158: Prohibition - So You Wanna Be a Rum Runner?

History That Doesn't Suck

ProfGregJackson

Education, History, Society & Culture

4.5 • 5.1K Ratings

🗓️ 17 June 2024

⏱️ 59 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

“You’re Bill McCoy.” “Never heard of him.” This is the story of a crazy decade-plus when America outlawed booze…but the liquor kept flowing. The Prohibition era marks a partial return to the Golden Age of Piracy, with bootleggers frequenting old haunts in the Caribbean, including Nassau, capital of The Bahamas. These sailors are also buying, selling, and drinking copious amounts of—you guessed it—rum. But how does all this booze get from the Bahamas to speakeasies in New York? William “Bill” McCoy is a legendary rumrunner, one of the best. He’ll be our captain as we explore Nassau’s offerings, buy from the Bootleg Queen of The Bahamas, Gertrude “Cleo” Lythgoe and set out on a 1923 voyage up “Rum Row” to New York, carefully avoiding the actual pirates and the US Coast Guard. Once we square away a buyer, we’ll take our haul to shore with Maisie Manders and enjoy a few well-earned drinks in Manhattan. All aboard! Connect with us on HTDSpodcast.com and go deep into episode bibliographies and book recommendations join discussions in our Facebook community get news and discounts from The HTDS Gazette come see a live show get HTDS merch or become an HTDS premium member for bonus episodes and other perks. HTDS is part of the Airwave Media Network. Interested in advertising on the History That Doesn't Suck? Email us at [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hello all, Eric Rivenus with the most notorious podcast here.
0:05.0	Each week I interview an author or historian about a historical true crime, tragedy, or disaster.
0:12.0	Subject matter ranges from Gun slingers to Gilded Age murder to gangsters to fires to
0:17.6	pirates to wild prison breaks.
0:20.1	A guest spring their incredible knowledge directly to you.
0:23.7	Please subscribe to most notorious on your favorite podcast app.
0:27.8	Cheers and have a safe tomorrow.
0:30.3	History that doesn't suck as a bi-weekly podcast delivering a legit
0:33.0	seriously researched hard-hitting story.
0:36.3	If you'd like to support H.T.DS or enjoy bonus content, please consider giving
0:40.3	at patreon.com forward slash history that doesn't suck.
0:43.7	It's a murky Sunday afternoon, November 25th, 1993. We're aboard the Swift, 127 foot long British schooner, known at least for the moment as the Tamoca.
1:06.4	Right now she's lying at anchor some distance from the New Jersey coast.
1:10.9	What distance exactly I can't say, but it's more than three miles, which places us in international
1:16.0	waters, and that crucial detail is the whole point. Tell you what, you take in that blue horizon,
1:22.0	and I'll explain.
1:25.0	These waters off the United States eastern seaboard,
1:30.0	yet beyond US jurisdiction are known as Rum Row.
1:34.2	It began a few years ago, shortly after U.S. prohibition took effect in January 1920, and it works
1:39.7	like this.
1:41.0	Ships carrying liquor, such as Caribbean rum, but including other liquors, some even from Canada, drop anchor in these decidedly not American waters.
1:50.0	Small East Coast vessels then sail out and buy their booze of choice.
	...

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