Dark Markets Observatory
Smuggling Prosecutions in England and Wales c. 1722-1732
This is a raw version of the data that was transcribed and compiled from reports ordered by the British House of Commons in 1733. In that year and following debate over the Excise Bill, the House ordered a summary of all prosecutions for smuggling throughout England, Wales, and Scotland for the preceding 10 years.
While the Scottish report has not yet been located, the reports for England and Wales were found
at the National Archive, Kew, England (references T64/146-149).
Corrected data will be provided in early March, 2026
If you think this data might be useful, please feel free to email me with ideas about formatting, visualizations or connections with other sources. If you detect errors, please also let me know. dasmith@wlu.ca
Thanks to Jessica Duncan and Nicholas Morrison for their excellent assistance putting together this database. Jessica used TransKribus to create the transcription and Nicholas proofed the copy.
This research is supported in part by funding from Canada's Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council.
Index | Year | Persons | Place | County | Circumstances | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
148 | 1730 | John Veal | at Hemsby Yarmouth | Norfolk | Imported and run without payment of Duty | were Prosecuted for this Fraud - Veal became an Evidence - Hare & Sacker can't be taken. |
149 | 1730 | Henry Quinton | at Corton Yarmouth | Hampshire | Imported and run without payment of Duty | was Prosecuted for this Fraud (& other goods) & Compounded. |
150 | 1730 | John Ellis | Yarmouth Roads | Hampshire | Imported and run without payment of Duty | was Prosecuted for this Fraud & Compounded |
151 | 1730 | Christopher Harvey | Yarmouth Beach | Hampshire | Imported and run without payment of Duty | was Prosecuted for this Fraud and Compounded. |
152 | 1730 | William Peters | Lowestoffe Yarmouth | Hampshire | Imported and run without payment of Duty | were Prosecuted for this Fraud & Compounded. |
152 | 1730 | David Burwood | Lowestoffe Yarmouth | Hampshire | Imported and run without payment of Duty | were Prosecuted for this Fraud & Compounded. |
153 | 1730 | Walter Douglas | in the Port of Yarmouth | Hampshire | Imported and run without payment of Duty | were Prosecuted for this Fraud - Eaton was admitted an Evidence - Douglas and Dale can't be taken. |
153 | 1730 | James Dale | in the Port of Yarmouth | Hampshire | Imported and run without payment of Duty | were Prosecuted for this Fraud - Eaton was admitted an Evidence - Douglas and Dale can't be taken. |
153 | 1730 | Anthony Eaton | in the Port of Yarmouth | Hampshire | Imported and run without payment of Duty | were Prosecuted for this Fraud - Eaton was admitted an Evidence - Douglas and Dale can't be taken. |
154 | 1730 | Thomas Chancellor | Scarbrough | Yorkshire | Imported and run without payment of Duty | were Prosecuted for this Fraud & admitted Evidences. |
154 | 1730 | Leonard Wrightson | Scarbrough | Yorkshire | Imported and run without payment of Duty | were Prosecuted for this Fraud & admitted Evidences. |
155 | 1730 | Henry Garnett | Scarbrough | Yorkshire | Imported and run without payment of Duty | is under Prosecution for this Fraud he can't be taken. |