| Brandy for the Parson? |
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Page 7 of 8 A brief history of Cornish smuggling Smuggling centred on the south coast, ranging from Cawsand in the east, through to the small coastal villages of Lamorna and Mousehole in the west. The hundreds of tiny inlets and shores capable of landing and, if necessary, storing contraband, as well as the fishing communities' need to supplement their poor incomes, meant smuggling was inevitable. The poorly paid farm labourers and the hard living mining communities ensured there was a constant demand for cheap goods like tea, brandy, gin, rum and tobacco. Smuggling was not just confined to the importation of goods without the payment of tax. The Government had decreed the death penalty for anyone found exporting wool, to protect the home weaving industries. Following successive hikes in tea tax, tea could be bought in Europe for 1/6th of the price in Britain, while French brandy was only 1/5th of the price. Cornish smugglers called themselves free traders and took a pride in their ability to outsmart the revenue men. Smuggling took place fairly openly, made possible by the involvement of all sections of the community. Rudyard Kipling’s atmospheric poem, A Smuggler’s Song reflects how whole communities were once implicated: “Five and twenty ponies, Trotting through the dark – Brandy for the Parson, Baccy for the Clerk…” High-ranking members of society were also involved in the activity. The Killigrew family, who established Falmouth, was one such family whose money and influence came from smuggling. |
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