ultivation of tobacco in Europe was begun in Spain and Portugal.
Its culture in these kingdoms as well as by their colonies brought to
the crown enormous revenues. In 1626, its culture began in France and
is still an important product. A little later it began to be
cultivated in Germany where it had already been used as a favorite
luxury. From this time its use and cultivation extended to various
parts of Europe. The Persecutors whether kings, popes, poets, or
courtiers at length gave up their opposition while many of them
joined in the use and spread of the custom. It has been said with much
truth:

"History proves that persecution never triumphs in its
attempted eradications. Tobacco was so generally liked that
no legislative measures could prevent its use."

At first the use of tobacco was confined to fops and the hangers on at
ale houses and taverns but afterwards by the "chief men of the realm."
Soon after the importation of the "durned weed" from Virginia the
tobacco muse gave forth many a lay concerning the custom. The
following verses describe the method of smoking then in vogue:

Nor did that time know
To puff and to blow
In a peece of white clay,
As they do at this day
With fier and coole,
And a leafe in a hole;
As my ghost hath late seen,
As I walked betwene
Westminister Hall
And the church of St. Paul,
And so thorow the citie
Where I saw and did pitty
My country men's cases,
With fiery-smoke faces,
Sucking and drinking
A filthie weede stinking,
Was ne'r known before
Till the devil and the More
In th' Indies did meete,
And each other there greete
With a health they desire,
Of stinke, smoke and fier.
But who e're doth abhorre it.
The citie smookes for it;
Now full of fier shop,
And fowle spitting chop,
So sneezing and coughing,
That my ghost fell to scoffing.
And to myself said:
Here's filthie fumes made;
Good phisicke of force
To cure a sicke horse.

The Puritans, from the first introduction of the plant, were sincere
haters of tobacco, not only in England but in America. Cromwell had as
strong a dislike of the plant as King James, and ordered the troopers
to destroy the crops by trampling them under foot. Hutton describes a
Puritan as one who

"Abhors a sattin suit, a velvet cloak,
And sayes tobacco is the Devill's smoke."

Probably no other plant has ever met with such powerful determined
opposition