That in 1614 the Spanish Crown authorized La Casa De Contratatacion De La Habana for the development of tobacco production in Cuba. Most of the tobacco went for snuff in Spain, with a small amount saved for production of cigars in the Spanish city of Seville.
1817 is the key year in the growth of cigar production in Cuba. On June 23rd of that year King Ferdinand VII of Spain ended monopoly control of the tobacco industry by the colonial government and opened opportunities for private companies and began producing and selling Cuban Cigars and leaf. Within ten years exports had grown to 407,000 units but by 1836 the total was 4,887,000 with 306 factories and 2, 152 workers.
By 1840, official statistics showed that cigar production had exploded 29 fold to provide exports of 141,683,000 units and the figures only go up from there.
Source:
Perelman's Pocket Cyclopedia of Havana Cigars page 6
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