Alcohol Origins

An 18th century illustration of the first Thanksgiving. Source: http://inamerica.blogs.cnn.com/2011/11/24/thanksgiving-is-some-native-americans-day-of-mourning/

Native Americans

   It is impossible to claim that European settlers were the first to introduce Native American tribes to alcohol. While there was a form of alcohol present before colonization took place, the alcohol was nowhere near the equivalent of what the white men were drinking. Most of the small amount of alcohol use came from the Southwestern part of the United States, and even then, the alcohol content itself was very weak at only "(8%-14%)" (3) and was typically only intended for "ceremonial purposes" (2) as opposed to recreational enjoyment. 

Tribal or primitive alcohols differed not just in alcohol content, but in "lactic acid fermentation giving them a tangy and sour taste, contain various additives such as honey or fruits, and vary in viscosity from clear liquids, to soupy mixtures with suspended solids, to pastes," (4). 

Europeans 

   Colonists were typically more inclined to drink for entertainment, and alcohol was also more commonplace. Alcohol soon became incorporated into trade quickly, and "the tribes had little time to develop social, legal, or moral guidelines to regulate alcohol use," (2). The alcohol being traded would not have been the low-content creations the tribes may have been accustomed to, but rather the distilled and purified high-content beverage the colonists had mastered. 


    Binge drinking was a common practice amongst European colonists, as they "encouraged rapid drinking to avoid the detection and confiscation of alcohol, (2)" especially in periods of prohibition and social distaste.