As the eighteenth century roared into existence, a rapidly growing Great Britain was faced with both an exponential commercial and population boom that was unprecedented. It is during this brief one hundred years that the nation, as well as the rest of the world, would be forever changed due to the beginning of the Industrial Revolution. While the Industrial Revolution was liberating in the sense that it gave more occupational choices , as well as the opportunity to move up the rungs of the social ladder through relocation and financial gains, it also brought regulations that had to be put in place. As commerce and trade began to expand, both domestically and abroad through colonial outposts, taxation also saw a parallel increase to not only …show more content…
However, these tariffs and taxes were not accepted without challenge, as many merchants believed that the restrictions were without warrant. With revenue to acquire, and regulations to maneuver around, the smuggling industry evolved from a black market business, to profitable occupation that would take the nation by storm. Analysis of documents from this century reveal through the illegal trade of brandy, wool, and other goods, acts of Parliament were opposed head on by members of the working class looking to to capitalize on the economic growth. In order to understand the smuggler, it is imperative to understand the demand for those willing risk their livelihoods in order to secretly move goods in and out of the country. Documents such as Acts of Parliament explicitly explain the prevention of “ the Exportation of Wool, Wood-fellas, and of the Tools and Utensils used in the Woolen manufacturer” from leaving the shores of Britain and Ireland, to other …show more content…
Similar the the textile material, the importing and exporting of brandy and gin was also heavily monitored as Great Britain attempted to monopolize the beverages by having them only shipped through the country itself. Deriving from East India, brandy products were highly valued by people both foreign and domestic, and were paid for in high currency. While the smuggling of woolen products was done by small scale self employers looking to capitalize on the demand for the goods, brandy and gin running was truly a well oiled gise. In a document written by the Honorable Court of Directors of the East India Company, there is a call to action concerning the “illegal trade” of brandy, wine, and other goods that was occurring within the company itself. The problem was not in the docking and shipping of brandy itself, as all were done legally under the umbrella of the Crown. The problem that arose, was when these ships, stocked for London, departed from their foreign ports. According to the text, an “Act of Parliament passed in the seventeenth year of the reign of King George” is what stirred the commotion on the high seas. It was while sailing that trades and smuggling would occur with ships from within the East India Company, in order to transport the illegal contraband to other bidders. Similar to the Acts passed by Parliament on wool running, the East India company also sought
This chapter deals with the condition of Britain’s import of naval stores in the 1710s and William Wood’s mercantile view. In particular, this chapter illustrates that the development of the naval stores policy had a crucial influence on mercantilist’s view about the naval stores policy and the Northern Colonies by analysing the increase in the amount of imported American naval stores. After the War of the Spanish Succession, the amount of Britain’s import of American tar increased sharply from 333 lasts in 1711 to 2,097 lasts in 1715 and 3,773 lasts in 1716. There were some reasons for this rapid increase.
In 1772,one more event occurred which cause trouble between the colonists and great Britain, Lieutenant William Duddington(the ship Gaspee) crew members will board the ship and expropriate(smuggling)packages. The shipowners will lose all there $$ and goods then hurt the merchants they have traded.
In order to get contraband past the Britain the merchants disguised their ships with flags of truce(Truxes 87-104), used legal goods as covers
The establishment of the Naval Stores Act urged mercantilists to regard forests in America as profitable, and enabled Wood to represent the more concrete advantages of American naval stores production than Pollexfen in the 1690s. In the 1720s, thanks to the increase in Britain’s import of American pitch and tar, Gee and Defoe confirmed the efficacy of the naval stores policy and enunciated a proposition to make this policy more effective. In particularly, Defoe asserted that Britain should switch the sources of naval stores and timber from the Baltic trade to Colonial America with the temporary halt of the Baltic naval stores trade, although other mercantilists supported the Baltic naval stores trade on the ground that naval stores from the Baltic trade was essential for British maritime power in spite of a huge deficit. The progress of the naval stores policy and Britain’s import of American naval stores inspired mercantilists to discuss this policy, and they focused on the Northern Colonies by emphasising the mercantile advantages. However, they had little paid attention to Carolina, which was the prominent sources of American naval stores in the eighteenth century, as Carolina was already regarded as beneficial for the mother country as sources of
The English East India Company became the main competition for the Dutch East India Company. The Dutch colonial administrator exposed this threat in a letter to the directors of the Dutch East India Company in 1705. He wrote “the profits of our East Indian trade have turned into losses, the java trade is declining, and the commercial competition from the English, French, Portuguese, Chinese, and Muslims in Asia cannot be checked” (Doc 13). The French ambassador to the Dutch Republic, Marquis de Pomponne, also noticed the growing English competition and wrote that the “English East India Company has grown larger and causes the Dutch much anxiety. This trade competition was the real cause of the war which broke out in the 1650's between England and the Dutch Republic” (Doc 11).
