Un)seen Traders of the Atlantic World

ENDNOTES

Throughout history, smugglers have been cast as mysterious, self-interested, and dangerous characters whose unlawful activities have simultaneously exasperated monarchies and transformed global markets. Known as one of the earliest existing professions, by the eighteenth century, smugglers were moving vast quantities of illegal merchandise across the Atlantic Ocean to satisfy the growing demands of European consumers. Consequently, not only did smuggling quickly become a prolific industry, but a smuggler whose actions often went unseen within the peripheries of society soon became a figure whose actions became central to the formation of the early modern economy.

Unfortunately for historians, smugglers rarely kept diaries or any personal documents which might identify them and their profession. The only documents historians do have mention those unlucky individuals who were caught. Therefore, the lack of written sources hinders historians from conducting a comprehensive analysis of a seemingly numerically driven subject. Nevertheless, this does not mean analysis is impossible, but an alternative approach is required. Rather than offering a quantifiable assessment of smuggling in the Atlantic world, this article focuses on a qualitative assessment of the impact of smuggling on society. The article begins with an examination of the rise of the consumer mindset and the widespread desire for luxury goods, which prompted the growth of the black market. Then, it moves on to explore how the Atlantic world’s geographical characteristics enabled smugglers to successfully carry out their business undetected. Finally, it considers the nature of the work and the extensive participation of individuals from around the Atlantic world.

Cigarette smuggling with a book. Photograph. Wikimedia Commons.

The Rise of Smuggling

The long eighteenth century is generally acknowledged as the “golden age” of smuggling as illegal commodities entered Europe at a startling rate.1 For example, a 1745 British parliamentary inquiry estimated that around three million pounds of illegal tea were being smuggled annually into the country, a number that later increased to six and even seven million pounds during the 1780s.2 Alcohol was another heavily smuggled item with around 2.5 million gallons of Geneva gin being slipped into Britain yearly by 1777.3 Other goods favoured by smugglers included coffee, chocolate, sugar, soap, wool, and other items in high demand. However, consumables were not the only commodities smuggled; human cargo was also illegally transported as the Trans-Atlantic slave trade reached with peak during the eighteenth century with tens-of-thousands of slaves crossing the ocean unlawfully in order to satisfy the colossal demand for their labour.4 Thus, according to a report, approximately 45% of the goods entering and exiting Europe from France and England were contraband.5

Where smugglers differed from legal traders was in their evasion of all import taxes as this allowed their profits to be greater and consumers to favour their black-market goods over legitimate merchants whose prices for goods were higher in order to compensate for hefty tariffs. In some cases, the profit on illegal goods could be as high as 100 to 500%, depending on the market.6 Therefore, running contraband goods—a tremendously profitable career if one was not caught—soon became a popular one within the Atlantic. However, because a smuggler’s earnings came partially out of a government’s coffers and was essentially theft, their actions were detested by administrative authorities who often handed out serious punishments to those caught. For example, Lieutenant Commander John Gedge remarked that smuggling was a “notorious threat [which] alienat[ed] and distract[ed] [one’s] spirit from the state.”7 Similarly, Reverend Robert Hardy expressed his aversion to the act stating, “of all the occupations, I look upon smuggling to be the most pernicious. It introduces habits of Art and Deception and Concealment; it leads to the way of Lying, and Cheating, and Pilfering, and Fraud; it breaks up the course of honest and useful labour; it excites a fondness for spirituous liquors and makes men sots and drunkards; it lays the foundation of bad health, of painful and fatal diseases, and of premature death.”8 As well, merchants who competed with smugglers took a dim view of the trade in bargain luxury goods. British shopkeeper Thomas Turner lamented that “the too frequent use of spurious liquors and the exorbitant practice of tea drinking…corrupted the morals of people of almost all ranks.”9 Thus, those who did not benefit from the exchange of contraband found its practice immoral, dishonest, and disastrous.

