When the Volstead Act was passed in 1919 alcoholic beverages were banned in the United States. That most certainly did not mean all consumption ceased. This is the fourth in a series of blogs here at onlinealcoholclass.com looking at the Prohibition Era. If you have not read the previous installments, I encourage you to go back now. I am sure you will find it interesting.
Have you ever heard of Saint-Pierre and Miquelon? These are two tiny territories just off the southern tip of Newfoundland. The importance of these two tiny bergs is that during Prohibition there was tremendous pressure both in the United States and Canada to keep booze from being manufactured and sold in the USA. Saint-Pierre and Maquilon just happened to belong to France.
During Prohibition they became the world’s greatest importer of alcoholic beverages. It brought in more than 3 million bottles of champagne making it France’s biggest overseas market. It also imported vast quantities of brandy, Armagnac, calvados, and other spirits.
Neither the US nor French governments had any explanation as to why a tiny locale with 4,000 residents developed such a sudden attachment to booze. Nor had they any explanation for the nearly two dozen warehouses that popped up at the main port in Saint-Pierre.
Interesting, huh? The next onlinealcoholclass.com blog will continue to look at this interesting era in alcohol history in the United States.