Seagram, my former employer, bought Captain Morgan rum from a Jamaican pharmacy in 1943, but didn’t introduce the product to the United States until 1984, the year I joined the company. The product’s named for an actual Welsh-born privateer, Sir Henry Morgan, who operated in 1600s. A privateer was essentially a pirate with the law on his side - but Sir Henry’s exertions on the high seas didn't have the rakish appeal of the guy on the label, however. He was, in fact, a murderous, bloodthirsty, sadistic thug. This, however, didn’t prevent Morgan from becoming a vastly rich plantation owner and lieutenant governor of Jamaica. When we introduced Captain Morgan to the world, his appearance differed from nation to nation. In Britain, for example, he was portrayed as an aristocrat; in France, an effete dandy.
© 2024 John Oliver
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