Consequently, hefty punishments were meted out to those who were caught. These could include being whipped, hanged, sentenced to perform unpaid labour for any length of time, or even have their vessel and goods confiscated and sold at public auctions.10 For instance, in 1784, the smuggler John Shelly was publicly hanged for carrying 350 pounds of tea; William Hewlings and Josiah Oliver shared a similar fate for transporting 400 pounds of raw coffee. Public punishments were intended to remind smugglers and those thinking of smuggling of the potential consequences of working within the black market.11 Yet, the profitability of smuggling was so great, that even terrible forms public discipline could not dissuade individuals from smuggling as it was one of the few professions that could provide an individual and their family with a living. It was not until the late eighteenth and early nineteenth century when new parliamentary acts such as William Pitt’s 1784 Communication

Act and 1808 abolition acts forced smuggling rates to drop.12 By then, smuggling had already taken hold of the Atlantic world, becoming one of the largest enterprises of the early modern period even persisting today. The Life of Luxury Smugglers could never have enjoyed such success and profitability without consumers to purchase the goods they trafficked. The development of advanced maritime technology resulted in new shipping routes connecting Europe to Africa, Asia, and the Americas. This enabled the movement of people and luxury goods such as tobacco, chocolate, and tea around the globe,13 which once introduced into Europe, immediately became popular among the elite classes who could afford them, but remained out of reach to the working classes. Then, as they arrived into Europe more frequently and at a higher volume, luxury goods became cheaper and more affordable to lower classes which created the space for smugglers to make a profit on society’s growing appetite for opulence. This hunger was further reinforced by the newfound rights of individuals to consume and enjoy excess.14 Consider chocolate, one of the most sought-after luxuries in Europe. Originating from the Americas, Spanish physician Manuel Navas de Carrera described the Atlantic world’s addiction to chocolate: “aficionados…would sooner go naked than give up drinking chocolate two or three times a day.”15 The preoccupation with luxury goods such as chocolate, tobacco, and alcohol radically changed the way commodities were imported into Europe as smugglers exploited consumer fixation in order to make a quick, substantive profit. Therefore, the consumer revolution fundamentally altered how all social classes wanted their lives filled goods that had previously been unavailable.

Alexander Hogg, Group of smugglers throwing stones down the Lady Holt Well, 1795, Wellcome Images, Wikimedia Commons.

The Ideal Environment

Smugglers in the Atlantic world were able to take advantage of a number of geographical features that contributed to their success. First, the vastness of the ocean gave smugglers space to slip past government officials who were unable to patrol its every corner.16 Second, experienced seafarers were easily able to outsmart any policing and find alternative sea routes which would allow them to work uninterrupted.17 As well, there was the elusive nature of smuggling. While a nation’s borders suggest the extent of a state’s power, busy port cities within these boundaries, which were centres of Atlantic commerce, did not pose much of an obstacle to a stealthy smuggler who used the hustle and bustle to disguise the entry and exit of illegal contraband.18 Moreover, smugglers could claim distress due to bad weather or a damaged ship, allowing them to legally dock their ships in port until it was deemed safe to set sail. Meanwhile, goods could be unloaded secretly without notice from border officers.19

Furthermore, many sailors took advantage of the seclusion offered by natural landscapes to conduct their business. Caves, tunnels, and hidden coves along coastlines were ideal for smugglers to quietly dock their ships and unload their illegal goods.20 As well, swamps and mud banks allowed smugglers to travel farther inland to deliver their goods since larger vessels could not navigate shallower bodies of water.21 Thus, smugglers could avoid docking in ports and arousing suspicion, which might lead to their arrest. To locate these hidden spots, governments would set up look-out points, remote cottages, and customs offices in the hopes of catching the smugglers.22 However, government outposts were no match for well-seasoned smugglers who knew exactly how to bypass checkpoints and slip past the security measures in place. Thus, the Atlantic world almost seemed to be designed for the exchange of contraband through the many geographic features that played perfectly into the hands of smugglers and allowed for the industry’s flourishing.

