Cigar History in a Nutshell  Pre 1492
The native people of the Americas grow and smoke the tobacco plant.
It grown in the Yucatan peninsula and smoked by the Maya civilization.
It spreads both south and north, and is used by the native Indians.
Christopher Columbus sails into Cuba’s Bahia de Gibara, and discovers
natives smoking twisted, raw leaves, wrapped in corn husks, which is
now known as cigars. Legend has it that the first European cigar smoker was Rodrigo de Jerez,
one of the sailors from Columbus’ ship who sampled the first puffs
from the natives. Ironically, he was later imprisoned for smoking in
public, which at the time was an illegal offence. 1717 Cuban tobacco is first manufactured in Seville, Spain, starting a
trend for cigar factories to open in France and Germany. 1800’s The cigar is at its height of popularity, in Spain and the rest of
Europe, sparked off by troupes who learned the habit in Spain after
serving in the Peninsula War (1806-12) against Napoleon. England is a major importer of cigars, as well as producing them in
1820. These are known as “ Segars”, and a variety of shapes
and size are added to meet its growing market demands, while France
sells over a billion cigars a year with its Cuban cigar trade. In 1821, Cuban cigars are born ,with Spain allowing the manufacturing
of cigars in Cuba, then a Spanish colony. Cigar bands become an industry standard, remaining unchanged to this
day, such as the Punch or Partagas bands. By 1890 The U.S join the world cigar making industry with renowned
factories in Tampa, Florida.
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