The History of Cigars

The tobacco plant is native to the Americas and has been cultivated by the Native Americans as early as 1 BC. It played a critical role in medicinal and religious purposes. Upon the discovery of the Americas to European explorers – tobacco and its uses were brought back to Europe and the spread of worldwide tobacco cultivation began. (http://academic.udayton.edu/health/syllabi/tobacco/history.htm#begin)

Cigar cultivation took off in the Mid 1500s when Spanish cultivators began establishing factories on the island of Cuba, due to its ideal climate for growing the leaves used in cigars. Throughout time, seeds were distributed around the world resulting in various well-known varietals of tobacco known today, for example the widely used “Connecticut” and “Connecticut Shade” are grown in the New England part of the United States but were have said to have been from old Cuban seed long ago.

During the “Ten Years War” – Cuba’s fight for Independence from Spain, many growers abandoned Cuban soil in search of less turmoil and calm growing conditions. Many fled to neighboring countries with similar climates such as Dominican Republic, Honduras, Nicaragua, and the coast of Florida, United States. Today Cigars are produced all over the world however Cuba, Dominican Republic, Honduras and Nicaragua are the largest producing countries.