«Sweet as Love»: Brazilian Coffee in Iceland, 1900–1940

The article focuses on the history of Brazilian–Icelandic coffee trade in the first half of the 20th century by putting the issue into a broader context of globalization and transatlantic trade. Based on official trade reports and newspapers of the time, it explores not only the economic dimension of the issue, but also its cultural aspects to answer the following question: what was the role of Brazil — the leading coffee producer and supplier in 1900–1940 — in the formation of a unique Icelandic coffee culture? To begin with, the article finds the reciprocal influence of trade and culture, as coffee brought new forms of social interaction and new social conflicts to Iceland, whose inhabitants witnessed new phenomena in their daily lives. Besides, it reveals new links in the transatlantic trade system, as Brazil and Iceland, both previously having been on the margins of the postcolonial trade system, gradually established direct trade ties which, in turn, led to more mutually beneficial sales conditions. Moreover, the increasing bilateral trade caused a spillover of economic cooperation into culture, as new images — both literally and figuratively — of Brazil spread among Icelandic intellectuals and photo enthusiasts. The article also presents new datasets on annual imports of unroasted coffee into Iceland in 1912–1945, on average annual prices of coffee imports into Iceland in 1914–1945, and on shares of leading coffee importers in the Icelandic market — all these can be used for further research into the issue of transatlantic coffee trade.

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