Alcohol in Colonial Africa
Lynn PanAlthough Alcohol in Colonial Africa is a small book of 121 pages, it is packed with the type of historical infor- mation that would excite a young researcher who grew up in colonial Africa around uncles and cousins engaged in the commercial activity of distilling and distributing ‘illicit gin’. As the name of this home-made product implies, colonial law (e.g. in Nigeria, the Native Liquor Ordinance of 1917) made it illegal to distill gin from the abundant palm wine or grains-based beverages available in much of the continent. The book discusses why and
how that came to be so, what the alcohol scene looked like before Europeans arrived in Africa and the role of alcohol in the slave trade, various international agreements on trade in alcohol (including the Brussels’ General Act and the Convention of St Germain), and presents specific cases of control efforts in three territories. In a final chapter, Ms Pan points to the enduring challenge that faces policy makers who wish ‘to minimize drinking in the interest of public health and social well-being without an assault on the fabric of collective life, into which tra- ditional drinking is so closely knit’ (p. 106): a challenge which should resonate today, as the World Health Organization embarks on renewed efforts to focus global attention on alcohol.