Simeon Bateman was established in 1788. To give you an idea of what was going on in the world around this time, here is some interesting history.
Washington George (1732-1799)
Commander of the American forces during the American Revolutionary War and 1st President of the United States 1789-97; known as the father of his country'. An experienced soldier, he had fought in campaigns against the French during the French and Indian War. He was elected to the Virginia House of Burgesses 1759 and was a leader of the Virginia militia, gaining valuable exposure to wilderness fighting. As a strong opponent of the British government's policy, he sat in the Continental Congresses of 1774 and 1775, and on the outbreak of the American Revolution was chosen commander in chief of the Continental army. After many setbacks, he accepted the surrender of British General Cornwallis at Yorktown 1781.
After the war Washington retired to his Virginia estate, Mount Vernon, but in 1787 he re-entered politics as president of the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia, and was elected US President 1789. He attempted to draw his ministers from all factions, but his aristocratic outlook and acceptance of the fiscal policy championed by Alexander Hamilton alienated his secretary of state, Thomas Jefferson, who resigned 1793, thus creating the two-party system.
Washington was re-elected President 1793 but refused to serve a third term, setting a precedent that stood until 1940. He died and was buried at Mount Vernon.
George Washington was born at Pope's Creek, Westmoreland County, Virginia. He was of British descent, his great-grandfather, John Washington, having migrated from Sulgrave Manor, Northamptonshire, in 1657. Largely self-taught, he began his career as a land surveyor, but inheriting the MQunt Vernon estate from his brother Lawrence, Washington settled down as a country gentleman. Governor Dinwiddie soon made him lieutenant-colonel of the Virginia military. In April 1754 Washington was ordered to drive the French out of Fort Duquesne. He succeeded, but was in turn besieged in Fort Necessity, and was forced to accept surrender terms.
In 1758 Washington resigned command of the Virginia troops and married a rich widow, Martha Custis. The union of their plantations made Washington one of the wealthiest men in his state. He entertained lavishly, and thus came into contact with notable men from all over the British colonies in America. He was elected in 1759 to the Virginia House of Burgesses, and re-elected. He soon displayed a growing interest in disputes between the colonies and the British Crown, and Virginia elected him one of its delegates to the first Continental Congress. In Philadelphia he bought arms and ammunition, which he sent to Virginia, and when the congress adjourned he returned to Virginia to take up active training of the raw soldiers. When the second Continental Congress met in Philadelphia the general feeling among New Englanders was that they must have a Southern man to lead them, since only thus could they be sure of uniting all the colonies in one common cause. War had already started, and John Adams proposed Washington as commander-in-chief of the colonial armies and on 15 June 1775 Washington took over the command.
The American Revolution
The American troops often lacked arms, munitions, food, and clothes; and Washington had to combat faction and treachery among his generals, including the episode of Benedict Arnold's treachery. When he took charge of the American forces at Boston he won a notable success. His occupation of Dorchester Heights compelled Howe to evacuate Boston in March 1776. He then had a succession of reverses, notably at the battle of Brooklyn Heights, but in New Jersey he turned and beat his enemy at Trenton and Princeton. Following defeats in the battles of the Brandywine and Germantown in the autumn of 1777, Washington led his 11,000 men into winter camp at Valley Forge, 32 kml 20 mi from Philadelphia. The spring brought better news for the Americans. The French were coming into the war. Clinton, who succeeded Howe, had been ordered to give up Philadelphia and return to New York. Washington harassed his troops, notably at the battle of Monmouth. When Clinton reached New York, Washington took up a position at White Plains and for three years, while fighting was going on elsewhere, the two armies watched each other.
At last, Washington's chance came when Cornwallis met with difficulties in North Carolina, withdrew his army to Virginia, and finally shut himself up in Yorktown. Here Washington, who had hurried south, forced him to surrender (1781). When the British finally moved out of New York for home the American army under Washington entered the town. A few days afterwards, on 4 December 1783, Washington went via Philadelphia to Annapolis, Maryland, where Congress was sitting. Here on 23 December he resigned his commission as commander of the armies.
For four years he strove to recoup his shattered fortunes. At length it was decided to call a convention to frame a constitution, and Washington was chosen as one of the Virginia delegation. The convention opened on 13 May 1787 in Philadelphia, and Washington was unanimously chosen to preside. Others wrote the constitution, but it was Washington who did much to remove difficulties. He was unanimously chosen first president of the republic. He was inaugurated on 30 April 1789.
