This article analyses the tobacco policy of the Spanish krona in the Luisiana in the 18th century, where it set up a tax institution for predominantly political purposes, making interest in the economic returns and gains of this monopoly conditional on the region’s political and strategic needs. The case contrasts with the functioning and exploitation of the institution in other post-sessions of the monarchy, where there were also monopolies of various products, including tobacco. The work shows that the tobacco monopoly was, during the 18th century, a tax instrument favoured by the Royal Treasury to increase its revenues and finance, through them, the promotion of the economy of some colonies. Its main contribution lies in the study of the mechanisms by which, through tobacco income, the Real Hacienda de la Nueva España financed the promotion of the Luisiana economy.