Rum’s role in early Canada uncorked in new account

Have you ever walked through the rum section of your local Liquor Mart and thought, “I wonder what impact rum had on Canadian history?”

Most of us haven’t, and apparently neither had Allan Greer, professor emeritus of history at McGill University. For Greer, the question is: “why had rum’s outsized role in the life of pre-Confederation been so long overlooked?” It’s one that he answers thoroughly in his non-fiction work Canada in the Age of Rum.

Greer traces the journey of rum’s influence from the fishery in Newfoundland in the 1670s to the fur trade in Western Canada in the 1830s. In seven tidy chapters, he describes the role of rum in commerce, politics and social organization and how, as he puts it, “the colonies that would later become Canada were awash in a sea of rum.”

One of the most sensitive relationships is the one between rum and its use by the fur trade. As Greer explains, it is a much more complex and nuanced situation than what we may have understood from our schooling.

He sources perspectives from all the parties concerned — the Hudson’s Bay Company, the North West Company and the Indigenous community — each having their own particular interest in the running of the fur trade.

Greer pays particular attention to the ceremonial aspects of rum with the trade protocols between Indigenous leaders and the company representatives.

Although he focuses on the business end of rum, Greer does not shy away from pointing out the deleterious effects rum had on everyone from those in the fishing ports in Newfoundland to the fur traders in Upper Canada and out west among the Indigenous communities. It was the recognition of the dark side of rum, says Greer, which eventually brought its prevalence into check by the 1830s.

Greer supports his analysis with enough charts and graphs detailing the use and consumption of rum to keep any history buff happy. But where Greer is at his best is in his storytelling. His style is reminiscent of Ken Burns, who fleshes out his focal facts with the lived experience of those involved.

What makes Greer’s style particularly interesting is the “mystery” aspect of the story. If rum was so prevalent during that time, how did it lose its powerful influence? As with some mystery novels, it’s tempting to skip ahead to see how it would all turn out.

Greer’s style makes his work very readable, and this is a perfect summer beach read for those interested in historical non-fiction.

One thing is for sure — once you’ve read Canada in the Age of Rum, you’ll never look at the rum section of your local Liquor Mart the same way.

Bryen Lebar is a retired English teacher looking for a reason to write for money.