Rum : A Social and Sociable History of the Real Spirit of 1776

Rum arguably shaped the modern world. It was to the eighteenth century what oil is to the present, but its significance has been diminished by a misguided sense of old-fashioned morality dating back to Prohibition. In fact, Rum shows that even the Puritans took a shot now and then. Rum, too, was one of the major engines of the American Revolution, a fact often missing from histories of the era. Ian Williams's book -- as biting and multilayered as the drink itself -- triumphantly restores rum's rightful place in history, taking us across space and time, from the slave plantations of seventeenth-century Barbados (the undisputed birthplace of rum) through Puritan and revolutionary New England, to voodoo rites in modern Haiti, where to mix rum with Coke risks invoking the wrath of the gods. He also depicts the showdown between the Bacardi family and Fidel Castro over the control of the lucrative rights to the Havana Club label. Telling photographs are also featured in this barnstorming history of the real "Spirit of 1776."

ian Williams Describes In Captivating Detail How Rum And The Molasses That It Was Made From Was To The 18th Century What Oil Is Today.

rum Was Used By The Colonists To Clear Native American Tribes And To Buy Slaves. To Make It, They Regularly Traded With The Enemy French During The Seven Years' War, Angering Their British Masters And Setting Themselves On The Road To Revolution. The Regular Flow Of Rum Was Essential To Keeping Both Armies In The Field Since Soldiers Relied On Rum To Keep Up Their Fighting Spirits.

even Though The Puritans Themselves Were Fond Of Rum In Quantities That Would Appall Modern Day Doctors, Temperance And Prohibition Have Obscured The Historical Role Of The Global Spirit With Its Warm Heart In The Caribbean. Ian Williams' Book Triumphantly Restores Rum's Rightful Place In History, Taking Us Across Space And Time, From Its Origins In The Plantations Of Barbados Through Puritan And Revolutionary New England, To Voodoo Rites In Modern Haiti, Where To Mix Rum With Coke Risks Invoking The Wrath Of The God, And Across The Florida Straits Where Fidel And The Bacardi Family Are Still Fighting Over The Rights For The Ingredients Of Cuba Libre.

publishers Weekly

the Nation's Williams (deserter: Bush's War On Military Families) Offers A Spirited-if Rambling-discussion Of The History And Spread Of Rum, From The Field-side Stills Of 17th-century Barbados To The Scientifically Calibrated Factories Of Modern Multinationals Like Bacardi. His Main Point? That The Role Of Rum And Drink In Both Causing And Effecting The American Revolution Has Been Filtered Out Of Our History Books. Williams Details The Mechanics Of The Pre-revolutionary Triangles Of Trade: African Slaves For The Caribbean Sugarcane Plantations Were Purchased With Rum Distilled In New England From Caribbean Molasses. He Deftly Describes How The American Colonists Evaded British Taxation Of Rum-making Supplies, And Relishes The Notion Of Our Patriotic Forefathers As A Bunch Of Rum-sozzled Smugglers. His Other Discussions-on The Use Of Rum Rations By Various Countries' Navies, The Production Of Rum In Other Parts Of The World, The Efficacy Of Prohibition And His Own Rum-tasting Forays-are Less Focused. Readers Also May Tire Of Williams's Tendency To Overwork The Liquor Metaphor: Cultural Alembic, Heady Cocktail, Good Spirits, The Equation In A Small Tot, Etc. 10 Pages Of B&w Illus. Not Seen By Pw. Agent, Colin Campbell. (sept.) Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.

Rum Shaped The Modern World. The Drink, And The Molasses That It Was Made From, Was To The Eighteenth Century What Oil Is To The Present, And Nowhere More So Than In North America. Rum Was Used By The Colonists To Clear Native American Tribes And To Buy Slaves. To Make It, They Regularly Traded With The Enemy French During The Seven Years' War, Angering Their British Masters And Setting Themselves On The Road To Revolution. And The Regular Flow Of Rum Was Essential To Keeping Both Armies In The Field. From Valley Forge To The Trenches Of The First World War, Soldiers Relied On Rum To Keep Up Their Fighting Spirits. Even Though The Puritans Themselves Were Fond Of Rum In Quantities That Would Appall Modern Day Doctors, Temperance And Prohibition Have Obscured The Historical Role Of The Global Spirit With Its Warm Heart In The Caribbean. Ian Williams's Book Restores Rum's Rightful Place In History, Taking Us Across Space And Time, From Its Origins In The Plantations Of Barbados Through Puritan And Revolutionary New England, To Voodoo Rites In Modern Haiti, Where To Mix Rum With Coke Risks Invoking The Wrath Of The Gods, And Across The Florida Straits Where Fidel And The Bacardi Family Are Still Fighting Over The Rights For The Ingredients Of A Cuba Libre.--book Jacket. What Is It, Where Is It? -- Sugar: The Seed Of Rum -- The Caribbean Connection: Preparing The Ground -- Barbados, The Birthplace Of Rum -- Early Settlers -- Thirsty Saints -- The Spirit Of Celebration -- The Fishy Side Of Rum -- The Great Spirit's Appointed Means -- The Caribbean, Rum, And Imperial Liquidity -- Blame The French -- No Taxation! -- Seven Years That Changed The World -- After The War Was Over -- Fast Run To Revolution: The Spirit Of 1776 -- Rum And The Doctors -- High Spirits -- Rum, Buggery, And The Lash: The Navy And Rum -- Rum Around The World -- Voodoo Spirit: Haiti -- Cuba Libre! -- Prohibition And The End Of The Heroic Age Of Rum? Ian Williams. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 313-323) And Index. Ian Williams describes in captivating detail how Rum and the molasses that it was made from was to the 18th century what oil is today. Rum was used by the colonists to clear Native American tribes and to buy slaves. To make it, they regularly traded with the enemy French during the Seven Years' War, angering their British masters and setting themselves on the road to Revolution. The regular flow of rum was essential to keeping both armies in the field since soldiers relied on rum to keep up their fighting spirits. Even though the Puritans themselves were fond of rum in quantities that would appall modern day doctors, temperance and Prohibition have obscured the historical role of the "Global Spirit with its warm heart in the Caribbean." Ian Williams' book triumphantly restores rum's rightful place in history, taking us across space and time, from its origins in the plantations of Barbados through Puritan and Revolutionary New England, to voodoo rites in modern Haiti, where... Ian Williams' book-as biting, multifaceted, and warm-spirited as the drink itself-triumphantly restores rum's rightful place in history. Williams takes us across space and time, tracing its origins in the plantations of Barbados, through Puritan and Revolutionary New England, to voodoo rites in modern Haiti, where to mix rum with Coke risks invoking the wrath of the gods. Finally, we travel across the Florida straits where Fidel and the Bacardi family are still fighting over the rights for the ingredients of the Cuba Libre. A fascinating cultural history of rum explores the role of this distilled spirit in the economic and social structures of the eighteenth century, from the Puritans, who were known to imbibe now and then, to the slave plantations of Barbados. Like the other British export, the English language, rum is so ubiquitous and globally pervasive that people tend to forget where it came from and automatically naturalize it.