Washington's Presidency
As president, Washington alienated his secretary of state, Thomas Jefferson, who resigned in 1793, by accepting the fiscal policy championed by Alexander Hamilton and overseeing the payment of the foreign and domestic debt incurred by the new nation. He also shaped the powers of the presidency, assuming some implied powers not specified in the Constitution-among them, the power to create a national bank, and the introduction of an excise tax.
Washington wished to retire at the end of his first term, but at the instance of the rival leaders, Thomas Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton, he was elected to a second term by a unanimous vote. His neutral policy towards the French Revolution angered the pro-French Jefferson party. He was also widely criticised for signing Jay's Treaty 1794 that resolved outstanding differences with Britain, enabling trading links to be re-established. Under the terms of Pinckney's Treaty 1795 the US made territorial gains from Spain.
He declined a third term, and on giving up office, he made a famous farewell address, warning the country against entangling alliances and advising it to keep aloof from European quarrels.
George III (1738-1820)
King of Great Britain and Ireland from 1760, when he succeeded his grandfather George II. His rule was marked by intransigence resulting in the loss of the American colonies, for which he shared the blame with his chief minister Lord North, and the emancipation of Catholics in England. Possibly suffering from porphyria, he had repeated attacks of insanity, permanent from 1811. He was succeeded by his son George IV.
He married Princess Charlotte Sophia of Mecklenburg-Strelitz 1761.
British Empire
Various territories all over the world conquered or colonized by Britain from about 1600, most now independent or ruled by other powers; the British Empire was at its largest at the end of World War I, consisting of over 25% of the world's population and area. The Commonwealth is composed of former and remaining territories of the British Empire.
The British Empire lasted more than three and a half centuries - almost as long as the Roman Empire. By the time the British began colonizing overseas, the Portuguese and Spaniards had already divided a considerable part of the earth's land surface between them.
The Empire grew comparatively quickly, initially with acquisitions in North America and India, as well as some marginal settlement in Africa, in the 17th and 18th centuries. The 19th century saw the largest expansion of the Empire as the British took many former French possessions in the West Indies and began to settle in numbers in Australia in the early part of the century and later competed fiercely with other European powers for territory in Africa. At the same time, there was serious expansion in Asia, notably the acquisition of Singapore (1824), Hong Kong (1841), and Burma (1886), and the South Pacific, particularly the settlement of New Zealand (1840). The only serious loss of territory was the loss of the 13 American colonies in the American Revolution 1776.
The Empire faded gradually into the Commonwealth from the 1930s onward as one by one former British colonies and protectorates gained independence but retained this last link with the Crown.
Building the Empire
The first successful British colony was Jamestown, Virginia, founded 1607, although there was an earlier settlement at Newfoundland 1583. The Empire was gradually built over the next two centuries as the British established colonies and trading posts in many parts of the world, as well as capturing them from other European empire builders. Settlements were made in Gambia and on the Gold Coast of Africa 1618; in Bermuda 1609 and other islands of the West Indies; Jamaica was taken from Spain 1655; in Canada, Acadia (Nova Scotia) was secured from France by the Treaty of Utrecht 1713, which recognized Newfoundland and Hudson Bay (as well as Gibraltar in Europe) as British. New France (Quebec), Cape Breton Island, and Prince Edward Island became British as a result of the Seven Years' War I 756~3.
West Indies
The West Indies was a very attractive target for colonization due to the huge commercial possibilities of the region, mainly the rum and sugar produced there. Between 1623 and 1632 English settlers Qccupied St Kills, Barbados, St Croix (later lost), Nevis, Mtigua, and Montserrat. Cromwell's forces took Jamaica from the Spaniards 1655, although it was not officially ceded until 1760, and the tiny Atlantic island of St Helena was annexed 1673. Belize (British Honduras) was governed as part of Jamaica until 1884.
North America
Following the early settlement in Virginia, British colonies spread up and down the east coast of North America and by 1664, when the British secured New Amsterdam (New York) from the Dutch, there was a continuous fringe of colonies from the present South Carolina in the south to what is now New Hampshire. These colonies, and others formed later, had their own democratic institutions. The attempt of George Ill and his minister Lord North to coerce the colonists into paying special taxes to Britain roused them to resistance, which came to a head in the American Revolution 1775-81 and led to the creation of the United States of America from the 13 English colonies then lost.
