American tobacco found their way not only to the
ports of France and Holland and Spain, but even to the distant cities of
Sweden and Russia.[7-10] The Baltic trade alone amounted to from 5,000
to 10,000 hogsheads, and added from L10,000 to L24,000 to the income of
the planters. The chief Russian port of entry was Narva, which took
annually some 500 hogsheads, but large quantities were shipped also to
Riga and Raval.[7-11] The northern nations bought the cheaper varieties,
for no tobacco could be too strong for the hardy men of Sweden and
Russia.

The trade was of great importance to England, as the leaf, after it had
gone through the process of manufacture, sold for about six pence a
pound, yielding to the nation in all from L60,000 to L130,000.[7-12] As
the English were still largely dependent upon the Baltic for potash and
ship stores, this constituted a most welcome addition to the balance of
trade. To the colonies also it was vital, carrying off a large part of
the annual crop, and so tending to sustain prices.

France, too, proved a good customer for English tobacco, and in the
years prior to the War of the Spanish Succession took annually from
8,000 to 10,000 hogsheads, or from 4,000,000 to 6,000,000 pounds.[7-13]
Micajah Perry reported to the Lords of Trade that from 6,000 to 10,000
hogsheads went to France from London alone, while a very considerable
amount was sent also from other ports.[7-14]

Far more surprising is the fact that even Spain consumed millions of
pounds of English leaf. With her own colonies producing the best tobacco
in the world and in the face of its practical exclusion from the English
market, it is strange that the Government at Madrid should have
permitted this commerce to continue. The obvious course for the
Spaniards under the economic theories of the day would have been to
exclude English tobacco, both in order to protect their own planters and
to retaliate for the restrictions upon their product. Yet it is
estimated that from 6,000 to 10,000 hogsheads entered Spain each
year.[7-15] A pamphlet published in 1708 entitled _The Present State of
Tobacco Plantations in America_ stated that before the outbreak of the
war then raging, France and Spain together had taken annually about
20,000 hogsheads.[7-16]

The Dutch, too, despite their bitter rivalry with the British, found it
impossible to do without Virginia tobacco. Purchasing the finest bright
Orinoco, they mixed it with leaf of the