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Tastings @ OSH: Rum & Revolution

The Old Stone House & Washington Park is pleased to host Tastings @ OSH: Rum & Revolution with food and drink expert Tonya Hopkins on Friday, March 23rd, from 7:00-8:30 pm.

By the 18th century, American colonists were not only importing rum; they were distilling their own, and rum became a foundational element of the Triangle Trade. By 1770, there were apparently more than 150 rum distilleries in New England. One estimate from the time of the Revolutionary War puts American rum consumption at nearly four gallons per person per year. Rum distillation continued to be big business in America until 1808 when the U.S. prohibited the importation of slaves from Africa, and the Triangle Trade was broken.

Drawing on diverse West African traditions, enslaved peoples in the Caribbean integrated rum into resistance efforts during the Age of Revolution. The social and spiritual meanings of alcohol were modified and revived on the sugar estates, and rum-based oath drinks cemented alliances, so rum also offers a view into the revolutionary uprisings that accelerated the emancipation of enslaved peoples throughout the Atlantic world.