There is no way you can deny the fact that history of the world is also the history of liquor. At every turn of life, alcohol was there and often played a pivotal role. Here we bring to you five instances in which alcohol was a game changer.
The beginning of agriculture: It may seem extremely ridiculous, but apparently farming started on a large scale, only to produce beer. Yep, not to make bread, but to brew some beer. Several ancient pottery pieces excavated from China and Syria back this up.
The fate of America: Had it not been for beer, pilgrims would have never landed at Plymouth rock. The reason why colonists stopped long before they reached their destination was shortage of resources. Or in other words, because they ran out of beer. That was probably also the last time they did.
How vodka changed Russian history: Vodka has been a boon and a curse all at once, at least in Russia. When Japan was at war with Russia, their troops were too sloshed to fight (if vodka were your allowance for being a soldier, you’d be too). So it was pretty obvious why the Tsar banned vodka for a short while.
Three-way trade: Slavery, one of the most evil practices in history, was highly impacted by rum. When they figured the byproduct of sugar can be turned into rum for a cheap price, people started offering rum in exchange for slaves who would be forced to work on sugar plantations. Probably the most tragic role alcohol had to play in world history.
Fall of the Great: Alexander The Great was arguably the finest military leader in history as well as the emperor of the largest kingdom. But he died young at 33. His cause of death was consumption of large amounts of wine despite suffering from a terrible fever.
