Colonial Attitudes and Responses to Drunkenness: The Case of the 1820 Settlement, 1820–1845

Abstract

This article examines colonial attitudes and responses to drunkenness in the 1820 settlement from 1820 to 1845. It relies on some of the 1820 settlers’ personal writings and the Graham’s Town Journal as primary sources. It seeks to contribute to existing scholarship on the 1820 settlers by exploring how discourses of race and class profoundly influenced colonial attitudes towards drunkenness. The article also examines colonial attempts to control the problem of excessive drinking. The establishment of a temperance society in Grahamstown, the supposed moral influence of Methodist ministers, and the punishment of drunkards through fines and imprisonment were meant to curb excessive drinking and restore order. On the contrary, drunkenness remained a major problem in the 1820 settlement during the period under discussion.

Keywords:

• drunkenness
• 1820 settlement
• class
• race
• respectability
• temperance