1700-1900: Smuggling | Crime & Punishment | GCSE History Revision
Summary
TLDRThis video delves into smuggling in Britain between 1700 and 1900. It explains how government-imposed import duties in the 17th century, on goods like tea and cloth, led to an increase in smuggling. By the 18th century, organized smuggler gangs, such as the infamous Hawkhurst Gang, profited from this illegal trade. Despite efforts to crack down, smuggling remained widespread due to public support and unpoliced coastlines. The practice gradually declined when Prime Minister William Pitt reduced import duties, making legal goods more affordable. The video includes links to Quizlet flashcards and practice questions for further learning.
Takeaways
- 🛃 In the 17th century, the British government introduced import duties on various goods, including tea and some cloth, leading to increased smuggling activities.
- 🚢 By the 18th century, more goods were taxed, further fueling the growth of smuggling and the rise of organized smuggler gangs like the Hawkhurst Gang.
- 🏴☠️ The Hawkhurst Gang, active from 1735, controlled large parts of the south coast of England and operated on a large scale until their leaders were hanged in the late 1740s.
- 👥 Smuggling was considered a social crime; many people in society did not disapprove of it, as they benefited from cheaper goods.
- 🤝 Local coastal communities often assisted smugglers by unloading boats or hiding goods, and some even saw smugglers as heroes.
- 💼 Members of the upper classes were reluctant to report smugglers, as they too benefited from purchasing smuggled goods at lower prices.
- 🌙 Smuggling was often done at night and along unpoliced coastlines, making it difficult for authorities to catch smugglers.
- 📉 Smuggling began to decline in the 1780s when Prime Minister William Pitt reduced import duties, making the trade less profitable.
- 📉 Further reductions in import duties in the 19th century continued to shrink the price gap between legal and smuggled goods, further reducing smuggling activities.
- 📚 The video offers additional educational resources, such as Quizlet flashcards and practice questions, to help viewers learn more about the topic.
Q & A
What were some of the goods subject to import duties in the 17th and 18th centuries?
-Goods such as cloth, tea, and [omitted word] were subject to import duties in the 17th and 18th centuries, which led to an increase in smuggling activity.
Why did smuggling increase during the 18th century?
-Smuggling increased because more goods were taxed, and there was greater profit to be made by avoiding import duties. Additionally, many in society did not see smuggling as a serious crime.
Who were the Hawkhurst Gang, and where did they operate?
-The Hawkhurst Gang was a well-organized smuggling group that controlled large stretches of England’s south coast. They were based in Hawkhurst, Kent, and operated from 1735 until their leaders were captured in 1748 and 1749.
How did people in local coastal communities help smugglers?
-Local coastal communities helped smugglers by unloading boats, hiding smuggled goods, and generally assisting in evading authorities. Many benefited from the cheaper prices of smuggled goods.
Why were the authorities unable to effectively stop smuggling during this period?
-The authorities struggled to stop smuggling due to widespread public support for the practice, a lack of effective policing along the coastline, and the fact that many upper-class people benefited from smuggled goods.
What is meant by the term 'social crime' in the context of smuggling?
-A 'social crime' refers to an illegal activity that most of society does not disapprove of. In this case, many people saw smuggling as beneficial because it provided cheaper goods, despite its illegality.
How did Prime Minister William Pitt contribute to the decline of smuggling in the 1780s?
-William Pitt reduced import duties in the 1780s, which made the price difference between legal and smuggled goods much smaller, reducing the profitability of smuggling.
Why did smuggling become less profitable by the end of the 18th century?
-Smuggling became less profitable because import duties were reduced, which decreased the price difference between legally imported and smuggled goods. This reduced the incentive for smuggling.
What happened to the leaders of the Hawkhurst Gang?
-The leaders of the Hawkhurst Gang, Arthur Gray and Thomas Kingsmill, were caught and hanged in 1748 and 1749, which led to the end of the gang’s operations.
Why were members of the upper class reluctant to report smugglers?
-Members of the upper class were reluctant to report smugglers because they benefited from buying cheaper, smuggled goods and often helped to conceal smuggling activities.
