Europeans Discover Tobacco




Tobacco was probably the first American plant introduced to Europeans. When Columbus’ ship came to America in 1492, the sailors met Arawak and Taino Indians which smoked tobacco.

Historians have different opinions on the specific place where it happened first. It might be San Salvador Island or Samana Cay in the Bahamas or Gran Turk Island. The native people did not treat visitors as enemies; on contrary, they decided the gods came to see them. This is why they brought most treasured gifts to please the spirits. On this occasion Columbus wrote in his journal, “The natives brought fruit, wooden spears, and certain dry leaves which gave off a distinct fragrance”.

The sailors accepted the gifts and brought them to the ship because they saw the importance of the gift ceremony to the Indians. They ate the fruit, but dried tobacco leaves were not familiar to them, so they were thrown away.

Later they watched natives and figured out that tobacco was an important attribute of their lives. Rodrigo de Jerez and Luis de Torres are remembered as the first Europeans to discover smoking. They noticed that dried leaves of tobacco were wrapped in maize or palm leaves, lighted on one end and then the Indians were “drinking” the smoke from the other end. Jerez tried to do the same and became a definite smoker. He wanted to share this habit with the people he knew and brought tobacco to his hometown. Unfortunately the neighbors were so scared to see smoke coming out of his mouth and nose that Jerez was captured and imprisoned by the holy inquisitors for 7 years. He was greatly surprised that smoking became so popular within these years and nobody considered it as a crime or felt like smokers were possessed with demons after he came out of prison.

In 1499 Amerigo Vespucci made his trip to the New World where he noticed that natives did not only smoke, but also chewed tobacco leaves. In his journal Vespucci notes that Indians carried two gourds around their necks: one with green tobacco leaves, the other with some kind of white powder. If they wanted to have some, the natives would put a few leaves into their mouths and after they were covered with saliva, the leaves were dipped into the powder and chewed again.

Slowly Europeans got more into tobacco usage, but as they acquired the habit they wanted more of the herb for smoking, so people were sent to set colonies and grow tobacco. In every settlement they had small tobacco farms which satisfied their needs and could be sent back to the homelands for sale.

Indians claimed that tobacco kept them healthy and strong, so the Europeans decided tobacco could be used in medicinal treatments. Soon, it was announced as panacea for all diseases. Even kings and queens turned to tobacco, because it seemed t treat headaches by making them sneeze. A French adventurer Andre Thevet visited Brazil and caught the habit of smoking there. He wrote that tobacco cleaned “superfluous humours of the brain”. German doctors described the healing power of tobacco saying that tobacco clysters or enemas were good in treating colic, nephritis, hysteria, hernia, and dysentery. A Spanish doctor Nicolas Monardes wrote the first book on tobacco which was named “De Hierba Panacea”. It described wonderful healing powers of tobacco which was perfect in curing 36 different diseases!

Steven Rogers

Related Posts

Posted on September 10, 2009 
Filed Under Facts on Smoking, Tobacco History

Comments

Leave a Reply