Smugglers Again

Abstract

Based on the records of the subsequent court cases, the article provides an account of an operation to smuggle substantial amounts of tea and “much spirituous liquor” into Britain through Christchurch Point in 1784. The responses of the preventive services resulted in a determined and violent confrontation and the death of the Master of the naval sloop Orestes. The account highlights the legal issues of the time concerning the jurisdiction of the Court of Admiralty and indicates the relative popularity of leading smugglers and the challenges and weaknesses of the naval forces tasked with discouraging their activity.

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Filed under: English Channel | Other (Eighteenth C)
Subjects include: Pirates, Corsairs & Privateers