History of Alcohol: Ancient Times to Today

Alcohol is a beverage and has offered different functions for individuals throughout history. It plays a vital role in advancing the quality of life and enjoyment. Also, they can provide pharmacological pleasure and act as social lubricants. A minority has regularly misused alcohol, but it has proven to be advantageous to the majority. The history of alcohol is unique since distinct cultures possess a separate account on how they use alcohol.

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History of Alcohol during Ancient Times

Different cultures have accounted for contrarily the preparation of the consumption of alcohol due to the accessible resources in various areas of the globe. For instance, Sumerians invented their first beer in the period 3000 to 2000B.C. scholars have unearthed this evidence through the discovery of beer recipes assortment on clay tablets (Editorial staff, 2019). Sumerians also had to use straws for drinking their beer as they utilized grain and marsh for preparation. Also, they guaranteed that the control of alcohol consumption was through strict laws and rules. Similarly, these individuals often consumed alcohol as an offertory as they were religious. The Sumerians regularly supplemented the liquor with other products in sessions intended to talk with their god as they searched for restoration from their different religious shortfalls.

On the other hand, Egyptians used alcohol as part of their daily diet. It was deliberated a revered drink and consumed it with bread. The liquor was prepared using wheat, yeast, and barley, which were common grains identical to antique Egypt. Alcohol intake for Egyptians was for dietary advantages and contained qualities reflected to be excellent. Also, they believed that alcohol consumption healed bodily diseases that afflicted people's bodies. The Egyptians established festivals whereby beer drinking was the central event theme.

The Greek was much known for its popularity in wine manufacturing and vineyards. The Greeks were utilizing alcohol as a form of currency as early as 2000B.C as they would deliver it in exchange for other products (Editorial staff, 2019). Also, alcohol acted as an offertory to the Greeks; hence they reflected it to be a pure and valued drink which was worth to be presented to the gods. Also, they believed alcohol to play a vital role in the medical sector as they assumed it healed different diseases. The Greeks used alcohol during gatherings where elite men met at a specific venue to drink together while telling stories and exchanging ideas.

The Romans implemented wine manufacturing from the Greeks. The Romans used alcohol as a method of trade to obtain currency as they engaged themselves in the slave trade, which was extensive in that geological region for a long time. Also, they established laws that regulated the enhancement of grapevines to control the beverage demand within their dominion. The Romans also encouraged wine drinking and criticized water consumption in a determination to promote the use of alcohol.

Furthermore, china consumed alcohol and prepared from fruit and flower fermentation. Chinese were the early individuals to have purified spirits from fermented yeast. Also, Chinese, like other cultures, consumed alcohol in substantial events as they considered it a holy beverage. Dancing, singing, and reading innovative texts accompanied alcohol consumption. They also deliberated the drink to have medical benefits by preventing old-age illnesses and diseases.

Similarly, between 1525 and 1550, British Europe used distilled spirits (Editorial staff, 2019). The beverage abuse rate resulted in the regulation of alcohol through outlawed laws by the authorities. The same author shows that in 1600, the enaction of alcohol consumption law regarded liquor as a sin. Also, the Dutch in the year 1650 enhanced gin. Various individuals in distinct areas around the globe were advancing their alcohol version and deploying several recipes that produced a variety of outcomes. Japanese were using rice, while other cultures like the South Americans used maize. Various cultures upheld a resemblance method as they linked alcohol with religiousness and established a foundation for reverence.

Alcohol during the Colonial Period

During the colonial era, there were various offers for alcohol consumption as a substitute method to water, which was assumed to be contaminated by the colonialists. When the brewed alcohol cost of acquisition became expensive, the colonists adopted to shipping of their constituents from England to beverage their beer. Some American states established regulatory laws against homebrewing, which terminated the act, making that barred alcohol use as a means of payment and currency. The performance led in strikes as individuals sought to preserve the status quo. In the 17th century, Americans were recognized to consume alcohol all day as they took part in drinking rum due to the fact of the distilled molasses in New England, which protected more than one hundred distilleries. Alcohol manufacturing increased to more than five gallons yearly in every individual. The facts of alcohol history culminated with the tax of whiskey leading to the Pennsylvania Rebellion, thus workers becoming tax evaders.

