From holy herb to pleasant commodity

The chapter deals with Brazilian tobacco as a colonial commodity during the centuries of Portuguese sovereignty over Brazil up to the early nineteenth century. It intends to outline the features of tobacco growing, including the kinds of labor involved in this commodity’s production. From there, the chapter follows the Brazilian tobacco through the Atlantic Ocean. In the other rims of the Atlantic, the chapter focuses on who and how the American herb was enjoyed and on the societies where tobacco became a daily good. The Brazilian tobacco, however, reached the “four parts of the world”; thus, we also approach the Brazilian tobacco consumption beyond the Western economies. In this chapter, the changes in the tobacco’s global market and its consequences for the Brazilian production are briefly approached. As conclusion, we try to point out how Brazilian tobacco, as a commodity, was connected to the socioeconomic processes which shaped the modern world.