Constitutional development in Canada started with an act of 1791 which set up Lower Canada (Quebec), mainly French-speaking, and Upper Canada (Ontario), mainly English-speaking.
In the War of 1812, the USA wrongly assumed that Canada would join the union. But there was sufficient discontent there to lead to rebellion 1837 in both Canadas. After the suppression of these risings, Lord Durham was sent out to advise on the affairs of British North America his report, published 1839, became the basis for the future structure of the Empire. In accordance with his recommendations, the two Canadas were united 1840 and given a representative legislative council: the beginning of colonial self-government. With the British North America Act 1867, the self-governing dominion of Canada came into existence; to the original union of Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia were later added further territories until the federal government of Canada controlled all the northern part of the continent except Alaska.
India
India was at the heart of the British Empire but it was initially controlled not by the British government but by the East India Company. This huge company, chartered 1600, set up a number of factories, as their trading posts were called, and steadily increased its possessions and the territories over which it held treaty rights until its power extended from Aden in Arabia to Penang in Malaya, both vital ports of call for company vessels plying between Britain, India, and China. The East India Company was the most powerful private company in history, controlling India partly by direct rule and partly by a system of alliances with Indian princes, maintained by the Company's powerful army. The company's political power was ended by the Indian Mutiny 1857. Although this revolt was put down, it resulted in the Crown taking over the government of India 1858; Queen Victoria was proclaimed empress of India 1 Jan 1877. The British army fought two wars with Afghanistan (1839-41 and 1878-80) to protect India's northwest frontier and invaded Tibet 1904. British India gained independence as the two dominions of India and Pakistan 1947. In 1950 India became a republic but remained a member of the Commonwealth.
East Asia
When the Netherlands came under French occupation (1793-1815) the East India Company took the opportunity to occupy parts of the East Indies, such as Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) annexed to the East India Company 1796. When the British government took over from the company it also acquired the Straits Settlements and by 1914 all Malaya was under British control. Britain gained Hong Kong as a result of the Opium Wars 1839-42 and Kowloon was added to the colony after a second Opium War (1856-58). Burma (now Myanmar) became a province of British India 1886 after a series of Anglo-Burmese Wars from 1824. In Borneo, Sarawak was ruled as a personal possession by James Brooke, a former soldier of the East India Company, and the British North Borneo Company acquired Sabah 1888. The sultanate of Brunei, which had formerly possessed Sarawak and Sabah, itself came under British protection in the same year. Burma and Ceylon became independent 1948 and the republic of Sri Lanka dates from 1972.
Australia
In Australia, colonization began with the desire to find a place for penal settlement after the loss of the original American colonies. The first shipload of British convicts landed in Australia 1788 on the site of the future city of Sydney. New South Wales was opened to free settlers 1819, and in 1853 transpQrtation of convicts was abolished. Before the end of the century five Australian colonies -South Wales, Western Australia, South Australia, Victoria, Queensland - and the island colony of Tasmania had each achieved self-government; an act of the Imperial Parliament at Westminster created the federal commonwealth of Australia, an independent dominion, 1901. New Zealand, annexed 1840, was at first a dependency of New South Wales. It became a separate colony 1853 and a dominion 1907.
Southern Africa
The Cape of Good Hope in South Africa was occupied by two English captains 1620, but initially neither the government nor the East India Company was interested in developing this early settlement into a colony. The Dutch occupied it 1650, and Cape Town remained a port of call for their East India Company until 1795 when, French revolutionary armies having occupied the Dutch Republic, the British seized it to keep it from the French. Under the Treaty of Paris 1814, the UK bought Cape Town from the new kingdom of the Netherlands for $6 million. British settlement began 1824 on the coast of Natal, proclaimed a British colony 1843.
The need to find new farmland and establish independence from British rule led a body of Boers (Dutch 'farmers') from the Cape to make the Great Trek northeast 1836, to found Transvaal and Orange Free State. Conflict between the British government, which claimed sovereignty over those areas (since the settlers were legally British subjects), and the Boers culminated, after the discovery of gold in the Boer territories, in the South African War 1899-1902, which brought Transvaal and Orange Free State definitely under British sovereignty. Given self-government 1907, they were formed, with Cape Colony (self-governing 1872) and Natal (self-governing 1893), into the Union of South Africa 1910.
