Gin and Colonialism

The martini was introduced by about 18 70, combining gin, vermoush and garnish. Chinchona bark has its own long history as the source of medicine to treat recurring fevers. The british royal navy relied on it to treat malaria. Mixing tonic water with gin became a popular way for people in tropical areas to get their doses of quinine. This brings us to gin's connections to colonialism. Anywhere the british empire established a trade or started a colony, it made gin more widely available there than it had been before. Britain and other european powers also traded liquor for enslaved africans during the transatlantic slave trade.