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'''Tobacco''' is another import from the [[New World]] by the [[Spain|Spaniards]]. The word may be related to Tabaco, a province of Yucatan, or the Caribean island of Tobago.  However, similar words in Spanish and Italian were commonly used from 1410 to define medicinal [[herb]]s, originating from the Arabic ''tabbaq'', a word dating to the 9th century.

Used as a sacred herb since at least 3000 BCE in various [[Native American|North American native]] cultures, tobacco was introduced as a recreational drug in Europe during the [[Elizabeth I|Elizabethan]] era, imported principally from Spanish colonies in and around the Caribbean and from the English colonies in South Virginia.

Unlike the most common [[cigarette|modern tobacco use]], the Elizabethan [[English]] smoked tobacco in small clay [[pipe]]s, a habit which did not enjoy favour with [[James I|James Stuart]].

Tobacco reached the [[Muslim]] world through the [[Ottoman Empire]] at the end of the 16th century, after the end of [[period]].

==Tobacco in the SCA==

In the [[SCA]], as in other medieval [[reenactment]] groups, smoking tobacco is generally seen as an offensive anachronism and those who smoke are encouraged to do it discreetly or at a distance.  This restriction is aided, in [[Canada]] and [[Australia]], by the widespread legal ban of smoking in enclosed spaces.

==See Also==
*[[cigarette]]
*[[pipe]]
*[[hookah]]

[[category:materials (modern)]][[category:16th century]]