Scott Robinson, Smugglers Cove. Photograph. March 2, 2014. geograph. https://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/3868318. Fair use.

Abundant Association

Profitability, the demand for goods, and the relative ease of evading enforcement resulted in the rapid expansion of smuggling throughout the Atlantic world. Soon, people from all walks of life and ethnicities joined the elusive life of smuggling.23 In particular, the profession was especially attractive to individuals from the lower classes wanting to provide for their families; historical accounts show that women also participated as smugglers.24 For example, in his personal account, George Lipscomb described an encounter with “several females, whose appearance was so grotesque and extraordinary, that [he] could not imagine, in what manner they had contrived to alter their natural shapes so completely; till, upon enquiry, [he] found that they were smugglers of spirituous liquors; which they were…conveying…by means of bladders fastened under their petticoats, and, indeed they were so heavily laden, that it was with great difficulty they waddled along.”25

Therefore, smugglers’ networks extended far beyond the sea and ports as they enjoyed the support and collaborative efforts of local traders, businessmen, and most importantly, corrupt nobles, clergy, and officials. These extensive connections across the Atlantic complicated governments’ efforts to catch, punish, and prevent smuggling from persisting.26 As well, with an empire’s colonies located far away from their metropolitan centres, bribable officials turned a blind eye to the exchange of illegal commodities, making it almost impossible to control colonial smuggling from the metropole.27 Also, abbeys and churches proved to be secure and perfectly unsuspecting hiding spots for illegal items. For example, the parish priest of Saint-Vaast in Normandy was found to have stored 492 pounds of illegal tobacco in his presbytery.28 Consequently, it seemed that everyone wanted to profit on or benefit from a deal in trafficked goods as smuggling was an industry which accepted members regardless of class or race.29 By establishing strong networks that linked individuals who transcended societal boundaries to make a living in an unforgiving world, smuggling became firmly cemented in the Atlantic world.30

Smugglers vs. Sovereign

Finally, because smugglers contravened government regulations and monarchical decrees to import goods illegally, leading powers equated this defiance with stealing directly from the monarch or government’s purse which cheated the state of its income. This violation of the law can be illustrated through the example of tobacco, one of the most sought-after Atlantic world commodities. Originating from the Americas, and first imported to England in 1565 by Sir John Hawkins,31 when the commodity’s popularity rose sharply in 1685, the British government suddenly raised the tariffs on tobacco to fund their military endeavours. This fueled the item’s entry into Britain.32 To combat the arrival of contraband, the government ordered the construction of large chimneys around the country in trading centres such as Falmouth, London, Liverpool, and Whitehaven. Named the King’s Pipe, these chimneys were used to burn all illegal tobacco. Furthermore, in addition to confiscating unlawfully imported tobacco, the chimneys were intended to be symbolic warnings and a deterrent against smuggling with “the volumes of dense Smoak which issue from [the] chimney”33 announcing to incoming smugglers and the British population that smuggling was criminal. So often did these chimneys run that the popular phrase “the king is having a smoke today” was created to celebrate the monarchy’s success against smuggling34 and its “attack from below.”35 Hence, buildings like the King’s Pipe not only represented both the government’s authority and the consequences of going against that authority,36 but also the manner in which state power handled ongoing rebellious behaviour and the priorities of the Atlantic world’s lower classes.

Smuggling achieved its “golden age” in the eighteenth century as the period created the perfect conditions to evade duties and taxes. By exploiting society’s obsession with luxury goods combined with the natural geographical features of the Atlantic, involvement in the black market became an irresistible profession which offered individuals a profit which outweighed any repercussions. Therefore, despite state powers attempting to mete out the industry, in the end, smuggling became deeply entrenched in the early modern economy as the bravery and fearlessness smugglers demonstrated was strong enough to withstand any obstacle.

Heather Lam

MAIH (History stream)