Methodological Perspectives on Smuggling: The GDL-Prussia Borderlands in the Late Eighteenth Century

Abstract

ABSTRACT In this article we explore the customs system of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania (GDL) along its border with Prussia in the late eighteenth century, using as primary sources four inspection reports submitted to the GDL’s Treasury Commission between 1788 and 1792. We focus primarily on the extent of smuggling practices, the state of the customs administration, and the amount of revenues collected from cross-border trade. Our research is an example of a spatial humanities project, and for this reason we are primarily interested in methodological questions. More specifically, we employ a mixed methods analytical framework that includes GIS mapping, qualitative spatial reasoning (QSR), and corpus linguistics to explore the borderlands of the GDL at multiple scales of analysis. We do so to illustrate how a mix of methods and tools can shed new light on the degree of control exerted by the GDL along its border with Prussia.