Outlines
🛃 Rise of Smuggling in the 18th Century
The 18th century saw a rise in smuggling due to import duties on goods like tea and cloth. The Hawkhurst Gang, operating from the south coast of England, exemplified the organized and large-scale nature of smuggling operations. Despite the illegality, smuggling was socially accepted as it provided cheaper goods, and some even viewed it as a government-caused crime due to the introduction of import duties. The authorities struggled to combat smuggling due to its popularity and the difficulty of policing extensive coastlines. However, the reduction of import duties by Prime Minister William Pitt in the 1780s and further reductions in the 19th century decreased the profitability of smuggling, leading to its decline.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Import duties
💡Smuggling
💡Hawkhurst Gang
💡Arthur Gray and Thomas Kingsmill
💡Social crime
💡Unpoliced coastline
💡Prime Minister William Pitt
💡Profit
💡Secluded cove
💡Upper classes
💡Flashcards
Highlights
17th-century import duties on goods led to the rise of smuggling.
Luxury products like tea were heavily taxed, creating opportunities for smuggling.
By the 18th century, more goods were taxed, increasing smuggling activity.
The Hawkhurst Gang controlled large stretches of the south coast of England.
The Hawkhurst Gang operated on a large scale and was well-organized.
Leaders of the Hawkhurst Gang, Arthur Gray and Thomas Kingsmill, were hanged in the 1740s.
Smuggling was considered a social crime, not seriously disapproved by society.
Local coastal communities often assisted smugglers by unloading boats or hiding goods.
Some argued that smuggling was a crime created by the government's import duties.
Members of the upper classes often concealed smugglers' activities due to their own benefits.
Smugglers often worked at night and exploited unpoliced coastlines.
The authorities found it difficult to tackle smuggling due to its social acceptance and operational methods.
Smuggling reduced on its own as it became less profitable.
Prime Minister William Pitt reduced import duties in the 1780s.
Further reductions in import duties in the 19th century made smuggling less profitable.
The price difference between legal and smuggled goods decreased, reducing the incentive for smuggling.
The video includes Quizlet flashcards and practice questions for educational purposes.
Transcripts
It's the 18th century. Back in the 17th
century, the government had introduced
import duties on a range of goods (taxes
paid on goods imported into the country).
This included some [Omitted word *see description] and tea, a new
luxury product at the time. This created
opportunity for people to make profit
from smuggling. By the 18th century, more
goods are taxed, including cloth, [Omitted word*] and
[Omitted word*]. Of course, smuggling activity
increases as there is even more profit
to be made. Soon Britain sees a rise in
smuggler gangs, attempting to squeeze as
much profit as possible out of this
opportunity. 1700 - 1900: Smuggling. One
such smuggler gang is the Hawkhurst Gang.
Named after the village of Hawkhurst, in
Kent, they control large stretches of the
south coast of England. The gang operate
on a much larger scale than previous
smugglers and are also far more
organised. The group first begin
operating in 1735, however, their leaders,
Arthur Gray and Thomas Kingsmill,
are court and hanged in 1748 and 1749. Meaning
that by 1749, the operations of the gang
came to an end. The authorities find it
very difficult to tackle smuggling for
many reasons. Smuggling is a social crime:
a crime that may technically be illegal
but most in society do not disapprove of
it. Many people benefit from the cheaper
goods, thus don't see the crime as
serious, to the point where some
smugglers became popular heroes and
local coastal communities would help the
smugglers out. For instance, many locals
made money by helping to unload smuggler
boats, or hiding smuggled goods until
they were sold on. Some people even
argued that smuggling was a crime the
government itself created, by introducing
import duties in the first place. Even
members of the powerful upper classes
are reluctant to report smugglers.
Instead, they help conceal the smugglers'
activities. This is because many members
of the upper classes often buy the cut
price goods sold by smugglers, so heavily
benefit from the crime. Moreover, the
smugglers often work at night, under the
cover of darkness. With miles of
unpoliced coastline, it's easy for
smugglers to find a secluded cove to
unload in. Despite being incredibly hard
to crack down on, smuggling as a crime
reduces on its own, as it becomes
less profitable. In the 1780s, Prime
Minister, William Pitt, reduces import
duties, which are then reduced again in
the 19th century. This means the price
difference between legal and smuggled
goods is much smaller, so smuggling
becomes less profitable.As there is less
money to be made, fewer and fewer cases
of smuggling occur.
1700-1900: Smuggling.
Thanks for watching don't
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new by leaving links to Quizlet
flashcards in the descriptions of my
videos, as well as practice questions. So
if you head on down into the description
of this video you should find a link to
a set of flashcards about smuggling
between 1700 and 1900. I'd be interested
to know in the comments if you find that
useful.
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