Green Gold: The Empire of Tea [Hardcover]

This book provides a comprehensive historical and anthropological view on tea, the world's second favorite beverage (after water). Especially fascinating was the first chapter with Iris's first-person account as an expat wife of a tea garden manager. For anyone looking for a thorough background on the production, politics and cultural changes brought about by the simple beverage, this is a must read.

Iris MacFarlane wrote a touching story about her life on the tea garden in India. Then Alan MacFarlane proceeded to write the kind of history that lifts tea up to its rightful place above all other beverages. I like it better than other perspectives on history because its focus is that superiority of tea.

Of particular note was how tea was compared to wine and beer. It was explained how the alcoholic drinks could never conquer the world because they take too many resources of land and labor. They were always meant for the elites in moderation while tea could be enjoyed by the masses--the drink of everyman. This history was the most inspiring when it came time to write my own book.

At last a book on tea, which describes the whole story with all the fascination and romance of the tea plant, and the industry it developed and much more. "Tea is more than just a drink. Over the last two thousands years this humble camellia tree has grown into one of the most powerful social and economic forces known to man." Thus starts MacFarlan'e book "Green Gold, The Empire of Tea."

No one really knows where exactly the tea originated. Although China is thought to be the place or origin, modern studies show that the tea plant, Camellia Sinensis var Camellia Assamica actually originated in the foothills of eastern Himalayas, around Assam, some sixty to hundred thousand years ago. Probably taking their cue from the monkeys, the early tribesmen began chewing tea and found it to be relaxing to the body and mind. Over the years, tea became very popular among some tribes of North East India, Burma and the general population in China from where it spread to Japan at one time. In China gradually, "a huge trade in bricks of tea grew along the Silk Road criss crossing from southwest China to Siberia and as far as the Islamic civilizations of the Middle East." By the twelfth century in fact tea bricks were being used as one popular currency in China in trade. By the fifteenth century tea drinking has influenced a greater part of the world.

"The records of the use of tea suggest that it first arrived in Amsterdam in 1610, in France in 1630s and England in 1657." In Britain tea has complimented beer as a national drink. Some actually argue that without tea, the British could not have fought the war. Tea industry has great affect not only on the East India Company but on the entire commerce of the British empire that question may be asked, "Was there a possible link between the rise of trading and tea drinking and the rapid spread of the British empire?"

The story of modern tea industry itself is very fascinating, and it practically started with the discovery of wild tea plant, Camellia Assamica, in the foothills of the eastern Himalayas, in the beautiful state of Assam, India in early nineteenth century. Since then the tea industry has contributed to the wealth and economy of many nations. But these growths in wealth and economy of nations were achieved at what cost? Tea Industry had its mixed affect on the native people of Assam who were exposed to the benefits of the western culture on one hand but on the other hand they lost their most valuable thing, their political independence because of it. In fact, the growth of the modern tea industry is intricately intertwined with the history and culture of the Assamese people during the British colonialism in the nineteenth century. That story is very sensitively captured in the book by the authors.

MacFarlanes reflect that history of annexation of Assam by the British: "On March 13, 1824 the British marched slowly up from Calcutta, guns mounted on elephants, to take Assam.... The newly appointed Commissioner David Scott was reassuring, "We are not forced into your country by the thirst of conquest, but are forced in our defense.."...And that was the beginning of how Assam lost its independence. The British were good administrators, and they took it upon themselves to replace the old style tax collection system of Assam by their own. "The relaxed Ahom methods of tax collection in service or produce was replaced by an army of revenue `farmers' tramping the country bearing demand papers totally incomprehensible to the illiterate peasantry...The Marwaries, the merchant moneylenders of Rajasthan saw their chance to fish in troubled waters....The situation was such that Maniram Dewan one of the few rich entrepreneur of Assam had to describe the situation as `living in the belly of a tiger'. He was one who first supported the British but later was so disillusioned when he found himself being excluded from generous land deals offered to the Europeans. "The British declared that nobody owned the forest which they declared wasteland, and which they were prepared to rent out at very low rates, but only in blocks of a hundred acres. No Assamese peasants could take up their generous offers. ... The puppet king, Purandar Singha never had a chance. When tea plant was discovered the British found that they had given him the wrong bit of the country, the region where tea grew." The rest is history. Shrewd administrator as they were, the British took the Upper Assam from king Purandar Singha because he defaulted in paying the annual tribute of Rs 50000 equivalent to US$ 1000. And that is how Assam lost its political independence forever. However that is not all.

MacFarlanes write, "The people of Assam were not consulted and it might seem strange that none of them objected to the selling of their country to foreigners, to seeing their forests disappear under thousands of acres of spiky green tea bushes, the profits of which went to Calcutta and London. .... They had to do that because as MacFarlane put it, "The strength of the Assamese was also their weakness when it came to putting up resistance to the newly arrived rulers. Unlike the rest of Indians, they had no strong caste allegiances: ...There were no outcastes, no women in purdah, there was no mechanism for corporate bargaining or setting up solid resistance to what was happening. Relatively crime free, caste free, self sufficient in basics of life, the Assamese saw themselves being pushed aside as Europeans, Bengalis, Marwaris, Sikhs poured in . There was little they could do, but for doing that little they were always described as spineless and lazy. From the administration point of view this was fine, from the tea planter's point of view this was irritating."

"In 1839 the way was clear to rent the whole of Assam to the highest bidder, and one came forward, calling itself "The Assam Company", a group of merchants formed in Great Winchester street in London. The people of Assam were not allowed to take part. The British learned a great bit about tea garden economy from wealthy Assamese entrepreneur like Maniram Dewan. However when his service was no longer required, he was isolated. Later he was hanged in a hastily conducted court on charge of treason during the Sepoy Mutiny on 1857." And that is how Assam lost its entrepreneurial spirit.

Since those days of Sepoy Mutiny the tea industry and Assam itself have come a long way. The British colonialism was over when India won independence in 1947, and Assam joined India as one of its states. Today Assam produces about 20% of world tea. However its problems of cultural subjugation and economic deprivation are not over. "The gap between the high life and huge profits of the British and the squalor and the misery of the laborers was most obscene in the nineteenth century." However even after India's independence, things actually have not improved much in favor of Assam. So much so that "in April 1979, a few young Assamese youths met in the ruined palace of the Ahom kings to talk of a free Assam for the benefits of its people." And that was how United Liberation Front of Assam (ULFA) was born. After a prolonged struggle against the mighty Indian army, ULLFA today seem to be slowly melting away. However they still remain in the state as a strong insurgent group sometime running a parallel government in those unruly parts of the North East India.

This is how MacFarlanes conclude their essay, "Tea has been an enormous boon for many countries in the world. It should not be beyond the wit of richer nations and India herself, to ensure that a fairer amount of profits made from it, as well as from oil and gas, be returned to the people who work in Assam. Extreme actions and boycotting would put the jobs of hundreds of thousands of very people at risk. Yet fair trade, with profits going to the producers, should be examined closely in relation to this plantation commodity. Just as it is being examined as a way of improving conditions in the production of cocoa, coffee, rubber, sugar and other tropical plantation crops, should be benefiting the tea laborers much more. It would only seem fair that some of the wealth generated by green gold, which has hitherto flowed elsewhere, should help the people of Assam."

This is a full-length book with more than 300 pages with many other interesting aspects and historical notes of the tea industry. It is gratifying and meaningful to note that MacFarlanes have donated the book :"To the people who will never read this book, the tea garden laborers of Assam."

I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to know the whole story of modern tea industry and its affect in the land where it started, Assam.