Alcohol played a pivotal role in the Civil War during the 19th and 20th centuries. Medics used alcohol as medicine in healing people, while priests used it in their preaching ministries. The augmented consumption rate led to the increase of immoral acts by militaries who misused the brew and perpetuated deliberate fierce illegal actions such as rape (Editorial staff, 2019). These events led to the cold water army, which supported the moderation from alcohol to make modifications. Individuals who joined this army performed both communal and spiritual objectives as they endeavored to attain individual and societal transformation. The US Navy in the late 1800s entered the bandwagon by preventing the partial beer rum ration intended for sailors. By the end of the 19th century, people supported alcohol prohibition leading to the making of the 18th amendment to avert the alcohol auction and production. The Volstead act in 1919 stated that the creation of alcohol was particularly for spiritual or medical purposes and only consumed if purchased legally.

Early Modern Period

The modern era marked the period whereby alcohol brewing, moving, importing, and vending it was prohibited constitutionally in the United States. Also, spiritual and other teetotaler groups during the early 19th century canvassed against what they had perceived as countrywide drunkenness. According to History.com Editors (2009), the Maine legislature in 1851 approved a law that banned alcohol sales, which other states later adopted this law. However, these nations decided to abolish the act after continued extensive campaigns and riots due to the public antagonism. The extensive rioting campaigns were due to the existence of planned crime, which retained the delivery ring vivacious with those gaining from the trade decided to remain silent about the organization. Similarly, numerous small brewers kept their processes by concealing their products by omitting some ingredients, which could be supplementary by consumers to reinstate the product to liquor status.

The closure of big factories was due to the enforced law, which contributed to the loss of lives of individuals who took tainted liquor. The alcohol laws led to the rise of the black market who produced low-quality beverages that had bad smells and exposed risk to those who were unbothered to consume the drinks (Asbury, 2018). Most Americans were adapting the black market resulting in depression as the state was not collecting on the brews. However, as a result of this, several nations opted to preserve the prohibition introduced during the ban retro and prevented alcohol consumption within their jurisdictions. Alcohol abuse and use is a scourge in this era as statistical data collected shows the degree at which American individuals are alcohol abusers (Asbury, 2018). Also, adults and adolescents fall under the category of alcohol abuse; however, the present times provide better medical solutions for those addicted to the drink, such as undergoing rehabilitation.

Effects on the present restaurant business

Regulations have been put in place on the accessibility of alcohol to control consumption, which is the leading source of problems originating from addiction. The prime regulatory aspect applied by the state to minimize the advancing issues over the alcohol spread is through rationing alcohol. The government control sale of liquor through imposing age restrictions to prevent the youth from accessing the brew. Also, the state regulates alcohol selling and drinking time to keep the public from falling into a culture of indulging consumption during the day (Walder, 2015). Similarly, strict vetting is done to those who wish to operate the industry of vending alcohol, which generates a high integrity standard among the inventors and owners of the firm. In the United States, the enforcement law of MLDA (minimum legal drinking age) stipulates the statutory period when a person can buy alcoholic beverages, which is 21 years. The determination of legal alcohol consumption focuses on statistical data like the rates of a fatal crash. The government can decide the level of harm to alcoholism by determining the driver's blood alcohol content during these crashes. Usually, controlling the early teenage alcohol consumption defines the outcome of the adult populace as the future generation will be profoundly affected if more youths plunge in these drinking habits.

Additionally, the government has controlled the locality and number of alcohol retail firms. The regulation factor has been applied through auditing and inspecting the number of restaurants vending alcohol in a particular area. Similarly, regions with a high number of restaurants are the leading cause of issues that originate from drunkenness.

Research has indicated that regions with a more significant number of alcohol shops tend to have a high violence occurrence contrasted to areas with fewer outlets (Walder, 2015). Thus, the number of alcohol shops relates to violent incidents of crimes and accidents as a result of driving while drunk. Social-ecological theory and public policy state that the government, through public participation, regulates the number of outlets in a specific region as they are capable of enlisting the ideas of the general community to which premises they would request to be shut down. However, this builds a significant concern as the public may face blames for piloting witch hunts against businesses that they consider to be contrary to their plan.

Moreover, planning for the future creates a strategic agenda that guarantees continuity for youths through public systems. The systems institute a global policy measure that influences use, and other challenges may ascend as a result of alcohol consumption. The vital objective is to regulate the alcoholic beverage accessible for the advancement of the community. There are different contexts, such as low and high-risk settings of consumers in a specific geographical area. The risk of the population depends on the different types of alcohol consumers situated within the society and may necessitate more action by the government and community to put measures.

Conclusion

In a nutshell, people highly valued alcohol in ancient times through constant use. Alcohol consumptions through those eras was a form of currency as it played essential functions in society. Numerous cultures around the world were producing alcohol instinctively in the same...