet), the British also became second-hand sellers of Madeira wine.

Isn’t this the same as tea? Don't worry, the origin of tea is far away in Asia, and the journey is long. Britain's status as the general distributor of tea in Europe and America is difficult to shake, and tax inspections are also strict. The origin of Madeira wine is right between Europe and Africa, not that far away. It would be no trouble at all for the Americans to send a ship to smuggle some back. What's more, wine that doesn't require tax tastes particularly good. Look at the signature part of the Declaration of Independence. The name written in a very large and arrogant name belongs to a businessman who smuggled Madeira wine - John Hancock. He is the richest man in Massachusetts, the stronghold of the rebels, and is said to be the richest man in thirteen states in North America. He is the largest smuggler in the United States. His fleet trades around the world, selling whatever he makes money.

In 1773, Hancock's ship "Liberty" (the name of which made it clear that it was a rebel) transported 3,150 gallons of Madeira wine and was seized by the British in Boston. Rich people have bad tempers, so Hancock sent people to burn the Liberty. Later, the conflict escalated, and the British colonists shot and killed several people on the streets of Boston, and the "Boston Chronicle" began to write again... "The Boston Massacre."

On the night of December 16, when the "Boston Party" dumped hundreds of boxes of tea worth more than 10,000 pounds on three East India Company ships into the sea, the British immediately adopted a high-pressure policy. In 1774, the British government promulgated the "Coercive Act", closed the port of Boston, sent troops to Boston, suspended the autonomy of the Massachusetts colonial government, arrested the perpetrators, and handed them over to the British mainland for trial. The coercive decree intensified the conflict between Britain and North America. From September to October 1774, the first North American Continental Congress was held in Philadelphia. This conference did not propose independence requirements, but only passed some declarations and petitions. However, George III With a tough attitude, he wrote to the cabinet: "The New England government is in a state of rebellion and must be dealt a heavy blow to make them surrender to this country."

In April 1775, North American militia organizations were listed A head-on firefight began at Lexington. The Second Continental Congress was held in May 1775. The conference still sent a petition to George III, demanding that the colonial parliament be treated equally with the British Parliament. This petition was flatly rejected by George III, who declared the colony to be in "rebellion."

At the same time, Thomas Paine wrote a book "Common Sense" which became widely popular in North America. The book writes, "Trust in the king can only be deceived, and George III is worse than his ministers."

On July 4, 1776, the Continental Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence. Angrily denounced George III as "unworthy of being the ruler of a free people"; the North American colonies announced that they would lift all affiliations with the British king and establish a free and independent United States. It is said that the wine used to celebrate the signing of the Declaration of Independence was Madeira. The founding fathers of the United States, such as George Washington and Thomas Jefferson, were all lovers of Madeira.

In this way, the North American colonies openly broke with Britain. This time George III and the majority of Parliament reached an agreement and decided to use force to solve the rebellion. At first, the British army had the advantage on the battlefield, until October 17, 1777, when 8,000 British troops led by John Burgoyne were besieged and surrendered at Saratoga, which became a turning point in the North American War of Independence. . Subsequently, France, Spain, and the Netherlands, which had long wanted to attack Britain, began to help the United States, and the U.S. military gradually gained the upper hand. On October 19, 1781, with the surrender of the main British army led by Cornwallis at Yorktown, the North American War of Independence came to an end. In September 1783, Britain and the United States signed the Treaty of Paris (The Peace of Paris), and Britain officially recognized the independence of the United States.

Over the years, the relationship between Britain and the United States has become quite close. In some cases, Britain even followed the footsteps of its former colony, the United States. Americans still love Madeira wine and have no favorable impression of tea.