Horse Play - Smuggling #5

Have you ever seen a horse acting suspiciously?

Well that’s exactly what 18th century revenue officers were on the look out for!

Smugglers, once their contraband was ashore had to transport it inland for sale, and for this they needed horse power. Some gangs used equines employed in legitimate trade as cover for owning large numbers of horses. An example were the horses of the North Kent Seasalter company: by day they shifted timber from the Forest of Blean to the local tanneries, and by night transported contraband inland. A smuggling gang on Romney Marsh also owned horses, but set them to graze in groups of two or three to attract less attention, but when rounded up could raise a caravan up to 200 beasts strong.

The free-traders were notoriously cunning and this extended to their horses. Stories exist of smugglers shaving their horses and soaping or oiling them, to make it more difficult for the excise men to capture them. These horses were highly trained and their cunning masters also taught them to stop on the command "Gee-up" and bolt when told "Woah!"

Many of these horses could also find their own way home. This came in handy with the nag loaded with contraband, leaving the smuggler free to create a diversion for any prying eyes. The horse, carrying illicit barrels, found his way back to the stable where a conspirator waited to unload. A variation on this story was one horse who became disoriented by the alcoholic vapours eminating from the tubs strapped to his back, and wandered to his neighbour's house - who happened to be a customs officer. The officer, alerted by the sound of hooves, impounded the contraband and then followed the now unladen horse as he found his way back to the correct house.

Another way of obtaining horsepower was to have an agreement with local farmers. In Great Holland, one particular farmer was fond of drinking spirits and left his gate unlocked when his barrel was running low, as a sign that his horses could be used in return for a tub of gin or brandy.

"I know he's around here somewhere...."

However this cosy arrangement did not always run smoothly. A winded or exhausted horse was no use for farm work, but to refuse smugglers the priviledge of 'borrowing' a horse could result in a campaign of intimidation. Akin to a modern protection racquet, those who didn’t co-operate found hayricks catching fire, sheep falling ill, or on one occaision a farmer returning from market was unseated from his horse by a cord stretched between two trees across the road.

In my latest release,  our heroine, Hope Tyler falls foul of a smuggler bent on revenge...find out how and why by reading 'Hope's Betrayal'.

Did You Know...? - Smuggling #3

Not that sort of barrell!

What links the following items: Prunes, salt, string, soap, paper, black pepper and brandy?

The answer is they were all once smuggled goods. In the 18th century it wasn’t just luxury items that were smuggled, but anything in demand that would raise a profit. Indeed, one chapel in Pembrokeshire was lit by candles made of smuggled tallow:

"One evening, the chapel being lighted with those candles, by some means… the excise officer became aware…and suddenly appeared and commandeered all the candles, leaving the congregation in the dark."

A smuggler's barrell with hidden compartments.

In order to maximise the quantity of smuggled goods per run, alcohol and spirits were transported undiluted, straight from the still. This was dangerously strong, and virtually colourless. Dilution to make it drinkable was a relatively simple matter, but no one wanted to buy clear brandy, and so caramel was added to achieve the traditional colour.

Undiluted spirits were drinkable but potentially lethal. When a smuggler's ship ran aground in shallows near Harwich, they threw their cargo of barrels overboard to lighten the vessel. Soldiers from a nearby fort seized the alcohol and took the opportunity to celebrate - the next day four of them died from alcohol poisoning.

Tubs and barrells were sometimes hidden beneath the boat.

Because the alcohol was so concentrated, it could be transported in smaller barrels, or tubs, making it easier for men to carry ashore. The writer Thomas Hardy recalls these tubs in his notebooks.

"…my grandfather used to do a little smuggling, his house being a lonely one. He sometimes had as many as eighty tubs in a dark closet…the spirits often smelt all over the house, being proof, and had to be lowered for drinking."

He goes onto describe a tub and how it became an everyday object.

"The tubs …were of thin staves with wooden hoops. I remember one being turned into a bucket by knocking out one head and putting in a handle."

Thomas Hardy.

Modern Calais.

It's also interesting to note that many modern French ports owe their development to smuggling. Ports such as Boulogne, Calais, Dieppe and Le Havre were conveniently placed for short crossing from England and had good harbours. They may have started as sleepy fishing ports but as they realised the potential for free-trade and easy money, they transformed themselves into centres of commerce.

"Roscoff…and unknown and unfrequented port…grew in importance so that from small hovels it soon possessed commodius houses and large stores…These….gave every incentive to the British smugglers to resort there and …the French government afforded encouragement to the merchants."

French report, 1767

Whilst smuggling may have started small scale, when for instance a draper wished to stock his shop more cheaply, but in the mid 18th century a change took place. Wealthy city backers started financing runs as a form of investment. These men fronted the cash to buy foreign supplies and pocketed the profits, but avoided the physical lifting-and-shifting of smuggling. They were a bit like modern speculators on the futures market, city financiers who weren’t worried about the ethics of their trade.

These wealthy men risked a lot of money and in 'Hope's Betrayal', our villain is just such a man, and when he perceives Hope has betrayed him to Captain Huntley, becomes obsessed with revenge and resolves to destroy what the Captain holds most dear.

Photo courtesy of Inkity.com