Total syntheses of the antibacterial alkaloids berberine, coptisine, and jatrorrhizine have been achieved in four steps through a unified route. The key step of this strategy is an efficient intramolecular Friedel-Crafts alkoxyalkylation which, following oxidation, establishes the isoquinolinium core of these natural products. Herein, the design and development of this synthetic strategy, which has enabled the shortest and most efficient syntheses of these alkaloids reported to date, is described.