No one really
knows where and when tobacco was first planted, but we're sure the
first people to cultivate and smoke tobacco were the Native
Americans.
According
to history, tobacco was first discovered on the island of Cuba
when Christopher Columbus first arrived in 1492. But, some trace
of tobacco has also been found in the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico.
By
the 16th century, the Spanish conquistadors had introduced tobacco
in Spain and Portugal, and Jean Nicot, the French ambassador in
Portugal, (from whose name comes the word nicotine) in the
rest of Europe.
Some
people believe that the word "Tobacco" came from the
name of the island Tobago and others from the Mexican
region called Tabasco. The Tainos, natives of the islands
of Cuba and Hispania, named it Cohiba or Cojoba.
On the other hand, the word Cigar come from a Maya verb sikar
which means "to smoke".
The
first tobacco fields appeared in Virginia in 1612 and in Maryland
in 1631, but the crops were mostly used for pipe tobacco. We think
that cigars first appeared in America in 1762, when Israel Putnam
came back from Cuba where he had served under the British army.
Back in Connecticut, he brought with him cigars and a big quantity
of tobacco. So, the first cigar manufacture appeared in Hartford
at the same time that tobacco from Cuba, now known as Connecticut
tobacco, was planted.
In
the 19th century, the "Smoking Jacket" was
designed to protect clothes from smoke during high class dinners.
Of course this made them look real cool too! At the end of the 19th century, wives used to quit the table while
men would drink Cognac and smoke a good cigar. It is in the middle
of the 19th century that the cigar ring and cigar box made their
apparition.
In
the United States, cigar smoking really started after the Civil
war. At this time, the most expensive cigars, which were hand made
with Cuban tobacco, were called "Habanos", like
those made in Cuba. The word "Habanos" is now a
generic name. The word "Stogie" comes from the
cigar manufacturer of Conestoga in Pennsylvania, well known for
its famous cigars. At the end of the 19th century, smoking a cigar
was a symbol of high social status (the reason why some famous
people like Henry Clay, a U.S. Senator, gave their names to famous
brands). In 1919, Thomas Marshall, Vice-president of Woodrow
Wilson, declared to the Senate : "What this country really
needs is a good five-cent cigar". |