Cecil Rhodes' British South Africa Company, chartered 1889, extended British influence over Southern Rhodesia (a colony 1923) and Northern Rhodesia (a protectorate 1924); with Nyasaland, taken under British protection 1891, the Rhodesias were formed into a federation I953~3 with representative government. Uganda was made a British protectorate 1894. Kenya, formerly a protectorate, became a colony 1920, certain districts on the coast forming part of the sultan of Zanzibar's dominions remained a protectorate.
West Africa
The British showed little interest in Africa outside the Cape until the scramble for territory of the 1880s, although a few forts were kept in West Africa, where gold and ivory kept their importance after the slave trade was ended by Britain in 1807. An early exception was the colony of Sierra Leone founded 1788 with the cession of a strip of land to provide a home for liberated slaves; a protectorate was established over the hinterland 1896. British influence in Nigeria began through the activities of the National Africa Company (the Royal Niger Company from 1886), which bought Lagos from an African chief 1861 and steadily extended its hold over the Niger Valley until it surrendered its charter 1899; in 1900 the two protectorates of North and South Nigeria were proclaimed. World War I ousted Germany from the African continent, and in 1921-22, under League of Nations mandate, Tanganyika was transferred to British administration, SW Africa to South Africa; Cameroons and Togoland, in West Africa, were divided between Britain and France.
East Africa
The high ground of the area made it far more suitable for settlement by white colonists than the colonies in the west. Once again, private companies under charter from the British government pioneered the way, establishing their control over Kenya 1888 and Uganda 1890. Northern Somalia came under direct control of the British government 1884 and in 1890 Germany, which had already relinquished its interests in Uganda, ceded Zanzibar to Britain in exchange for Heligoland, an island off the German coast.
Dominion status
The concept of self-government for some of the colonies was first formulated in Lord Durham's Report on the Affairs of British North America 1839 which recommended that responsible government (the acceptance by governors of the advice of local ministers) should be granted to Upper Canada (Ontario) and Lower Canada (Quebec). This pattern was subsequently applied to the other Canadian provinces and to the Australian colonies which attained responsible government by 1859, except for Western Australia (1890). New Zealand obtained responsible government 1856 and the Cape colony 1872, followed by Natal 1893. A further intermediate form of government, dominion status, was devised in the late 19th and early 20th century at a series of Colonial Conferences (renamed Imperial Conferences 1907). Canada became a dominion 1867, Australia 1901, New Zealand 1907, and South Africa by 1910. These four self-governing countries were known as Dominions within the British Empire. Their meetings with the British government were the basis for the idea of the Commonwealth of Nations. Dominion status was very inexactly defined until the Statute of Westminster 1931 established it as synonymous with complete independence.
Decline
The first fatal challenge to the Empire came from Ireland, where it can be argued the British Empire began when Henry II declared himself 'Lord of Ireland' 1171. After 750 years of English mle, most of Ireland became the Irish Free State 1922. The Free State had dominion status but in contrast to the relatively amicable and gradual devolvement of the four existing dominions, only after centuries of hatred culminating in civil war. A new constitution adopted by the Free State 1937 dropped the name Irish Free State and declared Ireland (Eire) to be a 'sovereign independent state'. The break was completed 1949 when Eire became a republic outside the Commonwealth, though remaining in a special relationship with Britain.
There were varying degrees of unrest throughout much of the Empire during the 1930s, although most notably in India, where Mahatma Gandhi led a campaign of 'civil disobedience' against British rule. World War 11(193945) hastened the end of the former colonial empires, mainly because it destroyed the psychological basis upon which their existence depended. India gained complete independence 1947-48; Sudan, Ghana, and Malaya in the 1950s, and much of the rest of Africa in the 1960s. By 1970 the former British colonies in the West Indies were either independent or linked to Britain as associated states only by their own choice. Rhodesia declared itself independent 1965, but Britain declared its action illegal, and no other state recognised it.
By 1973, when Britain entered the EEC, only a few small possessions remained, most of which were proceeding toward independence. Some did not want to end their colonial status. Gibraltar and Hong Kong, for example, felt they risked absorption by Spain and China respectively if Britain withdrew. However, the British Empire as a whole largely faded away, to be replaced by the Commonwealth of Nations.
