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.

Avsnitt(1486)

Rwandan Genocide Explained

Rwandan Genocide Explained

Warning: This episode contains some upsetting descriptions of human suffering.The Rwandan Genocide is a dark and pivotal moment in modern history; the catastrophic consequence of ethnic division and g...

23 Apr 202448min

Pontius Pilate

Pontius Pilate

Pontius Pilate was the Roman Prefect of Judea during the reign of Emperor Tiberius and is most famous for condemning Jesus of Nazareth to death by crucifixion in the Four Gospels. But who really was h...

22 Apr 202446min

The Battle of Crécy

The Battle of Crécy

The English won a decisive battlefield victory over the French in the first decade of the Hundred Years' War. At the Battle of Crécy, an outnumbered English army went up against thousands of French mo...

21 Apr 202431min

Iran & Israel: From Allies to Enemies

Iran & Israel: From Allies to Enemies

On the 1st of April, 2024, a presumed Israeli airstrike destroyed the Iranian consulate in Damascus, killing 13 people. Amongst them was a Brigadier General of the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard ...

20 Apr 202438min

Mao's China, The Berlin Wall and WWII Egypt: Witnessing History with Peter Snow

Mao's China, The Berlin Wall and WWII Egypt: Witnessing History with Peter Snow

As a foreign correspondent for ITN in the 70s, Peter Snow remembers handing tins of film to strangers on airport runways, hoping they would take it back to Britain to hand over to his colleagues on th...

16 Apr 202422min

The Battle of El-Alamein Explained

The Battle of El-Alamein Explained

Fought in the second half of 1942, the Battles of El Alamein were a series of climactic confrontations in Egypt between British Imperial and Commonwealth forces and a combined German and Italian army....

16 Apr 202441min

The Trial of Charles I

The Trial of Charles I

In the mid-17th century, King Charles I of England was put on trial for treason against the sovereign state. Such a process involved a singular determination by Parliament to find a way, through due l...

14 Apr 202444min

What is Zionism?

What is Zionism?

Dan delves into the complex history of Zionism, exploring its multifaceted origins and the various ideological strands that have shaped it over the years. From its early beginnings in the 19th century...

13 Apr 202444min

Populärt inom Historia

motiv
massmordarpodden
historiska-brott
p3-historia
historiepodden-se
olosta-mord
historianu-med-urban-lindstedt
rss-massmordarpodden
rss-seriemordarpodden
rss-brottsligt
konspirationsteorier
krigshistoriepodden
podme-bio-4
nu-blir-det-historia
harrisons-dramatiska-historia
rss-arkiv-stieg
militarhistoriepodden
rss-folkets-historia
palmemordet
rss-historien-om