The Story of Circassian Tobacco

Yıl 2018, , 253 - 290, 21.06.2018

Sufian Zhemukhov

https://doi.org/10.21488/jocas.428805

Öz

This
article explores the story of Circassian tobacco by connecting
local developments in Circassia with global
markets in the 18^th and 19^th centuries. Since the
17^th century, European travellers described production, usage, and
trade of Circassian tobacco. The 1807 Constitution of Kabarda (Eastern
Circassia) prohibited tobacco for religious reasons; while the Russian conquest,
in 1864 ended tobacco growing traditions and culture in Western Circassia. But
the Russian settlers inherited the indigenous tobacco culture after they
occupied the villages and houses left by the deported Circassians and brought
it to a new level. Circassians produced a special brand of tobacco for export,
known as Ozereg.
Circassian tobacco successfully competed with Virginian tobacco from the year
1700 onwards, after the czar relaxed the ban on Russian trade with the Caucasus. In 1723, Russia
started producing a new kind of Circassian tobacco known as cherkassky
tabak in Ukraine.
The Circassian tobacco competed with the Chinese tobacco in Western Siberia and
with Californian tobacco in Alaska.
Circassian tobacco became an exchange currency among the Native Siberians and
Native Americans. This kind of Circassian tobacco became known as extremely bad
for health thanks to the saltpeter added to it in order to preserve it. In the United States,
tobacco manufacturer Pierre Lorillard introduced a new tobacco brand which he
claimed was real Circassian tobacco, exploiting the exotic image of Circassian
females.

Anahtar Kelimeler

Circassian, Russia, America, Alaska, Siberia, tobacco

The Story of Circassian Tobacco [Çerkes Tütününün Tarihi]

Öz

Bu makale Çerkes tütününün yerel gelişmeler
ve küresel marketler ilişkisinde tarihsel hikayesini araştırmaktadır. Avrupalı
gezginler 17'nci yüzyıldan bu yana Çerkes tütününün üretim, kullanım ve
ticaretini detaylıca anlatmışlardır. Kabarda (Doğu Çerkesya) 1807 Anayasası
dini nedenlerden dolayı tütünü yasaklamıştı. 1864'te Rus fethi Çerkes tütününün
kültürel geleneklerini sona erdirdi. Yine de sürgün edilen Çerkeslerin
yerlerini işgal eden
yeni Rus yerleşimciler onların bazı tütün içme gelenekleri miras aldılar.
1700'den itibaren Rusya'nın Kafkasya ile ticaret yasağını kaldırmasıyla, ucuz
Çerkes tütünü pahalı Virginia
tütünüyle başarılı bir şekilde rekabet etti. 1723'te Rusya Ukrayna'da, Batı
Sibirya'da Çin tütünüyle ve Alaska’da California
tütünüyle rekabet edebilen, kendi yeni Çerkes tütününü (cherkassky tabak) üretmeye başladı.
Çerkes tütünü Sibirya’nın yerli halkı ve Amerikan yerlileri arasında para
yerine geçen bir değiş tokuş birimi haline geldi. Bu tür Çerkes tütünü, içine
koruyucu güherçile katıldığından sağlığa son derece zararlı olarak biliniyordu.
ABD'de tütün üreticisi Pierre Lorillard gerçek Çerkes tütünü olduğunu iddia
ettiği yeni bir Çerkes tütünü üretmiş ve Çerkes kadınlarının egzotik
görüntülerini de sömürmüştür.

Anahtar Kelimeler

Alaska, Çerkes, Rusya, Amerika, Sibirya, Kafkasya, tütün

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