First History of Tobacco You Should Know
Many people have questioned who invented tobacco for smoking and first history of tobacco. The following explanation is about the first history of tobacco you should know. According to the information or data obtained, the origin of cigarettes was first known from Central America in the 9th century. The Maya and Aztecs who have first smoked tobacco in religious rituals. So, it could be said that the inventor of cigarettes was the Mayan and Aztec. The tradition of smoking tobacco was also done as a form of friendship by them.
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| The Maya and Aztecs Smoking |
It was known from the images contained in the Maya and Aztec temples which were depicting a priest or a religious leader smoking a cigarette or a cigar. In Central America, smoking tobacco and cigar were also common things there. An archaeological data revealed that tobacco plants as raw materials of cigarettes had been used by Indians about 4000 years ago.
The Origin of Tobacco
Many opinions said that the word 'Tobacco' came from the name of an island in America called Tobago Island. This was based on the testimony of Spanish sailors who made an expedition to Central America in October 1492 who was known as the expedition of Columbus. He was known as the inventor of the American continent. When doing his expedition, Columbus saw native people originating from Indian tribes were smoking then they offered it to Columbus. Columbus then tried to smoking.
After trying tobacco, Columbus then took some of the tobacco and brought it back to his original continent Europe to be introduced there. On the other hand, there was another opinion saying that the word ‘Tobacco’ came from the term of rotating the big leaves which were made for rituals and known as smoking. In 1960, the French ambassador in Portugal sent tobacco to Queen Catherine de Medicci. She argued that tobacco could be used as a medicinal substance mainly as a headache remedy. Because of this, Queen Catherine then spread tobacco plants throughout France.
The first Cigarette Appearance
Tobacco plants were known as medicinal plants in the early 16th century and spread to America in the early 17th century. Then in 1611 in the Virginia United States, there were tobacco plantations owned by John Rolf. Rolf got the tobacco seed from Trinidad and Venezuela. His business grew rapidly and he managed to export tobacco to the UK. The tobacco was developed continually until now.