When Christopher Columbus (1451-1506) reached America, he found that the Native Americans who had occupied the land for thousands of years were already using tobacco in much the same ways it is used today. The tobacco plant is native to America, primarily to the Caribbean area. The Indians believed that tobacco had medicinal value and passed this idea on to European colonists. The natives also used tobacco in official ceremonies in which the traditional peace pipe was shared by all. They mainly used wild tobacco, though some groups did cultivate it.

The colonists pursued tobacco cultivation as an industry. The first known instance of colonial tobacco growing was in 1531 at Santo Domingo. The French ambassador to Portugal, Jean Nicot (c. 1530-1600) first introduced tobacco to Europe in 1556. The tobacco genus Nicotiana was named for him, and the term nicotine was derived from his last name. All...