-
1528
Tobacco in Europe
The Spanish introduced tobacco to Europeans -
1533
Diego Columbus
mentioned a tobacco merchant of Lisbon in his will, showing how quickly the traffic had sprung up -
1559
Jean Nicot sent samples to Paris
Jean Nicot, French ambassador in Lisbon, sent samples to Paris. The French, Spanish, and Portuguese initially referred to the plant as the "sacred herb" because of its valuable medicinal properties. -
1563
Doctor Conrad Gesner
Swiss doctor Conrad Gesner reported that chewing or smoking a tobacco leaf "has a wonderful power of producing a kind of peaceful drunkenness" -
1570
Botanist referred to tobacco as Nicotiana
botanists referred to tobacco as Nicotiana -
1571
Doctor Nicolas Monardes wrote a book about the history of medicinal plants of the new world
Spanish doctor Nicolas Monardes wrote a book about the history of medicinal plants of the new world. In this he claimed that tobacco could cure 36 health problems and reported that the plant was first brought to Spain for its flowers, but "Now we use it to a greater extent for the sake of its virtues than for its beauty" -
1578
first ''Virginia'' tobacco to Europe from the Roanoke Colony
Before Sir Walter Raleigh brought the first "Virginia" tobacco to Europe from the Roanoke Colony, referring to it as tobah