Globally, Cuba has one of the best reputations for its consistent exportation of quality cigars. Despite my personal beliefs differing, I will admit they do grow the best tobacco anywhere in the world. The first tobacco plantations most likely began harvesting sometime in the 18th century on the east end of Cuba’s island. As the popularity of the quality tobacco ensued, soon it was grown in the west as well.

Even today, the most well known tobacco is harvested in Pinar del Rio. The plant used for this tobacco actually hails from South America and arrived in the Antilles somewhere around 3000 BC.

Initially the most popular export from Cuba was sugar, however, as other regions around the globe began to hear of this incredibly succulent tobacco being harvested, the export percentages switched and very quickly tobacco became the number one export out of Cuba.

One name often associated with Cuban cigars is “Cohiba” which is what the Cuban natives called the tobacco, at first thinking it to be a magical plant that could be used as a medication for curing or treating a variety of illnesses. It was heavily documented in their religious ceremonies and used historically during political events.

Once discovered by tourists of the island, tobacco began to be exported throughout the world, at first to Europe, in Spain and then to Japan, Turkey and Russia. As many began to deduce that it didn’t have the “medicinal” qualities Cubans believed it to contain, many prohibitions arose including the most infamous being the Tobacco Monopoly of 1717 when King Felipe V ordered that plantation workers who used it as medicine should immediately be put to death. The monopoly lasted until June 23rd, 1817 when it was abolished by Royal Decree thereby allowing free trade of the tobacco once again.

What’s very interesting to note is that the men who worked on sugar plantations were primarily slaves at the time, owned by the plantation owner or another individual who loaned his or her workers to the plantation for a profit. What’s interesting about this is that on the contrary, the men who worked in the tobacco fields were all free since it was believed that unlike sugar, tobacco required a very gentle touch and plantation owners believed only free men would be capable of being gentle and taking pride in their work.

Once, US President John F. Kennedy signed the Cuban embargo which prevented the importation of cuban goods into the United States, the exportation of tobacco from cuba fell from first place. Despite the US being such an integral part of global economic influence, tobacco however, still remains in the top three exports due to its worldwide appeal as being, arguably, the greatest tobacco and cigars made on the planet.