Puritans And Beer: A Historical Perspective

The Puritans are often portrayed as pleasure-hating teetotallers, but this is a myth. The religious and political movement, which was intertwined with the colonial government in 17th-century New England, sanctioned alcohol consumption. In fact, the Mayflower stopped at Plymouth Rock because its beer supplies were running low. The ship carried more beer than water, and the colonists drank about a gallon of beer per day. Beer was crucial to the survival of the Pilgrims, who considered it safer to drink than water, especially during sea travel. While drunkenness was frowned upon, alcohol was ubiquitous in Puritan-led colonies, and the colonial governments enacted many laws to regulate its sale.

Puritans drank beer for fun and social custom

Puritans have long been associated with being pleasure-hating, particularly when it comes to alcohol. However, this assumption is not entirely accurate. While they may not have been "party animals", historical records and cultural contexts suggest that Puritans did indeed drink beer, and their consumption was driven by fun and social custom.

The misconception about Puritans and their attitude towards alcohol can be attributed to a misunderstanding of who they were as a group. They were not solely a religious movement but also a political one, with their religious beliefs intertwined with their political goals. The Puritans sought to purify politics and the church from what they perceived as corrupt influences, and this extended to their views on alcohol.

The idea that Puritans abstained from alcohol is a myth. In fact, drinking alcohol was widespread among them, and colonial governments in 1600s New England enacted numerous laws to regulate its sale. For example, a law enacted in Plymouth in 1636 specified that only licensed establishments, such as inns and victualling houses, were permitted to sell wine, strong waters, or beer. This law also included provisions to prevent tavern-keepers from serving children and indentured servants and prohibited them from being drunk while serving alcohol.

The Puritans' religious beliefs also played a role in their drinking culture. Alcohol is mentioned in the Bible, and the congregants of Puritan churches interpreted this as sanctioning its consumption. Increase Mather, a prominent Puritan minister, even described alcohol as "a good creature of God", as long as one did not become drunk, which was considered "of the devil".

Furthermore, drinking was a social custom in Puritan society. Alcohol was integrated into daily life, with early Americans consuming alcohol at various times of the day, from breakfast to supper. Continuous imbibing built up a tolerance, and most Americans in 1790 consumed an average of 5.8 gallons of pure alcohol per year.

In conclusion, while Puritans may not have been heavy drinkers, they certainly drank beer, and their consumption was driven by both fun and social custom. Their religious and political beliefs, as well as the cultural context of the time, influenced their attitude towards alcohol, resulting in a drinking culture that was a normal part of Puritan life.

Beer was crucial to the survival of the Pilgrims

The Pilgrims drank beer to stay hydrated, as the water was often unsafe to drink, especially during sea travel. Beer, on the other hand, kept well due to its antimicrobial properties. The English of that time drank beer like water, and the Pilgrims were no exception, consuming about a gallon of beer per day.

Beer was also a key part of the Puritans' diet, and they were known to enjoy drinking alcohol for fun and as a social custom. Drinking alcohol was widespread in the Puritan-led colonies, and colonial governments enacted many laws in 17th-century New England to regulate its sale. For example, in 1636, a law was enacted in Plymouth to regulate the sale of alcohol, including beer, and to set a price limit.

The misconception that the Puritans were teetotalers stems from their reputation as killjoys who frowned upon anything enjoyable. However, this portrayal is inaccurate, as the Puritans were a political and religious movement that drew heavily from the Bible, which mentions alcohol.

Puritans were not teetotal

The Puritans were a political and religious movement. They were not a right-wing, fun-prohibiting group. Instead, they were progressive, with a congregationalist philosophy of "of the people, by the people, and for the people". What they permitted was either derived from the Bible or came from a bottom-up movement from the congregants. As there is plenty of alcohol mentioned in the Bible, and the congregants of the Puritan churches liked to drink, alcohol was sanctioned and allowed under law in Puritan-led colonies.

In 1636, a law was enacted in Plymouth regulating the sale of alcohol:

> "It is enacted by the Court [i.e., the Plymouth colonial legislature] that none shall be suffered to retail wine-strong waters, or beer, either within doors or without except in Inns and Victualling houses allowed, and that no beer be sold in any such place to exceed the price of two pence the Winchester quart..."

Another law was passed in 1669:

> "It is enacted by the Court and the Authority thereof, that none shall sell wine, liquors, cider, or beer by retail in the colony except they have a license; and to pay for their license according to the capacity of the place where they live..."

These laws demonstrate that alcohol was ubiquitous in Puritan colonies, and that drinking was done for fun or by social custom.

Beer was more common than water on the Mayflower

The Pilgrims drank about a gallon of beer per day and were, by modern standards, quite drunk. The beer they drank had an alcohol content of 6%. This was because, in England at the time, water was often unsafe to drink, especially during sea travel, whereas beer kept well due to its antimicrobial properties. Therefore, they drank beer to stay hydrated.

The Puritans were not teetotal; they drank beer for fun and as a social custom. Drinking alcohol was widespread in 17th-century New England, and colonial governments enacted many laws to regulate its sale. Alcohol was so ubiquitous that, by the 1660s, an establishment needed a license to serve it legally.

Puritans were not right-wing

The Puritans believed that the King of England hadn't gone far enough in his split from the Catholic Church, and that the Protestant position hadn't worked hard enough to remove corruption from English politics. Their movement aimed to purify politics and the church from "Romish" or "Papist" positions. In this sense, they were progressive.

Puritans were congregationalists, believing in the autonomy of the local church, which was ideally a congregation of "visible saints" (those who had experienced conversion). Puritan congregations were considered complete within themselves, with full authority to determine their membership, administer their discipline, and ordain their ministers. Furthermore, the sacraments would only be administered to those in the church covenant.

Puritan ideas about personal autonomy and communal obligation, impassioned conscience and sober humility, and vigorous enterprise and collective obligation, each side of these apparent contradictions, spurred the other. Puritanism set up a creative tension between these forces.

Puritanism was only the mirror image of anti-puritanism and, as such, Puritan premises and practices gestated and channelled some of the liberal-capitalist premises, practices, and paradoxes that are now embraced and reviled worldwide. Puritanism was a political theory as much as a religious doctrine.

Puritans were not teetotalers, and drinking alcohol was common in Puritan-led New England. Alcohol was ubiquitous enough that the Puritan-led Plymouth colony enacted a law that one had to have a license to sell it, and each town had to appoint an alcohol inspector. Puritans drank beer, and even approved of drink. Increase Mather, a prominent Puritan minister of the period, delivered a sermon in which he described alcohol as "a good creature of God" — although he clarified that the drunkard was "of the devil".

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