William of Orange – Manchester Historian

These were the final words of William of Orange, nicknamed Father of the Fatherland, after being shot in 1584. These words encapsulated the dire circumstances faced by the Dutch at that moment, embroiled in a war of independence after enduring decades of oppression from their Hapsburg overlords.

Classically, gin should be served with cubes of ice, a wedge of lime and tonic water. But where do the tonic and lime come from? Tonic contains quinine which has antimalarial properties and became an important mixer with gin for colonial British officers, initially in South Asia but also in Africa. Lime was originally added to gin to make lime juice more palatable, because it was a good countermeasure against scurvy.