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Sobering Dilemma (Ronsdale $21.95)
Jesus drank, turned water into wine and promised his followers they could drink wine in heaven. But Mothers Against Drunk Drivers have ample evidence to support their fears that booze is a costly and deadly element of society that requires strict sanctions. Neither a proponent of booze nor a MADD campaigner, Douglas L. Hamilton has written Sobering Dilemma (Ronsdale $21.95) to evaluate the evolution of liquor control laws in B.C.
Alcohol was unknown on the coast until Captain Cook's arrival at Nootka Sound in 1778. Within 20 years, the maritime fur trade was well lubricated by booze, prostitution and widespread tobacco use. When the Boston arrived in 1803 with a cargo of 1,260 gallons of rum and 3,000 guns, its captain didn't realize the extent to which some of the 'savages' understood English. He made the fatal mistake of insulting Chief Maquinna, whereupon the Nuu-chah-nulth slaughtered all but two of the Boston's crew. That must have been one helluva victory party. Hudson's Bay Company bean counters were soon complaining that Indians were "so much occupied drinking that they that don't take time to either hunt or fish."; This led to the first prohibition of alcohol in B.C.-for one week only in 1825-when nervous fur traders at Fort Simpson "stopt the sale of Liquor as a punishment to the Chiefs who appear very much inclined to quarrel when intoxicated.";
The 'Little Emperor' of the Hudson's Bay Company, George Simpson,
in the name of efficiency rather than morality, tried to encourage the rationing of grog, but eventually eradication of demon alcohol for Indians was proposed from Victoria. Governor James Douglas introduced the first legalized prohibition in British Columbia in 1854-and for the next 108 years, until 1962, Indians were not permitted to purchase liquor in B.C.
Douglas Hamilton has examined all manner of alcohol restrictions in British Columbia from 1854 onwards in Sobering Dilemma, augmenting the spadework done by Robert A. Campbell in his two books and Harold Tuttle Allen. Binge drinkers from the early gold fields of B.C. gave rise to Dashaway Clubs, genteel establishments that provided libraries and gymnasiums, attracting the likes of Amor de Cosmos, second Premier of B.C. World War I gave rise to prohibition in Canada. In those days, prohibitionists portrayed alcohol consumption as unpatriotic. Workers had to be sober to efficiently serve the war effort and drunkards on the front lines couldn't shoot straight.
Despite the opposition of soldiers, Canadian provinces followed the lead of Prince Edward Island, where liquor had been banned since 1901, and introduced laws, from 1917 and 1919, that radically restricted alcohol consumption. After the province's so-called 'Purity Election' had included referenda on women's suffrage and alcohol in 1916, B.C. officially went dry in 1917, but wealthy folks could import the stuff or else obtain alcohol legally with a doctor's prescription. As soon as the war ended, returning soldiers were keen to drown their sorrows with "God's tranquillizer."; As well, most immigrants to B.C. were born in Britain and they "regarded the anti-liquor fanaticism of the Methodists and others with scepticism, even disdain.";
Quebec was the first Canadian province to eliminate prohibition, in 1919, but B.C. was second, in 1921. While prohibition was still in effect in the United States, rumrunners such as Johnny Schnarr made illicit deliveries by boat. "By 1924,"; Hamilton writes, "the trade had become highly organized, and many of today's well-known families in B.C. and across Canada made their fortunes smuggling liquor to the United States."; The most notorious of the smuggling ships was the 245-foot long Malahat, displacing 1,500 tons. It could carry 84,000 cases in her hold with an additional 16,000 on deck.
Hamilton reports that liquor lord Henry Reifel made more than $100,000 in political contributions to Liberal politicians in B.C. and his employees regularly made "contributions"; to liquor store employees, but he was nonetheless dissatisfied with his level of influence in the alcohol trade.
Attorney-General Alex Manson had a solution to the bootlegging mess. Five breweries were allowed to form a cartel called the Amalgamated Brewers Agency to sell exclusively to the LCB. Indians who wanted to drink legally could do so after 1921 if they rescinded their status Indian designation and became Canadian citizens. Between 1857 and 1940, fewer than 500 did so.
Hamilton makes clear Aboriginal people metabolize alcohol at the same rate as everyone else.
"The firewater myth was the construct of Europeans who needed stereotypes based on the 'unalterable inferiority of Indians',"; he writes. "Such views provided the rationale for confiscation of lands for settlement, while at the same time eliminating the need to look for other causes of social of the social dislocation in the Aboriginal community."; After World War II, Native veterans who drank overseas found they were still forbidden to drink at home. Activists pointed out the hypocrisy of Canada scornfully accusing Nazi Germany of racism while it continued to subjugate its Aboriginal people.
As Jean Barman concludes in her introduction, "Sobering Dilemma reminds us of the dangers of smugness in thinking that we have the answers on behalf of others."; Most folks will drink to that.
