The social and economic history of North-Eastern Brazil has largely
been written as the story of slave-holding plantations. In contrast, this article
focuses on the peasant agriculture of tobacco in the state of Bahia. It shows how
the small-scale cultivation of tobacco for the European (mainly German) export
market had already started well before the end of slavery. Tobacco cultivation
gradually expanded to become the most important export product in the first
decade of the twentieth century. Apart from its economic significance, the history
of Bahian tobacco agriculture throws an interesting light on the social and
political relations in the region. Land ownership among the tobacco farmers
expanded, but most of them remained locked into ties of dependency to
commercial intermediaries and large landowners. On the other hand, the latter's
dominant position did not lead to a strong position for tobacco interests in
the regional political arena. Finally, the tobacco producers originated in the black
(ex-)slave community. This article argues that this specific ethnic make-up played
an important role in the organisation of the tobacco sector and its relative neglect
by regional and national politicians.