History of Rum | Alain Huetz De Lemps

Rum is one of the consequences of the conquest of America, where, as early as the 15th century, Europeans planted sugar cane originating from Asia. In their colonial empires, the Portuguese and Spanish, followed by the French and English, who already knew the art of producing spirits, early on extracted a highly alcoholic beverage from sugar cane juice. Advances in distillation allowed for its production on a large scale. Initially reserved for use by Black people, buccaneers, and all the seafarers of the New World, rum was also used on the African coasts as a currency in the slave trade. As a drink, it only spread to Europe and North America in the 18th century. Until today, its production and consumption remained linked to colonial upheavals and the convulsions of the metropolises, the main one being Prohibition in the United States in the twenties. In the evolution of this almost mythical drink, a significant part of the turbulent history of both sides of the Atlantic is reflected. Alain Huetz de Lemps, emeritus professor of geography at the University of Bordeaux III and co-director of the journal Les Cahiers d'Outre-Mer, is the author of numerous works dedicated to tropical cultures.