Economic factors
Commercial interests, rather than territorial ambition, dictated the growth of the early Empire: England in the 16th century was a poor country, lacking the wealth of Portugal and Spain and so unlike the Spaniards and Portuguese, the English were neither missionaries nor colonists. When the English put to sea it was to seek immediate profits. This pattern began to change in the 17th century as the English realised the huge commercial potential of overseas acquisitions, starting with the lucrative exploitation of produce from the West Indies. The union of England with Scotland as Great Britain 1707 effectively created the largest free trade area then existing, just at the time tthat the new union's overseas possessions were expanding.
In North America, the Thirteen Colonies along the Atlantic seaboard between French Canada and Spanish Florida were firmly established by 1733. The colonists had begun to plant cotton in the 17th century, and this plantation crop was grown on a very large scale by the late-I 8th century. This combined with a scattering of settlements in West Africa and the trade from the West Indies to create the 'Triangular Trade': British ships took manufactured goods and spirits to West Africa to exchange them for slaves which they landed in the West Indies and the southernmost of the Thirteen Colonies. The ships then returned to Britain with cargoes of cotton, rum, sugar, and -tobacco, produced mainly by the labour of the slaves. Britain's prosperity was bound up with the slave trade, until it became illegal 1807, by which time the Empire had ceased to be dependent upon the slave trade as other forms of commerce had become more profitable and Britain was starting to emerge as the leading industrial nation, inevitably reducing the economic demand for slave labour. In the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, the Empire made Britain one of the richest and most powerful nations in the world.exploration to colonization.
The early growth of the Empire was not laid down in any co-ordinated plan and it was held together and administered by whatever means seemed most expedient for a particular time and place. Pirates, traders, soldiers, explorers, financial speculators, missionaries, convicts, and refugees all played a part in creating the British Empire. Private individuals or companies often provided the initial impetus for the exploration and subsequent exploitation of foreign lands, frequently in the face of government reluctance, but, increasingly, British governments were drawn in to maintain them.
The British ruling class developed a great interest in science during the 17th and 18th centuries and what started out as inquiry and exploration usually led to settlement and eventually colonization. Between 1768 and 1780 scientific naval expeditions commanded by Captain Cook explored the islands and coasts of the Pacific Ocean all the way from the entrance to the Arctic to the then unknown coasts of New Zealand and Australia. However, the British government showed little interest in annexing these southern lands until the loss of the American colonies deprived it of a dumping ground for the convicts and debtors who had up until then been deported to North America. Similarly, one of the early pioneers of British settlement in North America was William Penn who gave his name to Pennsylvania. Perhaps the best known example of private initiative leading the way was the East India Company. An important exception was in the West Indies, where many members of Parliament had commercial interests and so there was frequent government intervention. However, as the Empire grew, Britain became a rich and powerful nation and by the late 19th century British policy tended towards imperialism, annexing countries for reasons of national prestige rather than solely for commercial gain.
Religious missions
British missionaries of all denominations took the Christian religion throughout the Empire. Although they made relatively little impression in places where advanced religions like Buddhism Hinduism, or Islam dominated, even in those areas their converts numbered several millions. Their success was greater in the West Indies and in Africa south of the Sahara. David Livingstone, a Scottish missionary, explored much of what is now Botswana, Zambia, and Rhodesia. Like several other intrepid explorers, such as Richard Burton, John Hanning Speke, and Sir Samuel Baker, Livingstone explored the River Nile. His journeys also took him to the Zambezi River and to lakes Tanganyika and Nyasa (now Malawi). Following Livingstone's journeys the Free Church of Scotland sent a mission to Nyasaland (now Malawi) 1875, and the country became a British protectorate 1891, a year after Bechuana land (Botswana).
Charles IV (1748-1819)
King of Spain from i788, when he succeeded his father, Charles 111; he left the government in the hands of his wife and her lover, the minister Manuel de Godoy (1767-1851). In 1808 Charles was induced to abdicate by Napoleon's machinations in favour of his son Ferdinand VII (1784-1833), who was subsequently deposed by Napoleon's brother Joseph. Charles was awarded a pension by Napoleon and died in Rome.
Ironbridge Gorge
Site, near Telford New Town, Shropshire, England, of the Iron Bridge (1779), one of the first and most striking products of the Industrial Revolution in Britain: it is now part of an open-air museum of industrial archaeology. Simeon Bateman was founded just nine years later.
