The Cocaine Craze in Victorian Britain

The Cocaine Craze in Victorian Britain

Many things may come to mind when you hear the word 'cocaine' - and we'd wager that the last thing on that list would be the Victorians. But as it turns out, the Victorians were avid cocaine users, whether it be to remedy ailments and injuries, give them an edge in competitive sports or simply put a bit of pep in their step. A hundred years later, it is amongst the most criminalised substances on earth.


Dr Douglas Small is a historian of medicine and author of Cocaine, Literature, and Culture, 1876-1930. He joins us today to take us through the deeper history of cocaine and explain how it went from a central feature of Incan cultural life to the defining party drug of the modern day.


Produced by James Hickmann, and edited by Dougal Patmore and Max Carrey.


Enjoy unlimited access to award-winning original documentaries that are released weekly and AD-FREE podcasts. Sign up HERE for 50% off for 3 months using code ‘DANSNOW’.


We'd love to hear from you - what do you want to hear an episode on? You can email the podcast at ds.hh@historyhit.com.


You can take part in our listener survey here.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jaksot(1490)

D-Day Heroes: The Green Howards

D-Day Heroes: The Green Howards

There was only one Victoria Cross awarded on the 6th June 1944, D-Day. It went to Company Sergeant Major Stanley Hollis of the 6th Battalion of the Green Howards. Alongside the 7th Battalion of the sa...

6 Kesä 202222min

The Veteran Searching for his D-Day Shipwreck

The Veteran Searching for his D-Day Shipwreck

On June 6, 1944, D-Day, Patrick Thomas, a young Royal Navy telegraphist, boarded the craft in Portsmouth. The boat was part of the first wave on Sword Beach, covering communications for land battles w...

5 Kesä 202227min

Elvis Presley: A Turbulent Life

Elvis Presley: A Turbulent Life

A hotly anticipated biopic about the king of Rock'n'Roll will be released in June directed by Baz Luhmann. We've delved back into our archives to bring you this episode with author Sally Hoedel who in...

2 Kesä 202222min

Vasectomy

Vasectomy

What do you think of when you think of birth control? Is it condoms, IUDs, the pill? What about vasectomies?From monkey testicles to possible cancer treatments to ties of honour, over the past 150 yea...

1 Kesä 202251min

Platinum Jubilee: Britain’s Greatest Queens

Platinum Jubilee: Britain’s Greatest Queens

Queen Elizabeth II is the longest-reigning monarch in British history and one of the longest-reigning in the world. To mark the Queen's Platinum Jubilee, we have brought together some of today’s best ...

31 Touko 202246min

Tulsa: The Attack on Black Wall Street

Tulsa: The Attack on Black Wall Street

From May 31 to June 1, 1921, a white mob attacked residents, homes and businesses in the predominantly Black ‘Greenwood District’ of Tulsa, Oklahoma. Hundreds of people died or were injured in the Tul...

30 Touko 202230min

Falklands40: Battle of Goose Green

Falklands40: Battle of Goose Green

Please note that this episode contains descriptions of combat and some explicit language.At the Battle of Goose Green the Second Battalion the Parachute Regiment (2 Para) fought against various sub-un...

29 Touko 202239min

SAS Founder: Warrior or Phoney?

SAS Founder: Warrior or Phoney?

David Stirling was an aristocrat, innovator and special forces legend that earned him the nickname 'The Phantom Major'. His formation of the Special Air Service in the summer of 1941 led to a new form...

26 Touko 202231min

Suosittua kategoriassa Historia

olipa-kerran-otsikko
gogin-ja-janin-maailmanhistoria
mayday-fi
huijarit
mystista
totuus-vai-salaliitto
konginkangas
tsunami
rss-ikiuni
rss-subjektiivinen-todistaja
rouva-diktaattori
rss-kirkon-ihmeellisimmat-tarinat
rss-i-dont-like-mondays-2
sotaa-ja-historiaa-podi
tiedetta-ja-sirkushuveja-vanhojen-aikojen-podcast
historiaa-suomeksi
rss-iltanuotiolla
rss-sattuu-sita-suomessakin
historian-nurkkapoyta
rss-kuningashuone