Alcohol consumption in the society of the Hetmanate of the 18th century as a marker of quality of life

Abstract

The purpose of the article is to study the culture of alcohol consumption in the Hetmanate of the 18th century as a marker of quality of life. The author analyzed the diaries of Cossack elders and the epistolary heritage of this period, singled out references to the use of alcoholic beverages, circumstances, cases of abuse. The research methodology is determined by the purpose and features of the main sources and, in addition to the application of general scientific methods (analysis, synthesis), involves the use of a microhistorical approach, elements of prosopography and social history. Since it is primarily about the analysis of diaries, the theoretical work of the French researcher Philippe Lejeune was applied, who examined the development of diaries from the "accounting of the past" to emotional notes. The scientific novelty of the research lies in the fact that alcohol consumption is not considered as a bad habit or a certain branch of the economy, but as a component of a person's leisure behavior, the realization of undesirable needs, which also determined the quality of life. It was concluded that from the point of view of traditional markers of quality, Ukrainian early modern society was quite homogeneous (life expectancy, mortality, diseases). Even the diet of the common people and the elite was often similar. But the consumption of alcoholic beverages was just one of those markers that at the everyday level testified to a higher or lower level of well-being. But their consumer culture was significantly different. Precisely from the point of view of alcohol consumption - frequency, volume, and its assortment, one can observe the difference in everyday life and its quality. Belonging to a higher social status and financial resources provided access to higher quality alcohol and higher quality of its consumption. At the same time, the Cossack elder of the Hetmanate had access to alcohol produced in different countries and corresponding to the lifestyle of the European nobility of that time. In this way, the "precious" people of old Ukraine were similar to the European establishment.