Is there any particular reason that rum is associated with the ocean, the sea, and smuggling?

[Mike 03]

My father and I were talking about Hemingway, and at some point after we'd hung up, I suddenly wondered why Hemingway loved rum, why "rum" happened to be the beverage that was the focus of smuggling in the early 1900s.

Is it just because it was produced in Cuba or in some islands in that area?

It is also my recollection that all of the pirates in the Disney ride, and probably the films as well, are drinking rum.

What is special about rum that made it so appealing to smuggle, and why don't hear as much about other types of alcoholic beverages being smuggled in the Florida area during that era?

Or is "rum running" a sort of catch-all phrase for the illegal transport of all kinds of contraband?

Just one of those bizarre questions that sometimes occur...

[underpants]

1. AAAARRRRRGH!!!

[bicentennial_baby]

2. I don't know about smuggling and such, but

rum was a byproduct of what's known as the "triangular trade" during slavery.

"A classic example would be the trade of sugar (often in its liquid form, molasses) from the Caribbean to Europe or New England, where it was distilled into rum, some of which was then used to purchase new slaves in West Africa.
Diagram illustrating the stowage of African slaves on a British slave ship.

The trade represented a profitable enterprise for merchants and investors. The business was risky, competitive and severe, but enslaved Africans fetched a high price at auctions, making the trade in human cargo a lucrative business.

The first leg of the triangle was from a European port to Africa, in which ships carried supplies for sale and trade, such as copper, cloth, trinkets,slave beads, guns and ammunition. <3> When the slave ship arrived, its cargo would be sold or bartered for slaves, who were tightly packed like any other cargo to maximize profits.

On the second leg, ships made the journey of the Middle Passage from Africa to the New World. Once the slave ship reached the New World, enslaved survivors were sold in the Caribbean or the Americas.

The ships were then prepared to get them thoroughly cleaned, drained, and loaded with export goods for a return voyage, the third leg, to their home port.<4> From the West Indies the main export cargoes were sugar, rum, and molasses; from Virginia, commodities were tobacco and hemp. The ship then returned to Europe to complete the triangle."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Triangular_trade

I learned about that in Modern African History class. And then again in American Economic History. :)

[no name no slogan]

3. Hemingway loved rum because he was bipolar and an alcoholic

A lot of bipolars drink to self-medicate. Consequently the alcoholism rate among people with bipolar disorder is more than twice that of the rest of the population.

[arcadian]

4. It's the Caribbean.

Sugar plantations are in the Caribbean, the Caribbean is a sea.

[XemaSab]

5. Rum is made from sugar cane

which is a tropical grass.

Most hard alcohol is made from grains, with the exception of tequila, brandy, and vodka (sometimes made from potatoes or beets), among others.

I was thinking about this the other day WRT pirates and parrots. :)

[supernova]

6. Sugar cane is a new world crop

and cane is used in rum production.

Plus they had to import slaves to work the can fields in the carribean.

[crispini]

7. Rum, sodomy, and the lash....

Good times, good times! :evilgrin:

[mitchum]

8. Pirates like daiquiris...

that's also why Blackbeard invited the blender (not many people know that)

[FKA MNChimpH8R]

9. English sailors got a daily ration of rum for centuries

in the form of grog. Thus the drink's association with sailors and the sea.

[Left Is Write]

10. Yo ho ho and a bottle of rum?

:D