Encyclopedia of African American History

Tobacco  113

Tobacco

Tobacco is native to Virginia. Native Americans grew it

as part of their religious traditions. Th ey believed that in

smoking tobacco, they inhaled the smoke into their very

souls. Once exhaled, the smoke carried their prayers up to

the gods. Th e European settlers of Jamestown, Virginia, ad-

opted the habit of smoking tobacco, though it was devoid

of any religious contexts. In 1612, Englishman John Rolfe

planted a variety of tobacco from the Caribbean island of

Trinidad that yielded a leaf superior in aroma to the in-

digenous varieties of Virginia and, beginning in the 1620s,

tobacco was the leading export of the colony. In 1627, Vir-

ginia exported to England 500,000 pounds of tobacco, in

1635 1 million pounds, and in 1670 15 million pounds.

Exports followed demand, which increased in Europe

20 times between 1617 and 1640 and 100 times by 1780.

Th e craving for tobacco drove both production and the

demand for labor. Unlike sugar, tobacco is not inherently

a plantation crop and did not benefi t from an economy

occasionally on camels and boats; more awareness has
been raised about the city’s Islamic past. Th e Mali govern-
ment has appealed to the international community and
UNESCO to assist it to restore Timbuktu’s ancient mosques
and its Islamic libraries. Most people remember Mali today
because of Timbuktu and its legendary king, Mansa Musa.
Timbuktu, the “Pearl” of medieval Mali, one of the most
radiant seats of culture and civilization in West Africa, has
now become a city of sand and dust.
See also: Mali; Musa, Mansa; Songhai; Sudanic Empires;
Toure, Askia Muhammad

Yushau Sodiq

Bibliography
Hunwick, John O. Timbuktu: Its Origin and Development aft er
Islam Entered Africa. Princeton, NJ: M. Wiener, 2007.
Saad, Elias N. Social History of Timbuktu: Th e Role of Muslim
Scholars and Notables, 1 400– 19 00. Cambridge, UK: Cam-
bridge University Press, 1983.
Sattin, Anthony. Th e Gates of Africa: Death, Discovery, and the
Search for Timbuktu. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 2005.

Sankore Mosque housed an Islamic madrassa which was at the center of the great Islamic scholarly community at Timbuktu during the 15 th
century. (David Kerkhoff )