Why is the rum always gone?
Smith,
Frederick H. Caribbean Rum: A Social and Economic History. Gainesville:
University Press of Florida, 2005. [1]
The
art and technology of rum making arose in the 17th century on large sugar
estates, where marginalized people became an integral part of the supply and
demand of what Marx exclaimed as a “fetish commodity” [2]. With an interdisciplinary approach, Smith writes
as an economic historian honing out evidence from historical records, archaeological digs and
anthropological sources. Marcy Norton’s book about
tobacco and chocolate is a “revisionist
account” [3] of “biological determinism and cultural
constructivism”,
so Caribbean Rum equally launches
with the sacred and moves through the profane,
Trade
records, so well used by David Eltis for his slave ship database, are used by
Smith[4], Norton and Anderson in order to establish
various commodity exports, imports and reexports with charts, graphs to display
evidence of the Atlantic commodity web. From business records, Smith is able to
build a number of cases of political intervention that manipulated the rum
market as it became more of distilled alcohol product. Although for a long
time, the rum market remained local.
That
is where it all began for Smith, invited to a dig in the West Indies where
archaeologists consulted with him about whether or not a rum bottle was part of
a grave site. Apparently, he decided with the with island observers who became
adamant that the scientists drip rum on the grave site to keep the spirits happy. The religious
aspect in Caribbean Rum contrasts with
Jungle Laboratories despite the similarity of the deep
anthropological framework of people otherwise marginalized by historiographical
work in the Atlantic Basin.
While
reading Caribbean Rum, I recalled watching Johnny Depp with my
youngest son. Then, I was concentrated
on Depp’s
apparent insanity; now, after Smith’s work I realize how close to the Caribbean rum
drinking history his character portrayed. The book delves into the “psychoactive
substances” as Mintz
stated, which envelop temperance as well as commodity use.
The
development of rum in a social context is what Mintz called the “sociology of
psychoactive substances” [5] During the first chapter of Caribbean Rum, other than wondering if
I was going to run into pirates, I thought that slaves would be a huge part of
the story, and yes, Smith does finally get to the rum and slave running after
several chapters of a fastidiously chronicling the emergence of the rum market
over a couple hundred years.
Along
side of what could have been dry historical analysis, Smith cleverly crafts the
Carib history of gift-giving ceremonies, the invocation of spirits and simple
social affectations. An example of a delightful tidbit is “Hello my
friends, do you have rum {?}” [6] — a
common greeting in Dominica in the 17th century. Social contexts of gender,
race, class and religion are interspersed with economic examinations of
merchant capitalists, plantation owners and technological progress. A great
deal to cover, yet Smith does it well. As the industry thrived, competition
from alcohol distillers in the Atlantic Basin looked to governments to regulate
the new colonial alcohol commodity.
The
political turmoils of the 18th century
that led to European wars and conflicts influenced colonial economies. Though
trade restrictions, slave emancipation and the open markets of the US after the
Revolution provided challenges, the rum flowed from the slaves, the seamen, the
British army and Navy with contracts and another byproduct of sugar: molasses.
The only production that stopped, in St. Dominique was from the
rebellion in 1804. That too would be temporary interruption.
As
in previous discussions this semester, the shift of modernity, alcohol
commodities consumed the working classes
in places like Britain who wanted to
emulate the elite. Rum found its way to the Gin Lanes of England. Although
equal amounts were shipped to US ports, graphs, charts and illustrations
emphasized the ups and downs of the Caribbean rum market because of social
changes and an expansion of the rum market into other parts of the Caribbean
such as Cuba.
The
African rum trade expanded thoughout the period of slavery, including gift
giving. Other than in Muslim entrenched areas, the demands for rum among
Africans was strong. Slaves provided the labor and exchange as well as the
spiritual value to rum. “Modern attitudes about the vulgarity of
alcoholic beverage have helped magnify the evils of the slave trade.” FYI: “West and
Central Africans had a long history of alcohol abuse,” [7] An eye opener as with the Bolivian emerald
story made right by Kris Lane. Slaves were traded for rum, they produced rum
and they consumed rum.
One
of the myriad of examples of European role in the slave trade, and treatment of
slaves is the passage of the Code Noir in 1685. The French wanted to
standardize and improve the treatment of slaves in the French Caribbean. One of
the articles of the Code Noir was that sugar planters were forbidden to give
out rum as substantive food in the slave diet. Planters ignored the rule, and
gave out rum allotments for various reasons.
Slave
societies in the Caribbean were dependent upon the rum trade in all facets of
their lives as much as the alcohol drinking in many maritime communities. Enter
the pirates. However, African and Creole slaves also used alcohol as did other
social groups whose labor was a commodity.
A different yet very similar experience to what Jennifer Anderson writes
in Mahogany where slaves had some agency, yet were often at
the mercy of their masters for survival.[8] Not until after slaves were free did
temperance become attributed to the health of people, rather than the reverse.
The use of rum for physical and spiritual escape is a major part of Smith’s monograph. A
very different experience than that the slaves of the Latin American rain
forests, and the future black craftsmen who vanished into the landscape.
As
temperance began to take over, and rum became more of the business of growing
sugar with the competition of the sugar beet market, changes in the production
of rum expanded in the 19th and 20th century to a multinational corporate force
around he world. Caribbean rum is subject to political and economic controls
now since it has global importance. For
now it remains a safe economy for the people of the Caribbean, and always a
means of social escape previously of getting drunk in rebellion, currently in
the religious contexts.
Caribbean Rum
is a magnificent example of commodity fetishism and a commodity web. The
economic aspect of the book combined with the anthropological perspectives and
archeological artifacts from material culture create fascinating histories. The
use of myth making and myth breaking for the central purpose of establishing
the significance of rum as a commodity and a Carib identity is a vital and
enjoyable read.
[2] Cohen, Gerald Allan. “Fetishism” in Karl Marx's Theory of History: A Defence. Oxford
[u.a.]: Clarendon, 2000. Religion and economics and the ‘diagnosis’ sections are particularly helpful.
[4] Smith actually cited Eltis’s work a number of times. http://www.slavevoyages.org/tast/index.faces and http://www.slavevoyages.org/tast/assessment/intro-maps.faces
[5] Sidney W. Mintz, “Caribbean Rum: A Social and Economic History by Frederick
H. Smith,” The American Historical Review, 112, no. 2 (April 2007): pp. 553-554.
A rave review by Mintz, ending with “Historians
of the regions with find his overview exciting”
Even though I left a vote for Ken't book on salt as a commodity, the West Indian in me is very intrigued by rum as a commodity because I can see how it's still relevant to this day. It's just so widespread and used so commonly I would have never considered it to be a commodity, just a commonly requested beverage. I guess it's beginnings speak better to it's status as a commodity. I'd be interested in reading this as well. Sorry, I'm so all over the place. I can't wait to hear your presentation on Thursday!
ReplyDelete"Hello, do you have rum?" I love how you write, Candace, and this is a truly fascinating and fun topic. I intend to read this book regardless of our class choice. Thanks for the excellent review.
ReplyDelete