Originally posted on English Historical Fiction Authors.
The very image of smugglers is an evocative one. A complex network of sailors, riders, merchants and more, working beneath the very nose of the dreaded excise. Illegal landings at night, secreting away goods by starlight, hiding in caves, crossing lonely moors, for the contraband to end up in the heart of vast port cities like London, only to be sold side by side with goods that have had their tax paid.
Britain in the eighteenth century was rife with smuggling, and even though the South coast is notorious for the exploits of these criminals, the North East and Yorkshire were far from innocent… But why did smuggling exist? And why was it so prolific for…
via English Historical Fiction Authors: The Lesser Known Smugglers of the North.
First Night History 
It is hard to resist a rousing tale of ‘brave’ smugglers from days gone by.
There was another side to it though. Intimidation, corruption, murder, and extortion, all to avoid taxes and make profit.
It sounds all too familiar today, and must be regarded as the organised crime of the times.
Best wishes, Pete.
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Perhaps we’ve all been adversely influenced by Whisky Galore!
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