Britain on the Bottle: Alcohol and the State
Mark Whitaker traces the history of the politics of alcohol
Britain on the Bottle: Alcohol and the State - 'Habitual Drunkards' and the Asylum
Mark Whitaker examines the late-19th century panic over 'habitual drunkards', and the building of special asylums in which to rehabilitate them.
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Britain on the Bottle: Alcohol and the State - Improving the Pub
Mark Whitaker's series on the politics of alcohol reaches the 1920s. With consumption falling, and nationalisation threatened, the drinks industry invested in 'improved pubs'.
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Britain on the Bottle: Alcohol and the State - King James I
The early 17th century saw the first moral panic in English history about the social impact of drunkenness, with King James I's campaign against it.
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Britain on the Bottle: Alcohol and the State - Political Thinkers and the Drink Question
Mark Whitaker shows how for John Stuart Mill and TH Green the 'Drink Question' raised the central dilemmas of liberalism.
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Britain on the Bottle: Alcohol and the State - Temperance and the 1872 Licensing Act
At the General Election of 1872 one of the most divisive issues between the parties was drink. Mark Whitaker shows how the temperance movement got a grip on political life.
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Britain on the Bottle: Alcohol and the State - The Beer Act of 1830
Mark Whitaker explains why in 1830 the British government thought easier access to beer would solve the problem of drunkenness.
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Britain on the Bottle: Alcohol and the State - The Central Control Board of 1915
Mark Whitaker explores the Central Control Board, set up in 1915 to run some of the liquor trade for the state.
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Britain on the Bottle: Alcohol and the State - The Doctors Take Over
Mark Whitaker looks at how and why the NHS embarked on the hospital treatment of alcoholics in the 1960s.
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Britain on the Bottle: Alcohol and the State - The 'Drink Question': Past and Present
Mark Whitaker talks to Britain's leading historians about the politics of alcohol, asking them how the past can inform present policy.
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Britain on the Bottle: Alcohol and the State - The Gin Act of 1736
Mark Whitaker explores the 18th-century Gin Craze, the response to it of Defoe and Fielding, and what the authorities did about it.
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