Alcohol in Pre-industrial Europe

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Alcohol In Pre-industrial Europe  

 In the early 16^th century, drinking was a custom and ritual that helped confirm a man’s social standing and it “proved” he was a man. The men that were involved in this were mostly pre-industrial working classes.  Women did not participate in the drinking festivities but they could get their husbands banned from the tavern by misbehaving at their home.  (B.A. Tlusty 1994) Misbehaving could mean always coming home drunk, to becoming abusive to his wife and children when drunk.

Today drinking is still a custom for some groups of people.  For instance, some ethnic groups of people drink wine with dinner, or share a drink at special occasions.  However, drinking has become a socially acceptable behaviour, even though it is known that drinking to excess is not socially acceptable.  Young people will drink for something to do on the weekends. The teens of today have different drinking games that they will play to get as drunk as they can.

In today’s society, it doesn’t matter if you are poor, middle, or upper class, almost everyone drinks at some point in their life.  I’m not sure it is still for the drinker to feel masculine, because females are also drinking.   It probably makes the drinkers, both male and female, feel like they’re part of the group, especially as teenagers.  No longer can a wife have her husband banned from drinking in a tavern, it now takes a court order and probation to prohibit someone from drinking in a bar/tavern.

Back before the industrial revolution, drunkenness was generally accepted as part of human life (P. Anderson & B. Baumberg 2006), we still see this today.   It isn’t until you are drunk everyday that society will classify you as an alcoholic.  If you drink everyday, if you can’t take care of your family, miss work due to drinking, you spend all of your money on booze etc., these are indications of an alcoholic. Things have really changed over the years.  Alcoholism has become a huge problem in some societies, and a drain on the health care system.  It can destroy families.  

Who knew what fermenting vegetable scraps would evolve into after all these centuries?

By: Jeff

References:

Gender and Alcohol use in Early Modern Augsburg

BA Tlusty - Social History/Histoire Sociale, 1994

Anderson, P. & Baumberg, B. (2006) Alcohol in

Europe. London: Institute of Alcohol Studies.