❑ PROVA:
Tea in Britain
Chá na Grã-Bretanha
The use of tea spread slowly from its Asian
homeland, reaching Europe by way of Venice
around 1560, although Portuguese trading
ships may have made contact with the
Chinese as early as 1515.
O uso do chá espalhou-se lentamente a partir da sua terra natal asiática, chegando à Europa via Veneza por volta de 1560, embora os navios mercantes portugueses possam ter estabelecido contacto com os chineses já em 1515.
It was the Portuguese and Dutch traders who
first imported tea to Europe, with regular
shipments by 1610.
Foram os comerciantes portugueses e holandeses os primeiros a importar chá para a Europa, com remessas regulares a partir de 1610.
England was a latecomer
to the tea trade, as the East India Company
did not capitalize on tea's popularity until the
mid-18th century.
A Inglaterra chegou tardiamente ao comércio do chá, uma vez que a Companhia das Índias Orientais só capitalizou a popularidade do chá em meados do século XVIII.
Curiously, it was the London coffee houses
that were responsible for introducing tea to
England. One of the first coffee house
merchants to offer tea was Thomas Garway,
who owned an establishment in Exchange
Alley.
Curiosamente, foram as cafetarias de Londres as responsáveis pela introdução do chá em Inglaterra. Um dos primeiros comerciantes de cafés a oferecer chá foi Thomas Garway, que era proprietário de um estabelecimento em Exchange Alley.
He sold both liquid and dry tea to the
public as early as 1657.
Vendia chá líquido e seco ao público já em 1657.
Tea gained popularity quickly in the coffee
houses, and by 1700 over 500 coffee houses
sold it.
O chá ganhou rapidamente popularidade nas cafetarias e, por volta de 1700, mais de 500 cafetarias vendiam-no.
This distressed the tavern owners, as
tea cut their sales of ale and gin, and it was
bad news for the government, who depended
upon a steady stream of revenue from taxes
on their sales.
Isto deixou os proprietários das tabernas angustiados, pois o chá reduziu as suas vendas de cerveja e gin, e foi uma má notícia para o governo, que dependia de um fluxo constante de receitas provenientes dos impostos sobre as suas vendas.
By 1750 tea had become the
favoured drink of Britain's lower classes.
Em 1750, o chá tornou-se a bebida preferida das classes mais baixas da Grã-Bretanha.
Charles II did his bit to counter the growth of
tea, with several acts forbidding its sale in
private houses.
Carlos II fez a sua parte para conter o crescimento do chá, com vários atos a proibirem a sua venda em casas particulares.
A 1676 act taxed tea and
required coffee house operators to apply for
a license.
Uma lei de 1676 tributava o chá e exigia que os operadores de cafetarias solicitassem uma licença.
By the mid 18th century the duty on tea had
reached an absurd 119%.
Em meados do século XVIII, o imposto sobre o chá atingiu uns absurdos 119%.
This heavy taxation had the effect of creating
a whole new industry - tea smuggling.
Esta pesada tributação teve o efeito de criar uma indústria totalmente nova: o contrabando de chá.
Ships
from Holland and Scandinavia brought tea to
the British coast, then stood offshore while
smugglers met them and unloaded the
precious cargo in small vessels.
Os navios da Holanda e da Escandinávia traziam chá para a costa britânica e depois ficavam na costa enquanto os contrabandistas os encontravam e descarregavam a preciosa carga em pequenas embarcações.
The
smugglers, often local fishermen, snuck the
tea inland through underground passages
and hidden paths to special hiding places.
Os contrabandistas, geralmente pescadores locais, levavam o chá para o interior através de passagens subterrâneas e caminhos escondidos até esconderijos especiais.
One of the best hiding places was in the local
parish church!
In 1784 William Pitt the Younger introduced
the Commutation Act, which dropped the tax
on tea from 119% to 12.5%, effectively
ending smuggling.
Um dos melhores esconderijos era na igreja paroquial local! Em 1784, William Pitt, o Jovem, introduziu a Lei de Comutação, que reduziu o imposto sobre o chá de 119% para 12,5%, acabando efetivamente com o contrabando.
When tea became popular in Britain, there
was a crying need for good cups with
handles, to suit British habits.
Quando o chá se tornou popular na Grã-Bretanha, houve uma necessidade urgente de boas chávenas com asas, adequadas aos hábitos britânicos.
This made for
tremendous growth in the pottery and
porcelain industry, and the prosperity of such
55
companies as Wedgwood, Spode, and Royal
Doulton.
Isto proporcionou um enorme crescimento na indústria da cerâmica e da porcelana, e a prosperidade de 55 empresas como a Wedgwood, a Spode e a Royal Doulton.
- (Adapted from text available at
http://www.britainexpress.com/History/tea-in-britain.htm
Accessed on 15/5/2011, at 9h25min)
27 – (PAS 2 UEM-2011-3ª Etapa-Universidade Estadual de Maringá) It is correct to affirm about the following vocabulary
in the text.
01) “Chinese” (line 5), “Portuguese” (line 6), and
“Dutch” (line 6) are adjectives which refer to
nationalities.
02) “traders” (line 6) and “merchants” (line 15) are
synonyms.
04) “establishment” (line 16), “popularity” (line 19),
“sales” (line 22), and “growth” (line 27) are all
nouns which derive from their respective verbs.
08) “owners” (line 21), “operators” (line 30), and
“smugglers” (line 40) all refer to people.
16) “offshore” (line 37) and “inland” (line 41) refer to
opposite directions regarding the coast.
28 – (PAS 2 UEM-2011-3ª Etapa-Universidade Estadual de Maringá) It is correct to affirm according to the text.
01) Tea originally came from Asia.
02) The first contact of Portuguese ships with the
Chinese was probably by 1560.
04) In 1700 there were only 500 coffee houses
selling tea in England.
08) Tea smugglers were from Holland and Portugal.
16) British people like to drink their tea in porcelain
cups.
29 – (PAS 2 UEM-2011-3ª Etapa-Universidade Estadual de Maringá) According to the text choose the correct
alternative(s).
01) The order of the topics discussed in the text is
respectively: 1 – Smuggling tea; 2 – Tea and
pottery; 3 – How tea reached Europe; 4 –
Coffee houses; 5 – Taxation on tea.
02) The countries approached in the text are Italy,
Portugal, China, Holland, England and India.
04) The drinks mentioned in the text are tea, ale and
gin.
08) The people mentioned in the text are Thomas
Garway, Charles II, William Pitt the Younger
and Royal Doulton.
16) England was the first European country to trade
tea.
30 – (PAS 2 UEM-2011-3ª Etapa-Universidade Estadual de Maringá) Choose the correct alternative(s) according to the
text.
01) The text discusses the art of drinking tea.
02) The popularity of tea in Britain contributed to the
development of the pottery and porcelain
industry.
04) Tea was brought to Europe in ships.
08) London was the first city to sell tea in England.
16) The smugglers used churches to hide their
precious cargo.