Readers and friends who like pirate-themed movies such as "Pirates of the Caribbean" and "Treasure Island" must have heard of the name of rum, and I don't know if readers have ever been curious about this kind of pirate common drink? The pirates robbed merchant ships wantonly, and then sold the stolen goods and slurped rum after the robbery was successful, which also became one of the iconic images of pirates on the screen in later generations, which made rum known as "pirate wine".
Fifteen people are holding the dead man's box, Yo hehe, a bottle of rum, come and taste it! The rest were killed by wine and the devil, Yo hehe, a bottle of rum, come and taste it! Seventy-five men went out to sea with the ship, and only one came back alive. This pirate song fully demonstrates the close relationship between rum and pirates.
In 1637, the Dutchman Peter Blore introduced sugar cane to the Caribbean island of Barbados, which began the process of sugar cane cultivation and sugar manufacturing. In this process, the stalks of the sugarcane are juiced to produce a waste residue. These residues actually contain a lot of uncrystallized sugars and impurities, but because of their high viscosity and pungent and bitter taste, the lords of the estates do not care. However, the plantation slaves discovered the secret of these sugar cane residues, which were specifically processed to produce alcohol, which was further processed into a new spirit, rum. It is said that when the slaves on the plantation tasted their own liquor for the first time, they couldn't help but shout "rumbullion" in unison, hence the name rum.
The essence of rum is a sugarcane shochu, which is made on the same principle as sweet potato shochu and other liquors. At the same time, because it is made of leftovers from sugar production, it is extremely cheap and widely popular. In the Age of Discovery, due to the backwardness of scientific and technological means, fresh water stored on ships for a long time often breeds a large number of bacteria and has a foul smell. In order to ensure that they could drink this foul-smelling fresh water, seafarers added a lot of alcohol and tea leaves to the fresh water to cover up the smell. In this process, rum is unanimously sought after by seafarers because of its high alcohol content, strong aroma, easy access and low quality.
Over time, rum has played an important role in **. It was not only used in Africa in exchange for black slaves, but also in the Americas and Europe in exchange for money and goods. It was more cost-effective for pirates to store large quantities of rum than to store the same amount of fresh water. Because compared to fresh water, rum is easier to store for a long time, less likely to spoil and smell, and also contains a small amount of vitamin C and other trace elements. Although it cannot completely ** scurvy, it has a certain effect on alleviating the condition.
In addition, rum can also be used as a "pleasure" to relieve fatigue and boredom when sailing on the sea. When pirates are wounded at work or in battle, rum can also be used to cleanse wounds, boost courage and boost morale. The most important thing is that rum can be sold for a price no matter in **, it is a popular commodity and easy to get rid of.
It is for these reasons that pirates place a high value on rum. Everyone is reluctant to give up their daily quota of rum. In "Treasure Island", the old pirate bluntly speaks of the importance of rum to himself: "Rum is my meat, my water, a friend and a wife." If I can't drink rum now, I'll be like an old wrecked boat that has been swept over by the wind and waves, and drifted ashore......February** Dynamic Incentive Plan
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