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The Greater
Caribbean This Week: The Nationality of Rum |
By: Mr.
Manuel Madriz, Trade Director of the Association of
Caribbean States. Posted September 22,
2007.
 RUM
IS A RECENT CREATION and although there is no specific date
for its origin, its emergence is placed at the start of the
16th century, and being a matter of centuries, we could date
its birth in the year 1550, because rum was not born in one
day, it involved a process of ageing that lasted several
years and whose epicentre was the Caribbean, which made rum
known around the world.
Rum finds its origins in the English, French and Spanish
colonies of the Caribbean. In the English colonies it was
called Kill Devil while in the French islands it was
referred to as Rumbullion, a name that was shortened over
the years to Ron in Spanish and Rum in French, however it
was also known by other names such as Tafia.
Rum was discovered by the indigenous peoples and the slaves
and for them it was the healing drink, as recognised by
Father Jean Baptiste Labat of the French islands. |
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Rum is a cultural
product of the Caribbean. According to Father Labat, “it was
the drink of the slaves and the indigenous peoples”. Father
Labat tells the story of how he observed the coloured and
indigenous folk of the island “prepare a drink” which he
describes as “strong and brutal made from sugar cane juice
that made them merry and relieved their fatigue”.
For many years, rum was the drink of the slaves and the
sailors (pirates, buccaneers and adventurers). The English
fleet later instituted a rum ration for its crew, since rum
is what helped them to carry on with their lives of
hardship. The owners of the sugar cane plantations, having
witnessed the merits of this beverage, began its production
and sale and thus it was sold to the rest of the world,
however, the Caribbean was always its historic epicentre.
Today, the rum producing countries of the Greater Caribbean
include Barbados, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Guyana, Haiti,
Jamaica, Martinique, Guadeloupe, Puerto Rico, Trinidad and
Tobago, Grenada, Dominica, Guatemala, Mexico, Venezuela,
Colombia and Nicaragua, nevertheless it can be said that rum
is produced throughout the Greater Caribbean as a national
or regional beverage, though not all rum producing countries
are rum exporters.
In the islands of the Caribbean, there is a difference of
opinion among Barbados, Dominican Republic and Guadeloupe as
to the origin of rum (just to mention the most vociferous),
but as the sorceress says in the film “Pirates of the
Caribbean Dead Man’s Chest” (Tia Dalma) regarding the
content of the chest after the pirates relate the different
versions “it’s the same story, though with different
versions, but all are absolutely true”. In other words,
there is some truth in all versions of the origin of rum,
but what is certainly true is that Rum is a product
originating in the Island Caribbean, extended throughout the
Greater Caribbean, that is to say, the countries of the
continent.
With rum being a cultural product, its place of production
determines the types and variations of rum that exist and if
we were to draw up a brief list of the names used to
describe the different types of rum, it would include: light
rums, gold rums, dark rums, flavoured rums, over proofed
rums, Premium rums.
In the same way that champagne comes from the region of
Champagne in France and tequila from Mexico, the origin of
rum lies in the Caribbean, and that should be an element to
be considered by the rum industry of the Greater Caribbean
and to encourage them to promote joint action with the
relevant international organisations, in the conquest of
this historic and cultural truth, abundantly supported and
recognised by the international community: Rum is a Product
originating in the Caribbean made from sugar cane
derivatives.
Mr. Manuel Madriz is the Trade Director of the Association
of Caribbean States. |
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