Actually, after first getting to really know gin at 37, I did some research and found this great article: http://www.historic-uk.com/CultureUK/Mothers-Ruin/

Introducing me to the works of William Hogarth (see linked article). I was very surprised that it actually was the Dutch that introduced gin in the UK ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gin ). Funny, I like gin more than I like 'our own' 'jenever'. It's a great drink, neat or otherwise. I understand how this could have caused all this mayhem way back.