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Coffeehouses were especially important to the spread of knowledge during the Enlightenment because they created a unique environment in which people from many different walks of life gathered and shared ideas. Coffeehouse culture was frequently criticized by nobles who feared and abhorred the possibility of an environment in which class and its accompanying titles and privileges were disregarded. Such an environment was especially intimidating to monarchs who derived much of their power from the disparity between classes of people. If classes were to join together, they might recognize the all-encompassing oppression and abuses of their monarch and, because of their size, might be able to carry out a successful revolt. Monarchs also resented the idea of their subjects convening as one to discuss political matters--especially those concerning foreign affairs--for rulers thought political affairs to be their business only, a result of their supposed divine right to rule.

The first English coffeehouse opened in Oxford in 1650. Historian Brian Cowan argues that Oxford coffeehouses developed into "penny universities", offering a locus of learning that was less formal than structured institutions. These penny universities occupied a significant position in Oxford academic life, as they were frequented by virtuosi, who conducted their research on the premises. According to Cowan, "the coffeehouse was a place for like-minded scholars to congregate, to read, as well as learn from and to debate with each other, but was emphatically not a university institution, and the discourse there was of a far different order than any university tutorial."[138]

Although many coffeehouse patrons were scholars, a great deal were not. Coffeehouse culture attracted a diverse set of people including not only the educated wealthy but also more ignorant members of the bourgeoisie and even the lower class. While it may seem positive that patrons, being doctors, lawyers, merchants, etc. represented almost all classes, the coffeeshop environment sparked fear in those who sought to preserve class distinction. According to historian Lawrence E. Klein, one of the most popular critiques of the coffeehouse claimed that it "allowed promiscuous association among people from different rungs of the social ladder, from the artisan to the aristocrat" and was therefore compared to Noah's ark, receiving all types of animals, clean or unclean.

This unique culture served as a catalyst for journalism when Joseph Addison and Richard Steele recognized its potential as an audience. Francesco Procopio dei Coltelli – François Procope – established the first café in Paris, the Café Procope, in 1686; by the 1720s there were around 400 cafés in the city. The Café Procope in particular became a centre of Enlightenment, welcoming such celebrities as Voltaire and Rousseau. The Café Procope was where Diderot and D'Alembert decided to create the Encyclopédie.[139] Robert Darnton in particular has studied Parisian café conversation in great detail. He describes how the cafés were one of the various "nerve centers" for bruits publics, public noise or rumour. These bruits were allegedly a much better source of information than were the actual newspapers available at the time.[140]

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