SPÓR MIESZCZAN W UNIEJOWIE O FAJKĘ Z TYTONIEM W 1763 ROKU
A quarrel between the mayor of Uniejów and a merchant over a pipe with tobacco in 1763

Summary/Abstract: Smoking tobacco was very popular in the 18th century among all social groups. The custom of smoking in company was also noted in municipal books from the Old Polish period. Several entries in municipal records from the year 1763 address a dispute over a pipe with tobacco. A group of representatives of local elite gathered in a house of one of the burghers. The mayor of Uniejów smoked a pipe borrowed from a merchant of Zduńska Wola. The merchant demanded that he return the tobacco, and disrespectfully dismissed the offer to pay for the tobacco, whereupon the irritated mayor slapped him on the face. A fight ensued, in which both of them sustained numerous wounds and bruises. The mayor was sentenced to a week’s imprisonment. This scene reflects the mentality of those times, i.e. impulsiveness of hot- tempered burghers in resolving even such minor disputes.

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