The History of Cuban Tobacco: From Ancient Origins to the Habano Cigar

Visit our Online Cigar Store and see our Premium Habano Selection. Every Cuban cigar carries centuries of history, from the first tobacco plants on the island to the royal monopoly that shaped its tobacco industry. Here is the story behind the leaf.

Where Cuban Tobacco Began

Origins of the Tobacco Plant

The tobacco plant originally came from South America. Even though it’s impossible to state exactly when it was brought to Cuba, the largest island in the Antilles, it can be said that it happened between 3000 and 2000 B.C.

Tobacco in Indigenous Life

The aborigines considered tobacco a miraculous medicine and an essential element in their religious, political and social ceremonies. It was part of their agriculture and an inseparable adjunct of life.

How Tobacco Conquered the Old World

Europe’s Passion for Tobacco

Europeans were introduced to this plant, a source of great physical and spiritual pleasure, when they first reached the Americas. It didn’t take long for the Old Continent to develop a veritable passion for it.

Bans and Punishments for Smoking

As might be expected, Spain had the most smokers, who were also the first to be subjected to terrible punishments for smoking. The habit later spread to Persia, Japan, Turkey and Russia, where the cruelest punishments were established. Curiously, as bans on smoking gained ground, tobacco was increasingly used for medicinal purposes.

The Estanco del Tabaco (1717)

King Philip V’s Royal Monopoly

On April 11, 1717, King Philip V established a royal monopoly on tobacco-growing in Cuba, a decision that has gone down in history as the Estanco del Tabaco. Tobacco-growers who opposed the onerous law lost their lives.

Enjoy a Piece of Cuban Tobacco History

From ancient ceremonies to royal decrees, Cuban tobacco has a story like no other. Browse our Premium Habano Selection and find your next cigar.

Limited/Regionals

Bolivar

Cohiba

Cuaba

Diplomaticos

El Ray Del Mundo

Flor-de-Cano

Fonseca

Foundation Cigars

Guatanamera

H-Upmann

Hoyo de Monterrey

Jose Y Piedra

Juan Lopez

La Flor Domicana

La Gloria Cubana

Montecristo

Partagas

Por Larranaga

Punch

Quai Dorsay

Quaintero

Rafael Gonzalez

Ramon Allones

Romeo-y-Julieta

San Cristobal

Sancho Panza

Trinidad

Vegas Robaina

Flor-de-Cano

Vegueros