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by DanBC
3798 days ago
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> Smuggling implies contraband Smuggling to me implies stuff that people haven't paid tax on. Not just stuff that's illegal to own. Here's a radio programme using court records from the 18th Century to explore history. This episode is about smuggling. > Smuggling was a trade in the 18th century - sprawling from the brutal criminal underworld, to shops, to chic drawing rooms - brandy, tobacco, pepper, lace, French silks. But one commodity above all was worth killing for and facing the noose - tea. > In fact two thirds of the tea which was drunk in Britain was smuggled in along the Southern coastline of Britain. Every single inhabitant of coastal ports like Rye would have known what was going on, probably most were drawn into it - and many ended up in the Old Bailey in London. http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b04d4sbs |
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