Rodrigo de Jerez facts for kids
Rodrigo de Jerez was a Spanish sailor who traveled with Christopher Columbus on his very first trip across the Atlantic Ocean in 1492. He was one of the crew members on the ship called the Santa Maria. Rodrigo was born in a small town in Spain called Ayamonte. He is famous for being the first European person known to smoke tobacco.
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A Journey to New Lands
In 1492, Rodrigo de Jerez sailed with Christopher Columbus to find a new sea route to Asia. Instead, they landed in the Americas. On October 12, 1492, the crew arrived at an island in the Bahamas that the local people called Guanahani. Today, it's known as San Salvador. The native people there offered them some "dry leaves that spread a peculiar fragrance." At first, the sailors didn't know what these leaves were and threw them away.
Discovering Tobacco Smoking
A month later, in November 1492, Rodrigo de Jerez and another sailor named Luis de Torres were exploring Cuba. They were still looking for the Emperor of China, thinking they might be in Asia. While there, they saw native people smoking for the first time. The natives would roll up leaves from palm trees and corn plants. They put dried tobacco leaves inside these rolls. They would light one end and breathe in the smoke from the other end. This was a very new and strange sight for the Europeans.
Bringing Tobacco to Europe
Rodrigo de Jerez became interested in this new habit and started smoking tobacco himself. When he returned to Spain on the ship called the Niña, he brought the habit back to his hometown of Ayamonte.
The Surprising Reaction
When Rodrigo de Jerez smoked in public, smoke came out of his mouth and nose. His neighbors were very scared and confused. They had never seen anything like it before! They thought it was a strange and frightening act. At that time, people often believed that things they didn't understand were connected to evil. Because of this, the powerful religious court known as the Spanish Inquisition arrested him. They put him in prison because they thought his smoking was "unusual and scary," believing that "only the Devil could give a man the power to exhale smoke from his mouth."
Smoking Becomes Popular
Rodrigo de Jerez stayed in prison for seven years. But by the time he was released, many other people in Europe had already started smoking tobacco. The habit had spread, and it was no longer seen as something strange or evil. Rodrigo de Jerez's story shows how new customs and discoveries could sometimes cause a lot of confusion and fear when people first encountered them.
See also
In Spanish: Rodrigo de Jerez para niños
