What does the tea set reveal about British life in the

1840s?

People of all economic and social classes were starting to drink tea.

in 1840s if you are sitting at a mahogany table drinking tea with sugar, you are linked to every continent on the globe. You are linked with the Royal Navy, which is guarding the sea routes between these continents, you are linked with this great tentacular capital machinery through which the British control so many parts of the world and ransack them for commodities, including commodities that can be consumed by the ordinary civilian at home.