Question

Which form of alcohol was consumed at epidemic levels (causing major health and social issues) in English cities in the early to mid 1700s?

Answer 1

Answer:

Gin.

Explanation:

Gin Craze is a term for the sharp rise in alcoholism in England in the first half of the 18th century, when domestic entrepreneurs immediately threw themselves into the production of this brandy from available raw materials, such as grain and juniper, and flooded the country with cheap gin, where hard alcohol was a luxury item until then and people were used to drinking mainly beer.

As consequence, mass drunkenness erupted, especially in the slums of London, which led to an increase in crime and widespread demoralization. In 1743, it was recorded that the average Englishman consumed ten liters of gin a year. A number of scandals led to the British Parliament passing a series of so-called gin laws between 1729 and 1751, which banned the tapping of spirits without an official concession and significantly taxed gin production. Consumption therefore fell sharply, and the definitive end of Gin Craze marked the years 1757–1760, when the use of grain to produce alcohol was banned due to a large crop failure.