Word: 1700s
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...history of modern drug addiction might be said to start, innocuously enough, with a cup of tea. London diarist Samuel Pepys recorded his first taste of "tee (a China Drink)" in 1660; by the early 1700s, as cheap sugar to sweeten the brew poured in from the West Indies, the entire nation was on its way to becoming hooked. Some Englishmen were soon knocking back 50 cups a day. The English East India Company, which held the monopoly on all Eastern imports, saw its tea sales grow from 97,000 kg in 1713 to 14.5 million in 1813, making...
...Considering that the "Honorable Company" virtually created British India and the Empire, what's really surprising is that only the Chinese have chimed in. In the mid-1700s the company also ran a robust trade in Indian textiles, with a private army to defend its bases. "All this happened with Asian permission and Asian partnership," says curator Anthony Farrington. "And Asian complicity in the business of making money." But the balance of power tilted after the military exploits of Company man Robert Clive transformed the firm into a territorial power. From private trading rights and "presents" from the locals, Company...
...cropped pants, resort wear, pj's and handbags. Now they're everywhere from tennis-racquet covers to dog beds. French design house Manuel Canovas is even launching a line of toile lingerie. Given the economy, toile's staying power has value. If it's lasted since the 1700s, maybe, just maybe, it will survive till next season...
...read the changing fortunes of the watch business in the landscape of Le Locle. In this remote village of 11,000 just 2 km from the French frontier, watchmaking and its attendant industries were the sole employers for generations. It was here - in the early 1700s - that Daniel Jeanrichard opened the region's first watchmaking workshop, sharing his skills with his seven children and a handful of apprentices. Jeanrichard is a legendary figure, a self-taught watchmaker who invented the first specialized watchmaking machinery. He farmed out part of his production to local peasants, who were only too pleased...
...ever come along to claim the books. The texts, mostly from the 1700s and 1800s, are fairly commonplace and not unusually valuable, Verba said...