Gin Lane by William Hogarth, 1751

The Gin Craze was a period in the first half of the 18th century when the consumption of gin became popular with the working classes in Britain - especially in London. The 18th century lasted from 1701 to 1800 in the Gregorian calendar, in accordance with the Anno Domini / Common Era numbering system Gin is a spirit flavoured with Juniper berries. Distilled gin is made by redistilling white grain spirit which has been flavoured with juniper Working class is a term used in academic Sociology and in ordinary conversation to describe depending on context and speaker those employed in specific fields or types The Kingdom of Great Britain, also known as the United Kingdom of Great Britain, was a State in northwest Europe, in existence from 1707 to 1800 London ( ˈlʌndən is the capital and largest urban area in the United Kingdom. There ensued an epidemic of extreme drunkenness that provoked moral outrage and a legislative backlash which some compare to the modern drug wars. Drunkenness or inebriation is the state of being intoxicated by consumption of Alcoholic beverages to a degree that mental and physical faculties are noticeably The prohibition of drugs through sumptuary Legislation or Religious law is a common means of attempting to control Drug use and the

Five major Acts were passed between 1729 and 1751 designed to control the consumption of gin (in 1729, 1736, 1743, 1747 and 1751). Year 1729 ( MDCCXXIX) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common Year 1751 ( MDCCLI) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Though many similar drinks were available, and alcohol consumption was considerable at all levels of society, it was gin (otherwise known as Mother's Ruin, Madam Geneva, The Makeshift, Slappy Bonita, and even 'King Theodor of Corsica') which caused the greatest public concern.

Gin was popularised in England following the accession of William of Orange in 1688. William III or William of Orange (14 November 1650 &ndash 8 March 1702 He is informally known in Northern Ireland and Scotland as "King Billy" Gin provided an alternative to French brandy at a time of both political and religious conflict between Britain and France. Brandy (from brandywine, derived from Dutch brandewijn — “burnt wine” is a spirit produced by distilling Wine Between 1689 and 1697 the Government passed a range of legislation aimed at restricting brandy imports and encouraging gin production. Most importantly, the monopoly of the London Guild of Distillers was broken in 1690, thereby opening up the market in gin distillation. The production and consumption of English gin, which was then popular amongst politicians and even Queen Anne, was encouraged by the government. Anne (6 February 1665 – 1 August 1714 became Queen of England, Scotland and Ireland on 8 March 1702 succeeding William III of England and II of

Economic protectionism was a major factor in beginning the Gin Craze; as the price of food dropped and income grew, consumers suddenly had the opportunity to spend excess funds on liquor. By 1721, however, Middlesex magistrates were already decrying it as "the principal cause of all the vice & debauchery committed among the inferior sort of people". Middlesex is one of the 39 historic counties of England and the second smallest by area. A magistrate is a judicial officer In Common law systems a magistrate usually has limited authority to administer and enforce the Law. ^[1] In 1736, the Middlesex Magistrates complained that ‘It is with the deepest concern your committee observe the strong Inclination of the inferior Sort of People to these destructive Liquors, and how surprisingly this Infection has spread within these few Years … it is scarce possible for Persons in low Life to go anywhere or to be anywhere, without being drawn in to taste, and, by Degrees, to like and approve of this pernicious Liquor. ’

The Gin Acts of 1736 and 1751

The British government tried a number of times to stop the flow of gin. The 1736 Gin Act taxed retail sales at a rate of 20 shillings a gallon on spirits and required licensees to take out a £50 annual license to sell gin. The aim was to effectively prohibit the trade by making it economically infeasible. However, only two licences were ever taken out. The trade became illegal, consumption dipped but then continued to rise and the law was effectively repealed in 1743 following mass law-breaking and violence (particularly towards informers who were paid £5 to reveal the whereabouts of illegal gin shops). The illegally distilled gin which was produced following the 1736 Act was less reliable and more likely to result in poisoning.

By 1743, the people of England were drinking 2. 2 gallons of gin annually per head of population. Imperial units or the Imperial system is a collection of units first defined in the British Weights and Measures Act of 1824 As consumption levels increased, an organised campaign for more effective legislation began to emerge led by the Bishop of Sodor and Man, Thomas Wilson (who, in 1736, had complained, tellingly, that gin produced a 'drunken ungovernable set of people'). Prominent anti-gin campaigners included Henry Fielding (whose 1751 'Enquiry into the Late Increase in Robbers' blamed gin consumption for both increased crime and increased ill health among children), Josiah Tucker, Daniel Defoe (who had originally campaigned for the liberalisation of distilling, but later complained that drunken mothers were threatening to produce a 'fine spindle-shanked generation' of children), and - briefly - William Hogarth. Henry Fielding ( April 22, 1707 &ndash October 8, 1754) was an English Novelist and Dramatist known for his Josiah Tucker (1713–1799 also known as Dean Tucker was an 18th century English economist and political writer concerned with Jewish emancipation and Daniel Defoe (1659/1661 — April 24, 1731 was an English Writer, Journalist, and Pamphleteer, who gained enduring fame for William Hogarth (10 November 1697 &ndash 26 October 1764 was a major English painter, printmaker, pictorial satirist, social critic Hogarth's famous engraving "Gin Lane" provides the most memorable image of the gin craze. Beer Street and Gin Lane are two prints issued in 1751 by English artist William Hogarth in support of what would become the Gin Act

The Gin Craze began to peter out following the Gin Act 1751. The Sale of Spirits Act 1750 (commonly known as the Gin Act 1751) was an Act of the Parliament of Great Britain (citation 24 Geo This Act lowered the annual licence fees, but encouraged 'respectable' gin selling by requiring licensees to trade from premises rented at at least £10 a year. It is also claimed, however, that gin consumption was reduced not as a result of legislation but because of the rising cost of grain. Landowners could afford to abandon the production of gin, and this fact coupled with population growth and a series of poor harvests resulted in lower wages and increased food prices. The Gin Craze was mostly dead by 1757, which is when the government attempted to ensure that it would stay that way by temporarily banning the manufacture of spirits from domestic grain, though there was a resurgence during the Victorian era, with numerous 'Gin Palaces' appearing. A gin palace is an English name originally for a lavish bar selling Gin, later transferred by association to late Victorian Pubs designed in a

Footnotes

References

• Daniel Defoe, A Brief Case of the Distillers and of the Distilling Trade in England (London: T. Warner, 1726)
• Patrick Dillon, The Much-Lamented Death of Madam Geneva: The Eighteenth-Century Gin Craze (London: Review, 2002)
• Fielding, Henry, An Enquiry into the Causes of the Late Increase of Robbers and Related Writings, ed. Malvin R. Zirker (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1988)
• M. Dorothy George, London Life in the Eighteenth Century (1925; Harmondsworth: Penguin, 1992)
• Jessica Warner, Craze: Gin and Debauchery in the Age of Reason (London: Random House, 2002)
• Elise Skinner, The Gin Craze: Drink, Crime & Women in 18th Century London