At this time, my blog would focus on tobacco itself and its effects on this society(media, culture, people's behaviour(especially women and young people). I'm going to introduce some basic knowledge about tobacco, since I believe it's essential to get a basic recognition about the thing I'm researching on before going into other aspects.
In before, tobacco was mainly used as a medicine, and it had been highly glorified. For a moment it was hard to find a disease that the “holy herb” couldn’t cure. The earliest using method of tobacco is called “drink smoke”. The use of smoke to treat disease is not unique though, ancient Creeks used to burn dried colt’s feet for treating asthma. But by that time, not too long after Columbus just discovered the New World, everything in the New World had an extra attraction to them. They were eager about discovering new species that can bring great fortune to their homeland and make a big change of their lives. Thus they had magnified the effects of tobacco subliminaly. The fetish of tobacco at that time has more or less to do with such mentality.
During that time, the value of tobacco was mainly focused on its material benefits. As time goes by,the usage is more and more focused on spiritual and aesthetic fields. People use it for inspiration; they use it as a token of their own personality and social status; they use it as a gift or simply hold a cigarette to pose for a nice picture. Ironically, when the superstitions about tobacco is broken and all its harmful chemical elements have been discovered and published, the usage of tobacco has been levered to a more “sublime” level.Our further research will continue from here in my later blogs.
Below is some basic information I summerized about tobacco for those who may interested:
The origin and domestication of tobacco:
1.Tobacco is part of the results of Columbus Exchange,a gift from the New World.The earliest record of tobacco is from Columbus' Journal, on October15, 1492:"I found a man alone in a canoe...He had food and water and some dry leaves which must be a thing very much appreciated among them,because they have already brought me some of them as a present at San Salvador..."(Brooks,1952,p.11).
2. At the beginning of 17th century, tobacco has become a major money crop of Virginia,
Maryland and sections of North Caroline. It soon spread to England as a "paid duty to the Crown".
(Robert,1938).
3.The name"tobacco" was first documented by a Bishop, Bartolome de Las Casas:"These muskets,as we will call them,they call tobacco(tabacos)..."(Brooks 32). The scientific title of the genus(Nicotiana) is named after Jean Nicot,a French Ambassador to Portugal.(Lehman Brothers,1955)
4.The leaves Columbus saw were Nicotiana rustica, whose smoke is harsh; the modern tobacco with a far more milder taste is Nicotiana tabacum, was brought to Haiti from Yucatan.(Lehman Brothers,1955,p.10)
The transplantation and dissemination of tobacco:
l.In 16th century, courtiers and learned people in Spain,Portugal and France have already
adopted smoking for relaxation,they also used the leaf for treating ailments.
2.In about 1560, Jean Nicot ,a French Ambassador to Portugal, highly promoted the medical effectsof tobacco and sent it to King FrancisⅡ.
3.Large amount of tobacco had been shipped to England : in 1617,the number is 20,000 pounds; in 1698, 40,000,000 pounds ; during 1771-1775, the number has reached 102,000,000 pounds( Robert,1938).
The production of tobacco:
l.Since the cultivation of tobacco is "high labor requirements,but low capital outlay",the farms tend to be many and samll(Lehman Brothers,1955,p.32).After the leaves are cured(dried in a barn), they were shipped to market in hogshead and sale at auction. Later most of the leaves are made into tobacco for medical use.
2.As the development of technology and mass use of machine,small growers are disappearing while larger corporations come into place(Mann,1975).The development of transportation , storage and tobacco processing forge a stronger tie between growers and manufactures. Most of tobacco is made into cigars and cigarettes.Also, more and more manufacture processes(sweating, dipping, boiling licorice etc.) are added in order to accommodate to the various tastes of consumers.
main sources:
Lehman Brothers. About tobacco. [n.p.] 1955.
Brooks, Jerome E.The mighty leaf; tobacco through the centuries. Boston: Little, Brown 1952.
Robert, Joseph C.The tobacco kingdom. Durham, N. C: Print,Duke University Press, 1938
Lehman Brothers. About tobacco.Print [n.p.] 1955.
Mann, Charles Kellogg, 1934-, Tobacco : the ants and the elephants. Salt Lake City : Print,Olympus Pub. Co., 1975
Some interesting Blog URLs:
1 http://tobaccoanalysis.blogspot.com/ : contains various topics of tobacco and organized by date; very easy to read.
2 http://rodutobaccotruth.blogspot.com/ : a great blog that call on people to smoke less cigarettes and with data base that concerning tobacco related diseases.
3 http://www.talkingtobacco.com/tobacco-blog/: a blog that focuses on tobacco products and news.
