Cacao Currency: There was a time when chocolate was used as money. In fact, cocoa beans were used as a well-known form of currency in the ancient Maya and Aztec civilizations. These societies gave so much importance to cocoa that sometimes its actual value was even higher than gold.

a sacred gift from the gods

Cocoa had deep religious meaning for the ancient Maya and Aztecs. They believed that the god Quetzalcoatl gifted the cocoa plant to humans. Because of this divine association, Coke was often called the food of the gods. It played a big role in rituals, ceremonies and in the use of special people. Its sacred status had greatly increased its importance. This gave it a kind of spiritual importance. For this reason it started being used as currency.

valuable because of its rarity

Cocoa trees do not grow anywhere. They require tropical weather, heavy rainfall, moisture and carefully maintained soil. Due to this geographical limitation, cocoa was rarely available in large parts of Mesoamerica. Now because the supply was naturally less, the demand remained high. Economically, scarcity helped maintain its value.

Practical and durable

Unlike many food items, cocoa beans could be dried and stored for long periods of time without spoiling. They were light, portable and easy to count. An energy giving drink could be made by grinding them. Warriors, rich people and priests drank it.

Tax and trade in everyday life

These were not only used in the market but were also collected as tax by the Maya rulers. Farmers and people used to pay part of their tribute in cocoa. It could later be redistributed or traded. In crowded markets, cocoa was used as small change for daily purchases. An approximate comparison of prices is given in old records. A pumpkin could cost four cocoa beans, a rabbit about 10, and a turkey bird could cost up to 100 beans.

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Cigarette Origin: There was no single inventor of cigarettes. Instead they developed gradually over centuries. These were shaped by different cultures and innovations in technology. It is believed that modern cigarettes originated in Spain and Mexico. But its roots go back much earlier than the ancient civilizations of Central America.

Old beginnings in Mexico and Central America

Tobacco was first used in the 9th century by the Maya civilization in present-day Mexico and Central America. It is believed that the Maya people smoked tobacco by filling it in hollow reeds or wrapping it in plant leaves. When European explorers reached America, they saw that the tribal communities there were using tobacco in different ways. This habit soon spread to Europe. Here new ways of using it started being developed.

Birth place of modern cigarette

In the 16th century, Spain played a big role in making modern cigarettes. In Seville it is said that beggars would collect leftover cigar butts, cut up the leftover tobacco and wrap it in pieces of paper. These small rolls were called cigarillos. It meant small cigar in Spanish. This easy and low-cost alternative to cigars gradually became popular. It was from here that the foundation of today’s cigarette was laid.

name of france and cigarette

By the 1830s the trend of smoking had reached France. It was here that the word cigarette started being used on a large scale. The French government started commercial production in 1845. This gave the product more standard and marketing recognition. This habit spread throughout Europe from France.

role of the Crimean War

The Crimean War helped make cigarettes even more popular. It is said that British and French soldiers learned this habit from Turkish soldiers, who used to smoke tobacco wrapped in paper. When the soldiers returned home, they brought this method with them. Due to this it spread rapidly throughout Europe.

Mechanical revolution in cigarette making

Cigarettes became a global product mostly due to interesting innovation. In 1847 Juan Nepomuceno Adorno patented one of the oldest cigarette-making machines in Mexico. However, real industrial change came later. In 1880, James Albert Bonsack of the United States created a machine that could make up to 120,000 cigarettes every day. It was much more than a hand-operated roller. American industrialist James Buchanan Duke took advantage of this invention. Using Bonsack’s machines, he mass-produced cigarettes and started the American Tobacco Company.

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