The Spirit Duties Act 1735 (commonly known as the Gin Act of 1736) was an Act of the Parliament of Great Britain establishing a retail tax on gin and annual licenses for gin sellers. Designed to curb gin consumption, the law was widely disobeyed and then repealed in 1743.

Background

Gin consumption in the United Kingdom increased markedly during the late 17th and early 18th centuries during the so-called

Gin Craze The Gin Craze was a period in the first half of the 18th century when the consumption of gin increased rapidly in Great Britain, especially in London. Daniel Defoe commented: "the Distillers have found out a way to hit the palate of the Poor, by ...

. As consumption continued to grow, gin began to be blamed for a variety of social ills including crime, prostitution and mental illness. Pushed forward by social reformers such as

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, The Gin Act of 1736 attempted to curb gin consumption by instituting a 20 shilling per gallon excise tax as well as a £50 annual license (equivalent to £ today) for all gin sellers. Passed in 1735, it was set to take effect in September 1736. The law proved immensely unpopular and provoked public rioting. King George II issued a proclamation requiring compliance with the law and an end to public disorder against it. After just a year, though, enforcement began to wane and the public began to defy the law more openly. It is said that only two of the annual licenses were ever purchased. Moonshine also became widespread as people produced their own gins, sometimes using dangerous ingredients such as

turpentine Turpentine (which is also called spirit of turpentine, oil of turpentine, terebenthene, terebinthine and (colloquially) turps) is a fluid obtained by the distillation of resin harvested from living trees, mainly pines. Mainly used as a spec ...

and sulfuric acid. By 1743, gin production had actually increased to an all-time high of and enforcement of the law was considered impossible. The financial strain of the

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also played a role as the government sought a solution which would generate more income. The act was repealed by the

Gin Act of 1743 The Spirits Act 1742 (commonly known as the Gin Act 1743) was an Act of Parliament, Act of the Parliament of Great Britain (16 Geo. 2. c. 8) repealing the Gin Act 1736 in favour of lower taxes and licence fees. Background The Gin Act 1736 attemp ...

which set much lower taxes and fees.

References

{{Reflist Alcohol law in the United Kingdom Great Britain Acts of Parliament 1735