Dear Robert and all, my book Caribbean Rum: A Social and Economic History 
deals with differing uses of alcohol among different social classes in the 
Caribbean. Enslaved peoples in the region had ready access to alcohol, 
especially rum. They also produced fermented varieties of alcohol from local 
plant resources. Plantation owners were ambivalent about giving alcohol to the 
enslaved peoples on their estates, but generally doled out huge amounts of rum 
as a dietary supplement, as a reward for good work, and at annual celebrations 
such as Christmas and New Years. However, enslaved peoples did not have 
ready access to imported wine, which was usually reserved for the elite in 
society. David Hancock has done some work on the Madeira wine trade to the 
Americas and focuses on elite use of that beverage. There are few cases of 
slaves drinking wine, and those that do exist are generally in the French and 
Spanish Caribbean. Not that wine was formally/legally restricted to whites in the 
British Caribbean, but that it was expensive and difficult to come by in the 
British colonies. Nor did indentured servants drink much wine, though they 
drank lots of rum.  


------
Frederick H. Smith
Assistant Professor
College of William and Mary
Department of Anthropology
Washington Hall
PO Box 8795
Williamsburg, VA   23187

Email: [log in to unmask]
Phone: 757-221-1063

---- Original message ----
>Date: Wed, 31 May 2006 12:39:36 -0400
>From: S Powell <[log in to unmask]>  
>Subject: Re: liquor as white privilege  
>To: [log in to unmask]
>
>For what it is worth, I am of the impression that during the period of 
>American Slavery in the deep south, the slaves were not "permitted" or 
>at least given alcohol because the slave masters worried about their 
>behavior when intoxicated. I seem to remember there were exceptions to 
>this on the plantations but for the most part it was generally 
>desirable to keep alcohol away from them.
>This would certainly lend to a sense of "whiteness" and privilege in 
>Antebellum Southern American White Culture. I cannot speak to the 
>Canadian culture...
>
>As for sources, I am on the road and do not have access to sources...
>
>Regards,
>
>Steve Powell
>Odessa Pictures, Inc.
>View our Demo Reel Online at:
>http://odessapictures.com/
>Tel: +1.716.316.6710
>On May 28, 2006, at 12:48 PM, Robert Campbell wrote:
>
>> Hello,
>> A colleague of mine has asked about secondary literature on liquor as 
>> a white privilege, particularly in the Canadian context. My work 
>> certainly has assumed that privilege, but it does not discuss how 
>> access to alcohol can be part of the process of creating "whiteness."
>> Regards,
>> Robert Campbell
>>
>>
>> Robert A. Campbell, Ph.D.
>> Department of History
>> Capilano College
>> 2055 Purcell Way
>> North Vancouver, BC
>> Canada V7J 3H5
>> 604.986.1911 x2477
>> FAX 604.990.7838
>> [log in to unmask]
>>