Taíno rolled tobacco cigar
Cigarro de hojas de tabaco de los taínos
- Date
- 1492 · confidence medium
- Place
- Holguín coast, Cuba
- Credited to
- Taíno people; observed by Rodrigo de Jerez and Luis de Torres
- Field
- Tools
⚠️ Disputed: the sources disagree.
What it is
In November 1492 Columbus's envoys saw Taíno in Cuba smoking rolled tobacco leaves, 'firebrands' drawn in through the mouth. This was the first recorded European contact with the cigar, which spread rapidly to Europe and the rest of the world.
Tobacco use is much older and occurs in Mesoamerica and North America; the milestone records the first European contact with the Antillean cigar. The exact location of the inland expedition is uncertain; it is placed on the Holguín coast. The anecdote of Jerez as the first European smoker is later tradition.
What it led to
- introduction of tobacco and its consumption in Europe from the early 16th century
- tobacco growing in Cuba and the Havana cigar industry
- one of the most profitable agricultural products of colonial trade