Smuggling

Smuggling in England started about 13th century. Edward I placed a customs duty on the export of wool because it was in great demand in Europe. This was the first permanent customs system established in England. The initial duties started quite small, but as the Hundred Years War progressed, so the tax went up. The usual image of smuggling in England comes from about the 18th and 19th century, when the high taxes led to a dramatic increase in illegal imports.

When I was a kid my Mother used to tell us that we were descended from the vicar of Appledore on the Devon, Cornwall border, near Bideford. Occasionally when he went to collect his horses in the morning he would discover they were tired as if they had been out all night. On those occasions if he searched the stable carefully he would find a bottle of brandy.