Scotland
Scotland has had a reputation of being a heavy drinking nation
for hundreds of years. The offence of 'drunkenness' is recorded as
far back as 1436. In the 1830's, both Glasgow and Edinburgh had one
pub for every 130 people.
Pubs could open when they liked for as long as they liked.
Alcohol could be sold to anyone of any age. Many men, women and
children developed alcohol problems, so Scotland took action and
now has some of the strictest licensing laws in the UK.
The 1853 Forbes Mackenzie Act made it illegal for pubs to open
past 11pm and stopped them opening on a Sunday. The only place
people could buy alcohol legally on a Sunday in Glasgow was on the
steam boats that cruised the River Clyde.
This is where the phrase 'steaming' came from to
describe the feeling of being drunk!
The Vikings »