ARMED SMUGGLING: THE BALANCE BETWEEN DESTRUCTIVE TENDENCIES AND PUBLIC ACCEPTANCE IN 18TH AND EARLY 19TH CENTURY BRITAIN

The golden age of smuggling occurred in and around the British Isles in the 18th and 19th centuries. As a result of increases in regulations and taxes the government instituted to pay for a series of costly wars at the end of the 17th century, smuggling greatly increased. With the implementation of major punishments for smuggling, such as the death penalty, the smuggling trade grew more violent. Armed smugglers sought to achieve a balancing act between violent acts and public acceptance. In order to better understand how armed smugglers achieved this balance, this thesis will focus on the connections between armed smugglers and the British Public.