The Invention of Rum in a Era of Revolution

This talk, building on Jordan's 2025 book The Invention of Rum: Creating the Quintessential Atlantic Commodity, will present a new story of how rum was invented, made, sold, and consumed in the Atlantic world, and how those developments intersected with the American Revolution. He will introduce the audience to a commodity that itself revolutionized the Atlantic world in large part due to its ubiquity and affordability. He will then home in on various moments in the leadup, course, and aftermath of the American Revolution when the market for—and meanings embedded within—rum shaped the age of revolutions.