'Smugglers Defeated', 1793

Mezzotint by R Earlom after Sir F Bourgeois. Published by B B Evans, Poultry, London, 1 October 1793.

Britain's wars of the 18th and early 19th centuries were largely financed by customs duties placed on imported goods. This put up prices and increased the demand for cheaper, illegally smuggled products. Common in coastal areas, smuggled goods like tea and brandy threatened to put legal tradesmen out of business and left the government out of pocket. Its suppression was the responsibility of the Customs and Excise. But its officials were often outnumbered by smugglers so they needed military assistance.

Customs men and soldiers watched coastal shipping and apprehended smugglers, many of whom were well-armed. This print shows light dragoons capturing smugglers on a rocky coast.