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Smoking Could Get You Killed in the Ottoman Empire
Tobacco is a plant indigenous to the Americas and was introduced to Europe in the 16th century. The first person to introduce tobacco to Europe on a significant scale was Sir Walter Raleigh of England. He was responsible for founding the settlements in current day Virginia and North Carolina, where the environment was suitable for tobacco growing. He saw tobacco as a business opportunity to benefit England through their North American colony.
Since Walter Raleigh and others brought tobacco to Europe, the practice of smoking spread like wildfire. However, not everyone was a fan of the new smoking culture of Europe, especially the young Sultan of the Ottoman Empire, Murad IV.
Murad IV was a sultan who despised smoking because he suspected that the citizens of Istanbul could gather around coffee shops to smoke and plot to rebel against him. His hate for smoking tobacco grew even more after the Great Fire of 1633, a disaster where one-fifth of Istanbul was burned to the ground. He firmly believed that it was tobacco that started the fire, although there was little evidence to back this claim.
