Gin became popular in England when William III sailed across with his Dutch army in the Glorious Revolution of 1688. Gin comes from jenever, a traditional Dutch drink that is still around today. A lack of prohibitions on distilleries and increased incomes allowed gin to take away a big part of the traditional English drink, ale. The "different nature" of a gin drunk than a beer drunk led moral reformers to lament the sudden increase in gin intake, leading to what was called the gin craze. Gin continued to be a working man's drink throughout the nineteenth century because it was relatively inexpensive. Once the Martini and other gin based cocktails became popular, gin began to be regarded as a swankier drink.

wish I knew a good general history for you, only works I'm familiar with are related to the gin craze. Try

Craze: Gin and Debauchery in an Age of Reason- Jessica Warner