Tobacco usage was introduced to Europe by Columbus and his crew after their discovery of America in 1492. It spread rapidly, reaching Sweden in the early 1600s.
When Columbus and his crew landed at Watling Island in the West Indies on 12 October 1492, it was the first time that Europeans had ever seen tobacco. Later journeys to the New World brought back many reports on the customs and habits of the Indians. Wherever the Europeans went, they encountered Indians who smoked or chewed tobacco or took it as snuff.
These seafarers brought ”the plant of the gods” back to Europe with them. In the middle of the 16th century, tobacco plants were grown in botanical gardens in Portugal, France, Germany and Italy, where they were carefully studied and described in the herbal handbooks popular at this time.
