The eighteenth century

Drummond, J. C. (Jack C.); Wilbraham, Anne

book chapter

The eighteenth century

Englishman's food; a history of five centuries of English diet • London • Published In 1940 • Pages: 203-327

By: Drummond, J. C. (Jack C.), Wilbraham, Anne.

Abstract
This source concerns a variety of aspects of English diet in the eighteenth century. The authors begin with a discussion of agriculture, especially the enclosure movement and agricultural experiments of the time. They deal with the effect of these on the diet and lives of poor small-scale farmers, who often found themselves thrown off the land they had cultivated all their lives, as the land owners attempted to improve their production using larger fields and new crops, especially wheat. They next discuss the kinds of food eaten, variation by class, locality, and rural vs. urban distinctions. They discuss the rise of the importance of fruits and vegetables, adulteration of goods, and the use of alcohol, especially gin, and tea. Then they describe meals of the time, again by class and locality, including composition, times, and the quantity of food consumed. They also describe institutional diets, such as those of workhouses, orphanages, and prison. Next is a chapter on beliefs about diet, beginnings of scientific dietary research, and infant feeding. Then they deal with diet and health, including epidemics and diseases, gluttony, and beliefs about food requirements. The last two chapters cover scurvy and rickets, their incidence, ideas about causes, and attempts at treatments. The work is based largely on contemporary sources, such as diaries, letters, scientific journals and books, and provides a good deal of information on the scientific thought of the time, as well as social and even political conditions.

Diet

Gratification and control of hunger