Page 227 - Berkshire Encyclopedia Of World History Vol Two

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“nontraditional” objects into their clothing in order to Johnson, K. K. P., & Lennon, S. L. (Eds.). (1999). Appearance and power.
appear more fashionable. New York: Berg.
Rabine, L.W. (2002). The global circulation of African fashion. New York:
The Hawaiian muumuu was concocted by missionar- Berg.
ies to “civilize” the native population by covering its Vollmer, J. E. (2001). Ruling from the dragon throne. Berkeley, CA: Ten
Speed Press.
nakedness.“Native” dress in Central and South America,
as well as in central Asia and Africa, shows strong colo-
nial influence, especially the multi-tiered flounced skirts.
Western hats and garments of all sorts were adopted by
indigenous peoples because of a desire to “fit in” or to Drugs
mimic the ruling powers or in some cases because of mar-
ket considerations. Native Americans adopted European sychoactive drugs became global commodities with
garments and, like the workers of the industrial cities, Pthe expansion of oceanic trade from the late fif-
combined them with their regular dress, creating a picture teenth century. In many ways the diffusion of drugs
of mixed consciousness. Industrial development made resembled that of germs.That which had been confined
fabric cheaper and often replaced native weaving styles to one region, continent, or hemisphere spread around
and economy.The introduction of artificial dyes replaced the world. The principal difference was that drug pro-
natural dyes and increased the range of colors used in duction and commerce were deliberate and profit moti-
native clothing. vated, while the introduction of germs was not. Only
In some cases “traditional” dress has even been fabri- from the late nineteenth century onward did political
cated. The Welsh national costume for women was elites reevaluate the lucrative international trade in drugs
invented during the 1830s when Welsh advocate Lady and begin selectively imposing restrictions.
Llanover (Augusta Waddington) romanticized Welsh The most important drug commodities produced and
country dress and published drawings and paintings of traded in both hemispheres were alcoholic and caf-
her fantasy costumes. By the twentieth century this ficti- feinated beverages, tobacco, opiates, cannabis, and vari-
tious “Welsh dress” became a popular festival dress and ous coca products. Psychoactive exchanges occurred in
tourist attraction.The Scottish and Irish “cultural revival” both directions, from west to east and east to west.
styles of the twentieth century are other examples of the Tobacco, coca, and cacao originated in the New World
fabrication or manipulation of existing styles for political and spread to the Old. Liquor, wine, opium, and can-
purposes. nabis originated in the Old World and spread to the
Dress forms a rich and varied component of global his- New. Sugar cane, another important transplant from the
tory. It can be used to illustrate economic development, Old World, was used to make rum. Sugar also sweetened
social hierarchy, gender, modernization, and a multitude bitter-tasting psychoactive products, among them chew-
of other factors in human history. ing tobacco, coffee, tea, chocolate, and even opium. A
spoonful of sugar made the drugs go down.
Rebecca Wendelken
Not all local or regional drugs became global prod-
See also Festivals; Textiles ucts. For reasons that ranged from spoilage problems to
cultural prejudice against their effects, use of khat, kava,
betel, peyote, mescal beans, and many other substances
Further Reading remained confined to one hemisphere or the other. For a
Breward, C. (1995). The culture of fashion. Manchester, UK: Manchester drug to become a global commodity, it first had to catch
University Press.
Jirousek, C. A. (1996). Dress as social policy: Change in women’s dress on in one or more of Europe’s seafaring imperial nations:
in a southwestern Turkish village. Dress, 23, 47–62. Portugal, Spain, the Netherlands, Great Britain, and