Question

Explain one way in which attitudes towards poaching during the eighteenth century were similar to attitudes towards poaching in the 17th Century. (4 marks)

Answer 1

Answer:

Poaching for money, not for the pot, was the problem. Gangs of men who descended on an estate to take large amounts of game to sell. It started in the 18th century, then grew into almost a class war in the 19th. ... The poachers were not paid as much, but they might still get a shilling or so per pheasant

Explanation:

The 17th century saw the government introduce import duties on a range of goods. Smugglers brought goods into a country without paying these duties and so could sell them at a cheaper price compared to traders who had paid the duty. As more and more goods were taxed in the 18th century, smuggling activity increased as people wanted greater access to cheaper goods.

Smuggling further developed with the introduction of larger smuggling gangs, such as the Hawkhurst Gang in Kent who operated on a far greater scale than previous smugglers. The leaders of this gang were caught and hung, however the authorities found it hard to tackle the crime of smuggling.

This was because smuggling was a social crime- people benefitted from the cheaper goods smuggled and so did not see it as wrongdoing, they even viewed smugglers as heroes in some areas. As a result, local communities would help to conceal smugglers rather than report them.

Smuggling was only really tackled by prime minister William Pitt, who lowered import duties in the 1780s, making prices of legally traded goods more competitive with the smugglers who were breaking the law. This meant that the extent of smuggling dropped dramatically