Your local cable or is the provider. Cspan, your unfiltered view of government. Widener University Professor jordan smith talks about the invention of rum and its impact on the Atlantic World occurring the 17th and 18th centuries. We recorded the interview at the organization of american historians ian yul meeting in hiladelphia. Jordan smith, you are here at the organization of historians each annual meeting and youre talking about rum, why . Im working on a book project that exams the invention and production of rum in the 17th century and i think at the heart of this project one asks how rum was invented. Not in one moment but over a period of centuries as different groups of people from the americas, from europe and from africa converged and kind of combined their knowledge, cultures and experiences. And why rum . So i think whats really interesting about rum is its something that, if we look at the example of George Washingtons mount vernon, everybody is serving rusm. Its served o