The ENTIRE history of tobacco (in 6 minutes) скачать в хорошем качестве

The ENTIRE history of tobacco (in 6 minutes)

"Music: Funny Quirky Comedy by Redafs.com, Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License" Tobacco’s story is long, complex, and deeply entangled with economics, empire, medicine, and mortality. Once considered a sacred plant by indigenous cultures, tobacco would eventually become one of the most economically powerful — and medically devastating — commodities in human history. Tobacco is indigenous to the Americas and has been used by Native American civilizations for over 12,000 years. Archaeological findings from sites in the Andes and the Mississippi Valley reveal tobacco residue in ceremonial pipes dating back thousands of years. It was used in religious rituals, medicinal practices, and social bonding — a sacred plant believed to carry prayers to the spirit world. By the time Europeans arrived in the Americas in the late 15th century, tobacco use was already deeply embedded in indigenous culture. Christopher Columbus and his men were the first Europeans to observe tobacco smoking in the Caribbean, noting how the locals inhaled the smoke of a burning leaf with reverence. These early observations sparked curiosity — and eventually, commercial interest. The economic transformation of tobacco began in the early 17th century. English colonists in Virginia, struggling to find profitable exports, found success with Nicotiana tabacum, a milder variety of tobacco ideal for European tastes. By 1617, tobacco exports from Jamestown reached 20,000 pounds; by the 1620s, it was over 500,000 pounds annually. Tobacco became the backbone of colonial economies — especially in Virginia, Maryland, and North Carolina — and was so valuable it was used as currency. Its cultivation, however, demanded intensive labor, which helped drive the transatlantic slave trade. Tens of thousands of enslaved Africans were brought to North America to work on tobacco plantations, forging a link between tobacco, slavery, and imperial wealth. Europe, meanwhile, experienced a “tobacco boom.” Pipes, snuff boxes, and later cigars became ubiquitous symbols of sophistication and social status across the continent. The 19th century brought mechanization. In 1881, James Bonsack invented the first cigarette-rolling machine, which could produce over 200 cigarettes per minute. This dramatically lowered production costs and expanded tobacco’s market to the working class. During both World Wars, tobacco companies supplied millions of free cigarettes to soldiers — a move that not only boosted morale but also cultivated lifelong customers. As cigarette use surged, so did lung cancer rates — though the connection wasn’t immediately clear. In 1950, British researchers Richard Doll and Austin Bradford Hill published a groundbreaking study linking cigarette smoking to lung cancer. In 1964, the U.S. Surgeon General’s report officially declared smoking hazardous to health. The World Health Organization later classified tobacco as the leading preventable cause of death globally. As of today, tobacco is estimated to kill over 8 million people per year, with more than 1.2 million deaths from secondhand smoke. Despite the health risks, tobacco remains an economic juggernaut. The global tobacco market was valued at over $850 billion in 2023. Over 100 million people depend on the industry for their livelihoods, from farmers to distributors. However, this comes at a steep cost. Tobacco-related illnesses are estimated to cost the global economy over $1.4 trillion annually in healthcare and lost productivity. Countries like China — the world’s largest tobacco consumer — face immense public health challenges as a result. Meanwhile, some nations are going further. New Zealand, for instance, introduced legislation in 2022 banning the sale of tobacco to anyone born after 2008, effectively phasing out future generations of smokers. The history of tobacco is not just the history of a plant — it's the story of human civilization grappling with power, profit, addiction, and morality. From sacred pipe to mass-marketed cigarette, from economic backbone to global health crisis, tobacco has shaped societies, economies, and lives for centuries. #historicalmyths #memes #funny #historical