The Monarchs Coffehouse

   As the intellectual awakening of the Renaissance continued, new centers of social activity began to emerge. Frequented by a new middle class who lived off of the expanded trade created by the exploration of new worlds, these new social centers became places where the well-to-do could discuss the issues of the day with their peers. And nothing fueled the discussions quite like a new product of the Age of Discovery: Coffee.
   Similar to the growth of their modern counterparts, Coffeehouses were sprouting up across Europe in response to not only the increased income and leisure time of the merchant class, but more importantly, to the dramatic political changes that effected nearly everyone. To the tune of nationalism, the monarchs were marching (some would say trampling) throughout Europe.

   In our efforts to learn about these changes, we will stage our own coffeehouse. You will portray characters of the age, interact with others, record your conversations and observations and compose a diary entry at the end of your day summarizing what you learned.

We will spend two (2) days in the library researching your character. Your research should focus on:

Your occupation;
Your nation;
Your specific abilities that allowed you to attain and maintain your position;
Your relationships with other social classes (i.e. Monarchs, nobles, the church, the merchants, the military, the peasants);
Your legacy to your nation and to Europe.

  During the coffeehouse, you will be sharing this information with other patrons. You should master your information well enough in order to converse comfortably with others. As you give information in casual conversation, you will be learning about others. It is this information that will be the ingredients of your diary entry. The diaries of others will indicate how well you were prepared for the coffeehouse. You must relate yourself and others to the Top 10 Requirements of an Absolute Monarch.

You will need to speak with at least four (4) people during the coffeehouse. They must include at least one from each of the two groups below:

A member of your occupation/social class;
A member of a different occupation/social class.

In addition, you will need to prepare one of the following to display or distribute during the coffeehouse:

Business Cards;
Identification Badge;
Decorated Coffee Mug;
Small keepsakes that will remind others of you.

Grades will be determined by your ability to display appropriate social skills during the coffeehouse, the entries of other coffeehouse patrons concerning you, and the diary entry that you submit.

Choose from the following list of characters. Two people per character, as we will be running two coffeehouses simultaneously.

Philip II	Henry VIII	Mary I
Elizabeth I	English Gentry	Henry IV
Louis XIV	French Peasant	Maria Theresa
Frederick William	Frederick II	Prussian Soldier
Ivan IV	Peter the Great	A Russian Boyar
Catherine the Great	German peasant