While Rum is most often associated with nautical themes and the tropics, it is believed to have originated in ancient India or China as fermented sugarcane.  It is correct, though, that the first distilled rums were from Caribbean sugarcane plantations in the 1600’s when slaves discovered molasses, a byproduct of sugar refinement, could be fermented.  It is traditionally assumed to have originated in Barbados, but there is some uncertainty.

Regardless of where distilled Rum originated, it is undoubted that it spread rather quickly.  Accounts point to rum production in Brazil as early as the 1620’s and a bottle of Rum was discovered in the wreckage of the infamous Vasa, which sank only a few hundred meters off the Swedish coast on its maiden voyage in 1628.  In 1664 the first Rum distillery was founded in what is today the United States, with American Rums having a lighter disposition, more like Whiskey.  Rum became so popular in Colonial America, that estimates of consumption prior to the Revolutionary War suggest that for every person (including children) in the Colonies, 14 liters of Rum were consumed per year.

Rum’s naval and pirate associations stem from the “Rum Ration” – a daily allotment of rum given to sailors – and its high value as a tradeable good.  As many sailors left the Royal Navy (and later became pirates) their affinity for Rum remained, beginning the association of Rum and pirates.  Interestingly enough, the Rum Ration remained an honored tradition in the British Royal Navy as late as 1970.

Source: Wikipedia