American Tobacco and European Consumers
The article is about how tobacco changed the history of the
English North American colonists and Europeans.
For decades, the colonists in the Chesapeake struggled to find ways to
prosper until they became dedicated planters of tobacco and started sending it
to England and other countries in Europe.
In the 1600, only a few people smoked tobacco because it was
very expensive. But in the 1700, North
American colonists started growing it in mass amount and importing all of it to
Europe. There was so much tobacco to go
around that it became very cheap to buy.
Everyone in Europe started smoking it; men, women, young and old. Smoking tobacco became a daily ritual at all
times and in all places. It was so common
that it forced King of England to warn the public of the harm and danger of it.
But he was alone because many believed it was good for the health and mind
including doctors and scholars.
The demand for tobacco by Europeans was the greatest news
for the North American colonists in Chesapeake. In 1600, England imported about 25,000
pounds of tobacco. In 1700, England
imported about 40 million pounds of tobacco from the Chesapeake colonists. The use of tobacco increased drastically in Europe
because of the low price made possible by the Chesapeake planters.
The use of tobacco was changing the economic and social life
of the Europeans. It became the center
of the social life scene in bars, social clubs, events, and social
gatherings. There were many new
industries to provide the paraphernalia including wrappers, pipes, and pipe
cleaners. It also created new jobs for
merchants and sellers.
The book says that the “history of both the English North
American colonies and the rest of the world would have been very different” if
Europeans hated tobacco. How different
do you think would have been?
Why did the Europeans become so dependent on tobacco?