The Course of History: Great Meals That Changed the World

2017 | Food & Drink

Many decisions which have had enormous historical consequences have been made over the dinner table, and have been accompanied (and perhaps influenced) by copious amounts of food and wine. In this book Struan Stevenson brings to life ten such moments, exploring the personalities, the issues and of course the food which helped shape the course of history. 16 April 1746, the Eve of the Battle of Culloden, which destroyed Bonnie Prince Charlie's hope of a Stuart restoration forever.14 April 1755, Alexandria, Pennsylvania, when a youthful George Washington attended a dinner which sowed the seeds of the American Revolution.20 June 1790, New York, when Thomas Jefferson threw a dinner party at which it was decided Washington DC would become the capital of a new federal republic - the USA. 2 October 1814, The Congress of Vienna, when Napoleon's victors met to divide up the spoils of war and re-draw the boundaries of Europe.27 June 1914, Sarajevo, when Archduke Franz Ferdinand attended a banquet in his honour the day before his assassination plunged Europe into total war.

28August 1928, Achnacarry, when executives from the world's four major oil companies came to a remote Scottish estate to create an oil cartel that would become the model for OPEC.12, February 1938, Hitler's Berghof in the Bavarian Alps, when the Austrian Chancellor signed away his country's independence and Austria was absorbed into Hitler's Third Reich.21 February 1972, Beijing, when a meeting between Richard Nixon and Mao Zedong signaled China's opening up after decades of isolation.26 March 1979, Washington DC, when, against all odds, President Jimmy Carter brokered a peace deal between Egyptian president Anwar Sadat and Israeli PM Menachem Begin.

Struan Stevenson (Author)

Tony Singh (Author)