A History of The World in a Glass: The Superiority of Spirits

In 2016, $78 billion dollars of revenue and over 1.4 million jobs came from overall retail sales of distilled spirits in The United States of America, with the number of jobs increasing every year. Spirits are the most significant drink historically as they were revolutionary, and largely important to a plethora of advances. The origin of spirits is from the fermentation of other alcohols, meaning that spirits has a much higher alcoholic content. This creation of spirits was started by Arabs and was solely used for medicinal purposes, however it later spread to Europe where it was eventually found helpful during the age of exploration. Spirits were also used to help people, in fact they were used in the British navy and were thought to have secured the British defeat over the French In the Napoleonic wars. Eventually spirits made its way into the New World and colonial America, helping the colonists find a good source of income by making rum and inspiring resistance to the British. In all, spirits were much more than just distilled drink originating from other alcoholic beverages, it was also a key foundation to Americas independence, trade, and the British defeat over the French. Therefore, it is the most important and significant drink in our history of the world.

Spirits (rum) was such an important drink since it inspired the American revolution. When the colonists first arrived in the New World they tried to make their own beer and wine but found it too difficult, so they had it imported until rum came along. This new drink called rum was made from left over molasses and proved to be much cheaper since it came from the French colonies rather than overseas. Rum was suddenly more attainable and cheaper than beer and wine, making rum a favorite to the European [American] colonists. Rum became not only a favorite drink for the colonists but was used for trade, and currency, allowing it to become a major part of the colonist’s economy. With 6.5 gallons of imported molasses to make rum the colonists had to get it from somewhere, the French. As documented by national geographic, by 1770 the colonists collectively made about 5 million gallons of rum and imported 6.5 million gallons of molasses from the West Indies (Rupp). The French colonists were happily selling this molasses to the American colonists. This quickly upset the British, because they were losing sales to the French, and they wanted the money that the colonists were putting on molasses. This resulted with the molasses act. The idea of the molasses act was to put Britain back on top and to decrease molasses exports from the French colonists. As the French happily sold left over molasses to the colonists for low prices, the British started losing out under the French, so the molasses act was put in place to tax the French imports. But rum was too necessary in the Americas and the molasses from Britain didn’t fit the colonists needs. This was the start of the Americans revolt against British control. As the colonists viewed the Molasses Act as unfit, they slowly began to defy the British. These were the early steps to the colonist revolt against the British, setting precedents that eventually made colonial America independent. Britain acted back enforcing stronger laws, regulating trade, and becoming unpopular in the colonies. As presented by Standage; the colonists started to smuggle French molasses until it became socially acceptable, undermining British law and giving colonists the courage to defy other laws that seemed unreasonable. Sayings like “taxation without representation” arose and became an outcry. Taxation without representation means that the colonists felt underrepresented in Britain and like they had no part in British consideration when these taxes where being put down. This led to many other rebellions and eventually the revolutionary war in 1775, where colonists gained their independence and America rose. Americans probably wouldn’t have won independence from the British without rum (Rupp). The need for alcohol and the discovery of rum eventually led to Americas independence, marking the impact of rum on our history today, and the significance of this drink.

Spirits were essential to the age of exploration and to traveling the high seas. Spirits has a higher alcohol content then wine and beer, proving spirits to be a great transport alcohol as it was rather durable on voyages and could be stored into smaller spaces for the same amount of alcohol content. So, it was highly desired and used as a form of currency in trade. As said by Tom Standage, “Distilled drinks provided a durable and compact form of alcohol for transport on board ship”. This proved to be a necessary and wonderful find as spirits were used for not only a good trade source, but also for British aid in their fight against the French. As rum became popular among sailors, it was eventually adopted by the Royal Navy and became the preferred drink on long voyages. It was a replacement for beer that was generally perishable and required smaller quantities since its alcohol level was so high. According to John Standage, author of “The History of the World in 6 Glasses” “it [rum] became the navy’s preferred drink during long cruises. Replacing the usual gallon of perishable, weak beer with a half pint of rum”. This replacement of beer proved to be a pivotal point in their future success against the French. The spirits that the Royal Navy used was called grog [rum with water] which contained lemon/ lime juice, and vitamin c. Vitamin c was often forgotten as a cure for the disease known as scurvy [caused by a lacking of vitamin c]. Administering this grog drastically reduced the Royal Navy’s chance at getting scurvy. As Kat Eschner explains, a large reason the Royal Navy gave out rum rations was because of scurvy- which was caused by a deficiency of vitamin c, rum didn’t naturally have the vitamin c but the lemons and limes put in it did (Eschner). This cure to scurvy came in very handy as the Royal Navy was battling the French. The Royal Navy’s resistance to scurvy made them healthier than their French counter parts who drank wine. The wine that the French drank did not carry the right amounts of vitamin c to ward off scurvy. This was a large contribution to the Royal Navy’s defeat over the French. According to Tom Standage “The Royal Navy’s unique ability to combat scurvy was said by one naval physician to have doubled its performance and contributed directly to Britain’s eventual defeat of the French and Spanish fleets at Trafalgar”. Showing the superiority of spirits and its impact on our world and history.

As spirits are the most significant drink in our history its impacts both vary and connect. Monumentally important to trade and to the economy was spirits, and its involvement in the triangle trade. Spirits became important to the triangle trade since it eventually became very sought after and coveted by merchants. Since sprits were highly effective on long voyages they proved to be great for trade. The Triangle Trade was generally between England (the Old World), Africa, and the Americas (the New World). The Triangular Trade was a great way to exchange goods, services, ideas, and much more. While using this trade network, money usually did not get passed around. Instead it was truly a materialistic trade rather than a trade from goods to currency. Linda Alchin states in her Article named “Triangular Trade”; “The system of Triangular Trade allowed for goods to be traded for other goods, rather than being bought or sold” (Alchin). In the Triangular Trade alcohol like brandy and rum were widely traded and accepted for other goods. In fact, distilled spirits such as brandy came to be one of the most significant and well-known trading tools. It developed such a popularity and soon was so well attributed that it was almost expected in deals. Tom Standage states that for Europeans to present large amounts of alcohol in trade negotiations became customary. As the presence of alcohol grew greater and greater in trade negotiations so did the significance of spirits and its superiority over other alcohols. For if we didn’t have spirits like brandy and rum the triangular trade would not have been as efficient, and its effects wouldn’t have been as major. The efficiency of the trade directly correlates with the items being brought in and exchanged. Without many of those things being exchanged the functions of these countries would have been slower as they would not have had certain materials that they otherwise lacked. “The triangular trade routes were pivotal to the practice of Mercantilism by England…The premise of Trade was that the different regions would trade goods that they had in abundance in exchange for those goods which were needed but lacking in their own region” (Alchin). Proving that spirits impacted the triangular trade and created a more attainable way for the colonists in America to trade and make money. Putting spirits at the most substantial drink in our history.

Largely impactful and the world’s most important drink – spirits. It has contributed directly to America’s independence, trade, and the British defeat over the French (curing the Royal Navy of scurvy). All these impressions that spirits enrich and contribute to our history, impacting even our world today. Without spirits we wouldn’t have had many things that make our country what is it, influencing and directing tactics for sailors in combating scurvy, important trades and revolutions. Therefore, spirits are truly the most significant drink in our world history and what puts us where we are today.