Little Bighorn
Site in Montana, USA, of General George Custer's defeat by the Sioux Indians 25 June 1876 under their chiefs Crazy Horse and Sitting Bull, known as Custer's last stand.
Custer, (George Armstrong) (1839-1876)
US Civil War general, the Union's youngest brigadier general as a result of a brilliant war record. He campaigned against the Sioux from 1874, and was killed with a detachment of his troops by the forces of Sioux chief Sitting Bull in the Battle of Little Bighorn, Montana: also called Custer's last stand, 25 June 1876.
Some historians accuse Custer of a reckless desire to advance his career. He had been reduced in rank in the regular army at the end of the Civil War.
Geronimo (Sanish name for Govahkla) (1829-1909)
Chief of the Chiricahua Apache Indians and war leader. From 1875 to 1885, he fought US federal troops, as well as settlers encroaching on tribal reservations in the Southwest, especially in SE Arizona and New Mexico.
After surrendering to General George Crook March 1886, and agreeing to go to Florida where their families were being held, Geronimo and his followers escaped. Captured again Aug 1886, they were taken to Florida, then to Alabama. The climate proved unhealthy, and they were taken to Fort Sill, Oklahoma, where Geronimo became a farmer. He dictated Geronimo's Story of His Life1906.
Lord's
One of England's test-match grounds and the headquarters of cricket's governing body, the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC), since 1788 when the MCC was formed following the folding of the White Conduit Club.
The ground is named after Yorkshireman Thomas Lord (1757-1832) who developed the first site at Dorset Square in 1787. He moved the ground to a field at North Bank, Regent's Park, in 1811, and in 1814 developed the ground at its present site at St John's Wood. Lord's is also the home of the Middlesex Cricket Club.
Governor
In engineering, any device that controls the speed of a machine or engine, usually by regulating the intake of fuel or steam.
Scottish inventor James Watt invented the steam-engine governor in 1788. It works by means of heavy balls, which rotate on the end of linkages and move in or out because of centrifugal force according to the speed of rotation. The movement of the balls closes or opens the steam valve to the engine. When the engine speed increases too much, the balls fly out, and cause the steam valve to close, so the engine slows down. The opposite happens when the engine speed drops too much.
First Fleet
Eleven ships that brought the first white settlers from Britain to Australia, setting sail from Portsmouth in May 1787 and arriving in Jan 1788. The fleet was commanded by Captain Arthur Phi Ilip and carried officials, 759 convicts (23 of whom died during the voyage), and 213 marines and their families. The two principal ships were the Sirius on which Phillip sailed and the Supply to which he changed before arriving at Botany Bay. The fleet stopped on route at Tenerife, Rio de Janeiro, and Cape Town.
Confederation, Articles of
In US history, the initial means by which the 13 former British colonies created a form of national government. Ratified 1781, the articles established a unicameral legislature, Congress, with limited powers of raising revenue, regulating currency, and conducting foreign affairs. But because the individual states retained significant autonomy, the confederation was unmanageable. The articles were superseded by the US Constitution 1788.
Cincinnati
City and port in Ohio, USA, on the Ohio River; population (1990) 364,000. Chief industries include machinery, clothing, furniture making, wine, chemicals, and meatpacking. Founded 1788, Cincinnati became a city 1819. It attracted large numbers of European immigrants, particularly Germans, during the 19th century.
Cigar
Compact roll of cured tobacco leaves, contained in a binder leaf, which in turn is surrounded by a wrapper leaf. The cigar was originally a sheath of palm leaves filled with tobacco, smoked by the Indians of Central America. Cigar smoking was introduced into Spain soon after 1492 and spread all over Europe in the next few centuries. From about 1890 cigar smoking was gradually supplanted in popularity by cigarette smoking.
The first cigar factory was opened in Hamburg, Germany, 1788, and about that time cigar smoking became popular in Britain and the USA. The first cigars were made by hand - as the more expensive cigars still are. From about the I 850s various machine methods have been employed. The best cigars are still hand-rolled in Cuba, hence called Havanas.
Thank you for taking the time in reading ' a brief history on and around the time of our past and we thoroughly hope you have enjoyed it. Should you have any interesting facts or comments, we would be glad to introduce them into our historic pages.
