As the “Penny University” coffee houses of 17th century England grew in popularity, this unregulated gathering of academic intellects, powerful merchants and common folk began to worry the upper echelons of society. King Charles II of England — otherwise known as the “Merry Monarch” who restored the monarchy after years of Puritan rule — was particularly worried that the coffee drinkers were fomenting plans of rebellion against him. Consequently, on the 29th of December 1675, he issued a decree ordering the total closure of coffee houses, as well as forbidding the sale of coffee, chocolate, sherbet, and tea. The decree argued that tradesmen would “misspend much of their time” in coffee houses, instead of working as they should be. Not only this, scandalous reports were “devised and spread abroad, to the Defamation of His Majesties Government.”
However, public backlash was swift and fierce. Even the king’s own advisors were against it — probably because they frequented various coffee house establishments themselves. With this amount of pressure from the public outside and his advisors within, Charles II had to back down and withdraw the decree just 11 days after issuing it. The coffee drinkers won once again.
