Smuggling

British Redcoats guard the coastline, c1760s. NAM 1974-02-127

Britain’s wars of the 18th and early 19th centuries were financed by the customs duties placed on imported goods. This put up prices and increased the demand for cheap goods brought into the country illegally.

This trade was known as smuggling. It was common in coastal areas, especially Cornwall, Essex and Kent. The illegal trade in goods like tea and brandy threatened to put legal tradesmen out of business and undermine Britain's economy.

Customs & Excise

A Militia soldier, 1780. NAM 1966-11-20-50

Suppression fell to the officials of the Customs and Excise service. They were commonly known as revenue or preventive men. The customs men were often outnumbered by smugglers and frequently called for military assistance. This was not always available as troops that had been assigned to guard the coast in peacetime were sent to fight abroad in wartime. It often fell to the Militia to help customs. They were the force that local magistrates called on to cope with civil disorder and unrest.

Bloody encounters

The revenue men and soldiers watched coastal shipping and collected information about smugglers. Sometimes they fought smugglers in fbloody encounters. Smugglers armed themselves with firearms, swords and 'kents', long oak cudgels weighted with lead.

Smuggler support for Charles Edward Stuart and the Jacobite case was widespread in 18th century Britain. NAM 1967-05-20-15

One gang, based at Hadleigh in Suffolk, numbered over 100 men. In 1735 the gang's store-house at Seymor was discovered, and the customs authorities and military took the cache to the George Inn in Hadleigh for storage. The gang soon visited the inn to demand the return of their goods. In the battle that followed a Dragoon was shot dead and several others injured. The gang rode off into the night with their prize.

A political dimension?

Smuggling was not only a business transaction, but also an act of rebellion against the state. Many smugglers worked for the Jacobite cause in the first half of the 18th century. Jacobites travelled secretly between France and England on smuggling boats, and some smugglers acted as spies and double agents.

Redcoats patrolled the coast to prevent smuggling, c1760s. NAM 1974-02-124

During 1748-49 one Company of the Earl of Huntingdon's Regiment (later the 13th Foot) were engaged in anti-smuggling patrols on the Kent coast. Another Company was hunting Jacobite sympathizers, illegal distillers and smugglers in Scotland. In both locations the Jacobites and smugglers were the same people. During the French Revolutionary War, smuggling ships traded freely with French ports. Jacobin sympathisers often took reports of English conditions over to the enemy, returning with letters for supporters and spies in Britain.

Modern smuggling

The 'golden age' of smuggling only ended in the 1840s when Britain adopted a free-trade policy that cut import duties to acceptable levels. Nevertheless, new forms of smuggling continue today. British troops in Iraq are currently attempting to restrict the illegal import of weapons and the illegal export of oil. Soldiers in Afghanistan are engaged in the suppression of the illegal drugs trade.