Tobacco Reaches France

1555

The French diplomat Jean Nicot, posted to Lisbon, sent tobacco seeds and powder back to Catherine de Medici, who tried them for her migraines. Nicotine, eventually, would be named after him. The herb spread across Europe as a medicine, a pleasure, and soon enough a mortal habit. Nicot's promotion as medicinal herb gave tobacco scientific respectability, long before its addictive properties were understood.