During his inaugural voyage to the New World, Christopher Columbus sent Rodrigo de Xerez and Luis de Torres into the interior of a large island on 28 October 1492. This is the moment that started what we know as the history of the cigar.
There, the Spaniards met with the native people in what must have been a remarkable meeting of cultures, dress, languages and intentions. Included was an interchange where the explorers were invited into the village house (the caney) to speak with the chief of the tribe (the Cacique) and to meet the priest (the Behique). As a gesture of friendship, the sailors were presented with a gift of a roll of dry leaves called Cohiba.
After sharing a meal with his guests, the chief employs a Y-shaped tube called a tobacco, placing dried leaves into it, lighting them with a piece of wood called a cuaba and inhaling the bitter smoke into his nostrils. He offers the visitors both cohiba and tobacco, but they decide to pass, returning instead to the ship.
Columbus returned with the leaves, introducing it to Europe under the incorrect name of tobacco, mixing up the native names for the leaves and the pipe that was used to enjoy(?) them.
Spain assumed control of the island by 1511 and by 1515, Cuba had become a base in the Spanish conquest of the Americas and the Caribbean, with the present site of Havana settled by 1519. In addition, African slaves were imported to the island to aid in the development of sugar cane, an important cash crop for the conquerors. In a short time, the practice of smoking dried leaves spread from native to slave to conqueror to sailor, leading to the spread of tobacco through the movement of seeds around the world.
source: Perleman's Pocket Cyclopedia of Havana Cigars
Happy smoking my friends!
~Mark
There, the Spaniards met with the native people in what must have been a remarkable meeting of cultures, dress, languages and intentions. Included was an interchange where the explorers were invited into the village house (the caney) to speak with the chief of the tribe (the Cacique) and to meet the priest (the Behique). As a gesture of friendship, the sailors were presented with a gift of a roll of dry leaves called Cohiba.
After sharing a meal with his guests, the chief employs a Y-shaped tube called a tobacco, placing dried leaves into it, lighting them with a piece of wood called a cuaba and inhaling the bitter smoke into his nostrils. He offers the visitors both cohiba and tobacco, but they decide to pass, returning instead to the ship.
Columbus returned with the leaves, introducing it to Europe under the incorrect name of tobacco, mixing up the native names for the leaves and the pipe that was used to enjoy(?) them.
Spain assumed control of the island by 1511 and by 1515, Cuba had become a base in the Spanish conquest of the Americas and the Caribbean, with the present site of Havana settled by 1519. In addition, African slaves were imported to the island to aid in the development of sugar cane, an important cash crop for the conquerors. In a short time, the practice of smoking dried leaves spread from native to slave to conqueror to sailor, leading to the spread of tobacco through the movement of seeds around the world.
source: Perleman's Pocket Cyclopedia of Havana Cigars
Happy smoking my friends!
~Mark
