Napoleonic imperial tobacco

 

(Dutch Pipe Smoker) One of the most remarkable episodes in the history of the use of tobacco in the Netherlands is no doubt the period when the entire tobacco-trade and manufacturing was declared a state-monopoly by order of Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte. The story goes that at a ball Napoleon saw a lady who wore the most magnificent and expensive jewels. He asked who she was and it turned out to be that she was the wife of a tobacco-merchant. The emperor exclaimed in amazement: “What a lot of money that man must earn!” This reaction is said to have resulted in the imperial decree of 29 December 1810, which introduced the tobacco-monopoly in France. This led to the decree of 26 December 1811 which introduced and finally settled the state-monopoly of tobacco in the Netherlands. Continued