Smuggling in the 18th century
Minor theft and, to a lesser extent, violent crime continued to be the main crimes committed in the 18th century. However, the start of the The process that transformed manufacturing from handmade to machine-made, mass-produced goods using water, steam and coal power transported by canal, rail and steamship. Britain was the first country to have an Industrial Revolution. led to new crimes associated with the new forms of trade and transport. As these changes happened, the authorities passed laws against the emerging new crimes of smuggling and Using force or the threat of force to steal money or property from travellers on the roads.
Smuggling is illegal trade of goods to avoid paying customs duties and taxes. Indirect taxes, which are based on what people spend their money on rather than how much they earn, had been increasing since the end of the 17th century. Excise duty was a tax on the goods that people bought, usually luxury goods like tea or chocolate. This had been widened in 1688 to cover items that people considered to be essential, such as salt and soap. Customs duties were taxes on goods being brought into or out of the country and could make items much more expensive to buy. For example, the import duty on tea raised its price by around 70 per cent by the middle of the 18th century.
Many people thought these taxes were unfair, as they were costing poorer people much more of the money they earned than richer people. Therefore, many people did not see smuggling as a crime. The 18th century is known as the ‘golden age’ of smuggling.
Smuggling was usually organised by gangs, who were funded by investors or venturers. They chose secluded parts of the coastline to land cargos from ships. There were many suitable areas along the south coast of England and west Wales, including small coves and river estuaries.
The main items smuggled in the 18th century were tea, wine, spirits and lace. In 1784 the prime minister, William Pitt the Younger, suggested that of the 13 million pounds (weight) of tea consumed in Britain, only 5.5 million had been brought in legally.
Smuggling gangs
Smuggling gangs were often made up of 50-100 people, each with a specific role:
- a spotsman would direct the ship to the shore
- a lander would arrange the unloading of the cargo
- a tubsman carried the goods
- a batsman protected the tubsman
Gangs would have to be watchful for officers from HM Customs. The coastline was divided into 33 areas, each with teams of preventative officers. Their job was to prevent smuggling or catch the smugglers.
However, there were not enough officers to patrol the whole coastline and many smugglers were never caught. Those who were caught were often not convicted, as few people would testify against the gangs because they threatened people to keep quiet.
Smuggling in England
The south-west coast of England was a key area for smuggling. Cornwall, Devon and Dorset were far from the main trade routes. They also had large numbers of secluded beaches and small coves suitable for smuggling.
There are several examples of well-known smugglers:
- Isaac Gulliver was a smuggler who operated from the south coast of England and was known as the ‘King of the Dorset Smugglers’. He smuggled gin, silk and tea through his base in Poole Bay, Dorset. It is rumoured that he escaped arrest by the customs and excise men by faking his own death. After his escape, he became a banker and died a rich man.
- The Carter family of Prussia Cove, Cornwall, were smugglers who made good use of the small inlets and cave systems around the cove to hide their activities. The family made enough money to buy their own ships, some heavily armed. They also employed a local gang to hollow out the caves to make them bigger for storage. John Carter was considered to be a particularly honest smuggler. When he broke into a customs warehouse to steal back goods the excise men had confiscated from him, the rumour was that he did not take anything that he thought belonged to someone else.
- The Hawkhurst Gang operated in East Sussex. They ran their operations from local inns and hid their activities by using a system of hidden cellars and secluded barns. They became notorious for violently attacking customs men. The quantity of goods they smuggled was so great that it once took 500 pack horses to bring their Goods taken into or out of a country illegally. to where they were going to hide it. In 1747 they raided the customs base at Poole in Dorset, stealing large amounts of tea, rum and coffee. The gang was brought to justice after a reward was offered. The local population did nothing to hide them as they had become sickened by their violence. In total, 75 gang members were executed or transported to America.
The decline of smuggling
Smugglers were often executed as a deterrent to others. However, as so few were caught, this did not stop the problem of smuggling.
The government reduced the taxes on tea and other goods in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. As a result, smuggling declined as it was no longer so profitable.
Additionally, watchtowers were built along the south coast of England to protect against French invasion. These watchtowers made it far more likely that smugglers would be caught. The creation of the Coast Guard in the 1820s also reduced the opportunities available to smugglers.
