Smuggling and the Customs Administration in Post-Union Scotland, c. 1707–24

Abstract

Smuggling plays a key role in several debates about the short- and mid-term consequences of the 1707 Union of Scotland and England, with the general consensus that smuggling was as widespread and dramatic as the early post-Union Scottish customs administration was inefficient and corrupt. This article questions these assumptions through a detailed study of the post-Union Scottish customs. By highlighting the bureaucratic sophistication apparent in the administrative changes, as well as by comparing the extent of customs fraud and tax resistance in Scotland with developments in England and Wales, the article argues for a more even-handed evaluation of the extent of smuggling on the Scottish scene. It further shows that there are good reasons why the Scottish situation was subject to an exaggerated perception in England. Ultimately, the article illustrates that the real problem for the English executive in addressing the Scottish customs in the wake of the Union was a particular fiscal dilemma that resulted from a clash between contemporary expectations about the profitability of the Scottish customs and the simultaneous need for preventive measures.