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.

Episoder(1491)

200 Years of British-Russian Relations

200 Years of British-Russian Relations

Russia and the UK have very different political structures and ambitions, from their alliance at the Battle of Navarino in 1827 to the historic low of their relations now. In this episode of Warfare, ...

25 Mar 202231min

The Forgotten Hero of Everest

The Forgotten Hero of Everest

Ed Caesar joins Dan on the podcast to tell the extraordinary but largely forgotten story of World War I veteran Maurice Wilson, Britain's most mysterious mountaineering legend. Wilson served with dist...

24 Mar 202220min

The Fall of France 1940: How it Influenced the US

The Fall of France 1940: How it Influenced the US

Shocked by the fall of France in 1940, panicked U.S. leaders rushed to back the Vichy government despite their Nazi sympathies. This policy caused instability at home whilst also driving a wedge betwe...

23 Mar 202223min

Mary Queen of Scots with Kate Williams

Mary Queen of Scots with Kate Williams

Dan is joined by Professor Kate Williams to discuss the rise and fall of Mary Queen of Scots, one of the most dramatic and tragic figures of the Sixteenth Century - https://pod.fo/e/1148a4If you'd lik...

22 Mar 202254min

The Confederate States of America

The Confederate States of America

The Confederacy was more than an army. It was a national project. A whole state, albeit an internationally unrecognised one, formed between 1861-1865 complete with its own capital city, constitution a...

21 Mar 202235min

Prison Camps in WW2 Britain

Prison Camps in WW2 Britain

From the summer of 1940, approximately 30,000 so-called ‘enemy aliens’ were indefinitely sent to internment camps across Britain.Gripped by spy fever and the panic over the fall of France, the British...

20 Mar 202226min

ENDURANCE22: Questions & Reflections

ENDURANCE22: Questions & Reflections

To mark the end of a truly epic journey, Dan wanted to hear from you -the listeners- those that have dedicatedly followed the story of Endurance22. Find out the answers to your questions as Dan respon...

18 Mar 202244min

What Is an Oligarch?

What Is an Oligarch?

The use of the word ‘Oligarch’ has been increasingly rampant across international news outlets since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine just weeks ago. But what does it actually mean?Jeffrey A. Winters, an ...

17 Mar 202249min

Populært innen Historie

rss-dette-ma-aldri-skje-igjen
rss-katastrofe
henrettelsespodden
historier-som-endret-norge
rss-benadet
med-egne-oyne
sektledere
historier-som-endret-verden
rss-historiske-romanser
rss-nadelose-nordmenn-gestapo
aftenposten-historie
rss-frontkjemperne
rss-strid-de-norske-borgerkrigene
historiepodden
historiepodden-ww2
rss-gamle-greier
rss-historiepodden-ww2
liberal-halvtime
rss-alt-var-bedre-for
undersattene