The Story of Tobacco. The use of tobacco from the 15th century to today
Unknown outside the Americas before the 15th century, tobacco was quickly exported from its traditional birthplace during the extensive explorations of the Renaissance. In just a few decades, its use spread simultaneously throughout Europe, Africa and Asia, where it adapted to local cultures with a disconcerting facility, most often, as a powerful identity marker. A study of the development of tobacco can help us better understand the construction of the identity of certain social groups and the expression of this identity in political or medical writing, as well as in arts and literature. By offering a historical, sociological and anthropological overview of tobacco use in American and western societies, this article seeks to interpret the complex relations between Man and tobacco since the 15th century. Without claiming to be exhaustive, the article examines the role of tobacco in the expression of conviviality and identity, particularly in terms of gender and social group. By eliciting reflection, the use of a multidisciplinary approach seeks to provide a more complete understanding of the interlacing of tobacco use in various cultures, as well as raising several hypotheses in regard to its future in post-modern societies.