CDL: American Tobacco and European Consumers

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?