Snuff in the 16th Century
- 1548: Luis de Goes brings tobacco to Portugal, a relative of his, Damiano de Goes introduces them to them to a French Doctor called Jean Nicot
- 1561: Doctor Jean Nicot sends tobacco leafs to the French Queen Catherine de' Medici
- 1561: Catherine de' Medici grinds tobacco leafs and snuffs it, first production and use of Snuff in Europe
The origin of snuff tobacco can be traced back to to Catherine de MEDICIS (1519-1589) who was Queen of France during the reign of henri II. Her son François II suffered from terrible migraines that no Doctor had been able to remedy.
In 1561, the French ambassador in Lisbon (Doctor Jean Nicot), discovered the healing properties of tobacco and sent some tobacco leaf to Catherine de' Medici, who ground it into a powder. This was given to Francois to soothe his migraines and proved to be a remarkable success. Needless to say this was introduced to the whole Court where the first culture of snuffing is thought to have originated. Its use gradually increased across France and as a tribute to Jean NICOT, botanists named this tabacco plant : "Nicotiana tabacum".
It didn’t take long for this medicinal remedy to take off as a pleasurable habit and develop into a fashion amongst royalty and aristocracy throughout the world……….
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