uk bat.com - Our history

British American Tobacco was 'born international'

British American Tobacco has been in business for more than 100 years, trading through the turbulence of wars, revolutions and nationalisations as well as all the controversy surrounding smoking.

The business was formed in 1902, as a joint venture between the UK’s Imperial Tobacco Company and the American Tobacco Company founded by James ‘Buck’ Duke.

Despite its name, derived from the home bases of its two founding companies, British American Tobacco was established to trade outside both the UK and the USA, and grew from its roots in dozens of countries across Africa, Asia, Latin America and continental Europe.

We were ‘born international’, and have developed over a century’s expertise in operating locally in diverse cultures around the world.

For more about our history, see the animated special feature or follow the links in the lefthand menu.