Civilization was founded on drinking spirits. The world was able to be explored because of alcohol. They didn't understand that by simply boiling the water they purified it and made it drinkable. They just knew that alcohol was cleaner and better to drink than river or pond water. Water casks on ships would run out pretty quickly or become infected with various forms of viruses and bacteria making sailors sick and die, but they also carried along casks of rum and whiskey and other forms of alcohol to mix in the water. Mixing alcohol into the sailor's drinking water extended the supplies and killed off germs. It made the sailors happy and cleansed the mouth. Without alcohol the world would still be barely inhabited.