The First Reference to Smoking Tobacco

In an entry in his journal dated 6 November, 1492 Christopher Columbus made the first written reference to smoking tobacco during his exploration of the New World.

…men and women with a half-burnt weed in their hands, being the herbs they are accustomed to smoke

Cambridge University Press edition 2010

The native people rolled the herbs, which they called tabacos, inside dried leaves and lit one end. Inhaling the smoke made them feel sleepy or intoxicated.

The Norman conquest of England in 1066 was one of the great milestones of English history but there were in fact many Norman invasions and their influence reached from Northern Europe through the Mediterranean and into the Middle East and North Africa. They were a phenomenon emerging in the tenth century but had disappeared by the middle of the thirteenth century. In this brief period though, their influence was massive creating new kingdoms, re-shaping societies and leaving behind impressive architectural, linguistic and cultural influences. In this episode, Dan speaks to historian Trevor Rowley author of The Normans: The Conquest of Christendom about their origins, how and why they spread so far, what their legacy is and why their influence was so short-lived.

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Columbus first came in to contact with tobacco in October when he was presented with a bunch of dried herbs on his arrival. Neither he nor his crew had any idea what to do with them until they observed the natives chewing them and inhaling the smoke. Sailors who decided to try smoking the tobacco soon found it became a habit.

Among the sailors who took up smoking tobacco was Rodrigo de Jerez. But Jerez ran in to trouble when he took his smoking habit back to Spain. People were alarmed and afraid at the vision of a man blowing smoke out of his mouth and nose, believing it to be the work of Satan. Consequently, Jerez was arrested and spent several years in prison.

Rivers, Silk roads and camels - how did international trade adapt and survive beyond the Roman Empire into the middle ages?

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