Bill Bryson: In 1696, William Pitt the Younger Massively Cut the Tax on Tea
Bill Bryson, British-American author and journalist
[Scroll down for the English]
KISWAHILI
“Ingawa pilipili na viungo ndivyo vilivyoileta Kampuni ya East India kuanza, hatima ya kampuni hiyo ilikuwa chai. Mnamo mwaka 1696, William Pitt Mdogo Zaidi alikata sana ushuru wa chai, akiubadilisha na ushuru wa dirisha uliotishiwa sana (kwa dhana ya kimantiki ambayo ilikuwa ngumu zaidi kuficha madirisha kuliko kufanya magendo chai). Athari kwenye utumiaji ulikuwa mara moja. Kati ya mwaka 1699 na mwaka1721, uagizaji wa chai uliongezeka karibu mara mia, kutoka pauni 13,000 hadi pauni milioni 1.2, kisha ukaongezeka mara nne tena katika miaka thelathini hadi mwaka 1750.
“Chai ilikunywa na vibarua na wanawake maridadi. Ilichukuliwa wakati wa kifungua kinywa, chakula cha mchana, na chakula cha jioni. Kilikuwa kinywaji cha kwanza katika historia kutohusisha na tabaka lolote, na cha kwanza kuwa na sehemu yake yenyewe ya kitamaduni kwa siku: wakati wa chai.”
- Bill Bryson, mwandishi wa Uingereza-Marekani na mwanahabari anayejulikana kwa uandishi wake wa maarifa yenye ukweli kuhusu sayansi, historia, na lugha ya Kiingereza.
ENGLISH TRANSLATION
“Although pepper and spices were what brought the East India Company into being, the company’s destiny was tea. In 1696, William Pitt the Younger massively cut the tax on tea, replacing it with the dreaded window tax (on the logical presumption that it was a lot harder to hide windows than to smuggle tea). The effect on consumption was immediate. Between 1699 and 1721, tea imports increased almost a hundredfold, from 13,000 pounds to 1.2 million pounds, then quadrupled again in thirty years to 1750.
“Tea was slurped by laborers and daintily sipped by ladies. It was taken at breakfast, dinner, and supper. It was the first beverage in history to belong to no class, and the first to have its own ritual slot in the day: teatime.”
- Bill Bryson, British-American author and journalist known for his insightful non-fiction writing on science, history, and the English language.
Chanzo (source): Bryson, Bill. At Home: A Short History of Private Life. New York: Doubleday, 2010, pages 180-181.