Village Ale House; Engraver, Joseph Grozer; After work by Henry Bunbury; Publisher, William Dickinson; 7 April 1787 Image source
For the next few weeks, we’ll be doing a tavern-related post on Thursdays. Taverns were critical to the society, economy, and government throughout the British colonies. These short posts will touch on these different aspects of taverns and tavern culture.
Our first post is a quote from a 1708 letter that shows how important taverns were to the English.
“Upon all the new settlements the Spaniards make, the first thing they do is build a church, the first thing the Dutch do upon a new colony is to build them a fort, but the first thing ye English do, be it in the most remote part of ye world, or amongst the most barbarous Indians, is to set up a tavern or drinking house.”
Attributed to Captain Thomas Walduck in a letter to John Searle, his nephew in London, 1708.