Most of the contraband brought ashore went to the local markets, smuggling was comprised of complex networks that permitted the illicit goods to reach distant markets, in London”. Chin, James K. (2010). This brought in a large amount of review, which made it that much harder to stop and control. When the smugglers got caught and was subjected to punishment it was very challenging to get the criminal executed for their actions. After several laws was past the British Naval was forces to take action to prevent the smuggling from continuing at sea, by enforcing the law and when they suspected illegal activity of important goods
Colonies supplied raw materials unavailable in England, providing a healthy market for English manufactured goods. England adopted mercantilism and Parliament passed four types of regulations to increase national wealth, including enumerated products, the Navigation Act of 1651, and the Molasses Act in 1733. The colonial economy expanded twice as fast as England's and by the 1760s, £4 million worth of English manufactured goods were imported into the colonies annually. Colonial cities grew, and many colonists worked at trades directly related to overseas commerce. However, in the eighteenth century, the gap between the rich and the poor widened.
Benton, Lauren. “Legal Spaces of Empire: Piracy and the Origins of Ocean Regionalism.” Comparative Studies in Society and History vol.47 no. 4, (Oct. 2005). 700-724 Lauren Benton (a history professor at New York University) discusses the connections between the legal strategies of mariners in the late seventeenth century and the early eighteenth century, while illustrating the divisions between the Atlantic and Indian Oceans as separate legal spaces in “Legal Spaces of Empire: Piracy and the Origins of Ocean Regionalism.” Benton hopes to prove in her essay that pirates affected Atlantic legal politics and the relationship between the Mughal Empire and European nations in the early modern era.
One of the most significant Chinese historical events, one that the people of China will not be able to forget, is the Opium Wars which happened in the mid-19th century. The first Opium War was fought between China and Britain from 1839 to 1842 while the second Opium War saw China fighting against Britain and France from 1856 to 1860. China lost both wars which led to the downfall of the Qing dynasty. The impact of the Opium Wars is not limited to just that time period, but its effects are still being seen in China today.
Americans believed that customs officials were not treating them fairly, for multiple reasons. First, Americans believed that the customs officials were corrupt. They also treated smugglers and honest tradesmen alike. In addition, Americans felt that they shouldn’t pay taxes, or labor fees, as long as they did not have a direct representative in Parliament. This, along with the entitlement that customs officials received, drove honest merchants, seamen, dockworker, and tradesmen to hate them.
Luxury and Consumption: The seventeenth and Eighteenth century Consumer society The 17th and 18th century was a period marked by the availability of exotic goods through the inflow of American raw materials, exotic goods and the access to Asian consumer societies. Europe suddenly had access to rarities, which opened up a new consumer market. This transformation was mainly attributed to the rise of competing European East India Companies and private trade making a vast amount of goods available not only for the rich and the middle class, but sometimes also for artisan workers (Trentmann, pp. 180-184, 2012).
In 1920’s Chicago the United States of America was in turmoil. The federal government had outlawed the sale, distribution, and production of any type of alcoholic beverage. This set the scene for folks of all varieties of people to strike it rich, especially mobsters and gangsters. These mobs could get a hold of liquor from many countries, especially Canada and have it imported right under the Coast Guard’s nose.
The Opium War of 1839-1842, was a war in which British merchants sought to legalize the trade of opium after commissioner Lin Zexu made it illegal for anyone to trade or bring in any opium. (Modern World History, ch. 13) The main goal or motive behind the opium wars was mainly due to Chinese merchants not having any interest in trading with European goods. In turn Europeans were forced to buy trading goods such as, tea, porcelain, silk, and lacquerware with silver instead of simply trading European goods for Chinese goods. (Modern World History, ch. 13)
During the early eighteenth century, Britain started its trade with China by importing several indigenous goods such as silk, porcelain, and tea in exchange for silver. However, Britain incurred a significant trade deficit in this economic relationship and decided to start growing opium in India, which was facilitated by Britain’s colossal trading company known as the British East India Company. The British began to illegally trade and sell opium in China, which induced tension and conflict between the two countries. The effects of this epidemic of opioid addiction vastly changed the overall foundation of China’s economy, society, and government. Although Britain’s opium trade significantly affected life in Chinese society by leading to increased
It has been said that prohibitions on our part would produce no change in the system of Britain, because she could prosecute her trade with us through the medium of the Dutch, who would be her immediate customers and paymasters for those articles which were wanted for the supply of our markets. But would not her navigation be materially injured by the loss of the important advantage of being her own carrier in that trade? Would not the principal part of its profits be intercepted by the Dutch, as a compensation for their agency and risk? Would not the mere circumstance of freight occasion a considerable deduction? Would