Douglas L. Hamilton has previously written about the smallpox epidemic of 1862, the Pig War, rum-running, Typhoon Frieda and the Japanese submarine attack on Estevan Lighthouse. He and his wife live on Lasqueti Island with sheep, cows, chickens and a harpsichord.
1-55380-016-8
[BCBW 2004]
Alcohol was unknown on the coast until Captain Cook's arrival at Nootka Sound in 1778. Within 20 years, the maritime fur trade was well lubricated by booze, prostitution and widespread tobacco use. When the Boston arrived in 1803 with a cargo of 1,260 gallons of rum and 3,000 guns, its captain didn't realize the extent to which some of the 'savages' understood English. He made the fatal mistake of insulting Chief Maquinna, whereupon the Nuu-chah-nulth slaughtered all but two of the Boston's crew. That must have been one helluva victory party. Hudson's Bay Company bean counters were soon complaining that Indians were "so much occupied drinking that they that don't take time to either hunt or fish."; This led to the first prohibition of alcohol in B.C.-for one week only in 1825-when nervous fur traders at Fort Simpson "stopt the sale of Liquor as a punishment to the Chiefs who appear very much inclined to quarrel when intoxicated.";
The 'Little Emperor' of the Hudson's Bay Company, George Simpson,
in the name of efficiency rather than morality, tried to encourage the rationing of grog, but eventually eradication of demon alcohol for Indians was proposed from Victoria. Governor James Douglas introduced the first legalized prohibition in British Columbia in 1854-and for the next 108 years, until 1962, Indians were not permitted to purchase liquor in B.C.
Douglas Hamilton has examined all manner of alcohol restrictions in British Columbia from 1854 onwards in Sobering Dilemma, augmenting the spadework done by Robert A. Campbell in his two books and Harold Tuttle Allen. Binge drinkers from the early gold fields of B.C. gave rise to Dashaway Clubs, genteel establishments that provided libraries and gymnasiums, attracting the likes of Amor de Cosmos, second Premier of B.C. World War I gave rise to prohibition in Canada. In those days, prohibitionists portrayed alcohol consumption as unpatriotic. Workers had to be sober to efficiently serve the war effort and drunkards on the front lines couldn't shoot straight.
Despite the opposition of soldiers, Canadian provinces followed the lead of Prince Edward Island, where liquor had been banned since 1901, and introduced laws, from 1917 and 1919, that radically restricted alcohol consumption. After the province's so-called 'Purity Election' had included referenda on women's suffrage and alcohol in 1916, B.C. officially went dry in 1917, but wealthy folks could import the stuff or else obtain alcohol legally with a doctor's prescription. As soon as the war ended, returning soldiers were keen to drown their sorrows with "God's tranquillizer."; As well, most immigrants to B.C. were born in Britain and they "regarded the anti-liquor fanaticism of the Methodists and others with scepticism, even disdain.";
Quebec was the first Canadian province to eliminate prohibition, in 1919, but B.C. was second, in 1921. While prohibition was still in effect in the United States, rumrunners such as Johnny Schnarr made illicit deliveries by boat. "By 1924,"; Hamilton writes, "the trade had become highly organized, and many of today's well-known families in B.C. and across Canada made their fortunes smuggling liquor to the United States."; The most notorious of the smuggling ships was the 245-foot long Malahat, displacing 1,500 tons. It could carry 84,000 cases in her hold with an additional 16,000 on deck.
Hamilton reports that liquor lord Henry Reifel made more than $100,000 in political contributions to Liberal politicians in B.C. and his employees regularly made "contributions"; to liquor store employees, but he was nonetheless dissatisfied with his level of influence in the alcohol trade.
Attorney-General Alex Manson had a solution to the bootlegging mess. Five breweries were allowed to form a cartel called the Amalgamated Brewers Agency to sell exclusively to the LCB. Indians who wanted to drink legally could do so after 1921 if they rescinded their status Indian designation and became Canadian citizens. Between 1857 and 1940, fewer than 500 did so.
Hamilton makes clear Aboriginal people metabolize alcohol at the same rate as everyone else.
"The firewater myth was the construct of Europeans who needed stereotypes based on the 'unalterable inferiority of Indians',"; he writes. "Such views provided the rationale for confiscation of lands for settlement, while at the same time eliminating the need to look for other causes of social of the social dislocation in the Aboriginal community."; After World War II, Native veterans who drank overseas found they were still forbidden to drink at home. Activists pointed out the hypocrisy of Canada scornfully accusing Nazi Germany of racism while it continued to subjugate its Aboriginal people.
As Jean Barman concludes in her introduction, "Sobering Dilemma reminds us of the dangers of smugness in thinking that we have the answers on behalf of others."; Most folks will drink to that.
Douglas L. Hamilton has previously written about the smallpox epidemic of 1862, the Pig War, rum-running, Typhoon Frieda and the Japanese submarine attack on Estevan Lighthouse. He and his wife live on Lasqueti Island with sheep, cows, chickens and a harpsichord.
1-55380-016-8
[BCBW 2004]
Submitted on October 7, 2004 in By David.
