Have you ever wondered where cigars were first produced?
In Spain is where many people believe cigars were first produced.
Before cigars became all the rage in Europe, they needed tobacco to produce them.
The Origins of Tobacco
The origins of cigar smoking are still unknown. A Guatemalan ceramic pot dating back to the tenth century features a Mayan smoking tobacco leaf tied together with a string. Sikar, the Maya term for smoking, may have inspired the name cigar.
Before cigars became all the rage in Europe, they needed tobacco to produce them. Tobacco is indigenous to the Americas, where native peoples have produced it for hundreds of years.
Some believe the Maya of Yucatan peninsula and parts of Central America cultivated tobacco, and possibly even smoked it! Tobacco use spread to other tribes, both north, and south. The tribe on the Mississippi is believed tobacco’s first use in the United States.
Christopher Columbus sailed his famous voyage to the Americas in 1492, and the rest of the world came to tobacco.
Not everyone liked, tobacco including Columbus. However, many sailors grew found of the strange plant. Not everyone liked tobacco even Columbus. Soon it quickly caught on in Spain and Portugal. From there, it spread to France, where the French ambassador Jean Nicot lent his name to the scientific name for tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum). The origins of the word tobacco itself are still suspect, although many believe it is simply a corruption of the word Tobago, which is the name of a Caribbean island. Still, others believe it comes from the word Tabasco, a region (and now state) in Mexico. Established in Virginia in 1612, the first tobacco plantation of the United States. More tobacco plantations followed in Maryland soon after. Pipes were the only item at the time to smoke tobacco with.
The Introduction of the Cigar
The cigar was first introduced to the United States in the late 18th century. Israel Putnam, an army general who had served in the Revolutionary War, is credited with introducing the cigar to the United States. He had traveled to Cuba after the Revolutionary War and returned with a box of Cuban cigars. Their popularity quickly spread, and soon enough cigar factories were established in the area of Harford, Connecticut, where General Putnam resided. In Europe, cigar production and consumption did not achieve widespread popularity until after the Peninsula War in the early 19th century. British and French veterans returned to their homelands after years of serving in Spain with their tobacco pipes in tow. Among the rich and fashionable Health Fitness Articles, the favored method of taking tobacco was the cigar. Cigar smoking remains a habit associated with the rich and discriminating of upper society.
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