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English Learning for Curious Minds, Episode 246: Cornish Smugglers [2]

Episode 246: Cornish Smugglers [2]

Visitors who don't know the story of Cornwall's smuggling past might think “how

strange - why are they celebrating the King of Prussia here?” but it is, in fact,

the celebration of the unofficial King of Prussia, the smuggler John Carter.

Now, back to our story, smuggling continued pretty

uninterrupted for the majority of the 18th century.

Import taxes remained high, which created the incentive to smuggle.

There were far too few customs officers, far too few government officials in the area to stop

it, which meant there was very little disincentive, there was no great reason to not do it.

And for almost a hundred years, the going was good.

Many smugglers became very wealthy, and the industry, if indeed

we can call it an industry, was vital to the Cornish people.

There's one quote I particularly liked about this that

illustrates the extent of the riches that came from smuggling.

The quote is, and I'm quoting directly:

“When smuggling was in full swing, money became so plentiful that neighbours lent guineas to each

other by the handful, not stopping to count, or being so particular as to reckon by ones and twos'.”

To explain that, a guinea was quite a valuable coin - it's like saying

today that neighbours would lend each other piles of 50 Euro notes

without bothering to count how many notes there were in the pile.

But smuggling was costing the British taxpayer dearly.

It's estimated that up to 25% of the entire British import trade during the

18th century consisted of smuggled goods, goods on which tax had not been paid.

And for certain goods, the percentage was much higher.

Up to 500,000 gallons of brandy, which is 2.3 million litres, were smuggled into Britain every year.

And some estimates have as much as 80% of tea drunk in Britain being smuggled into the country.

But the good times weren't to last forever.

In the late 18th century import taxes were lowered, and the number

of customs officers employed to stop the smugglers increased.

It was a double punch, a double whammy, a pincer movement.

Now there was less of an incentive, less of a reason, to

smuggle, because the taxes weren't nearly as high as before.

And you were much more likely to get caught.

The glory days of the Cornish smuggler were over, and by the mid

19th century the amount of smuggling had drastically reduced.

Smuggling does live on in Cornish legends, though.

You can find it in pub names, like the King of Prussia or even the Bucket of Blood,

a pub named after a landlord who went into his well one morning and pulled out the

head of a customs officer who had presumably been getting too close to the smugglers.

And if you go to Cornwall today, and I would certainly recommend a visit,

you can visit the coastline, you can see the rocks where the ships might

have got stuck, you can see the sandy beaches where the smugglers would have

unloaded their cargo, and visit the caves where it would have been stored.

It might have been illegal, it might have been punishable by death, and it might

have technically been stealing money from the British taxpayer, but it's hard to

deny that there is something quite magical about the legend of the Cornish Smuggler.

OK then, that is it for today's episode on Cornish Smugglers.

I hope it's been an interesting one, that you've learnt something new, and

that you now know a little bit about this curious element of British history.

As always, I would love to know what you thought of this episode.

Have you been to Cornwall?

What do you think about Cornish Smugglers?

Were they real criminals, or simply people doing whatever they could to get by?

And are there interesting stories of smugglers from your country?

I would love to know.

You can head right into our community forum, which is at

community.leonardoenglish.com and get chatting away to other curious minds.

You've been listening to English Learning for Curious Minds, by Leonardo English.

I'm Alastair Budge, you stay safe, and I'll catch you in the next episode.

Learn languages from TV shows, movies, news, articles and more! Try LingQ for FREE

Episode 246: Cornish Smugglers [2] Folge 246: Schmuggler aus Cornwall [2] Episodio 246: Contrabandistas de Cornualles [2] Épisode 246 : Les contrebandiers de Cornouailles [2] Episodio 246: Contrabbandieri della Cornovaglia [2] 第246話コーニッシュ・スマグラーズ【2 Odcinek 246: Cornish Smugglers [2] Episódio 246: Cornish Smugglers [2] Эпизод 246: Корнуэльские контрабандисты [2] Bölüm 246: Cornish Kaçakçıları [2] Епізод 246: Корнуельські контрабандисти [2]. 第246集:康沃尔走私者 [2]

Visitors who don't know the story of Cornwall's smuggling past might think “how |||||||Cornwall'un||||| Besucher, die die Geschichte von Cornwalls Schmuggelvergangenheit nicht kennen, denken vielleicht: „Wie

strange - why are they celebrating the King of Prussia here?” but it is, in fact,

the celebration of the unofficial King of Prussia, the smuggler John Carter. ||||resmi olmayan|||||||

Now, back to our story, smuggling continued pretty

uninterrupted for the majority of the 18th century. neîntrerupt||||||| |||çoğunluğu||||

Import taxes remained high, which created the incentive to smuggle. ||au rămas|||||incentivul||a contrabanda Податки на імпорт залишалися високими, що створювало стимули для контрабанди.

There were far too few customs officers, far too few government officials in the area to stop Es gab viel zu wenige Zollbeamte und viel zu wenige Regierungsbeamte in dem Gebiet, um die Там было слишком мало таможенников, слишком мало правительственных чиновников в этом районе, чтобы остановить

it, which meant there was very little disincentive, there was no great reason to not do it. |||||||engel||||||||| Це означало, що було дуже мало перешкод, не було вагомих причин не робити цього.

And for almost a hundred years, the going was good.

Many smugglers became very wealthy, and the industry, if indeed Viele Schmuggler wurden sehr wohlhabend, und das Gewerbe, wenn überhaupt

we can call it an industry, was vital to the Cornish people. Wir können es als Industrie bezeichnen, die für die Menschen in Cornwall lebenswichtig war.

There's one quote I particularly liked about this that Ein Zitat, das mir besonders gut gefallen hat, lautet

illustrates the extent of the riches that came from smuggling.

The quote is, and I'm quoting directly:

“When smuggling was in full swing, money became so plentiful that neighbours lent guineas to each |||||||||bol||||guineler|| «Когда контрабанда была в самом разгаре, денег стало так много, что соседи одалживали каждому по гинеи. «Коли контрабанда була в розпалі, грошей стало так багато, що сусіди позичали кожному гінеї.

other by the handful, not stopping to count, or being so particular as to reckon by ones and twos'.” ||||||||||||||||||ikiler andere nach der Handvoll, ohne zu zählen oder so genau zu sein, dass sie nach Einsen und Zweien rechneten". outros aos poucos, não parando para contar, ou sendo tão meticuloso a ponto de contar por um ou dois”. другие горстками, не останавливаясь на счете, или настолько разборчивы, что считают по единицам и по двое». інші жменькою, не зупиняючись, щоб порахувати, або будучи настільки ретельними, щоб рахувати по одиницях і двійках». 其他人则一把一把地来,不停下来数数,或者很讲究以个位数和二位数来计算。”

To explain that, a guinea was quite a valuable coin - it's like saying

today that neighbours would lend each other piles of 50 Euro notes |||||||||Euro banknotları| heute, dass sich Nachbarn gegenseitig stapelweise 50-Euro-Scheine leihen würden 如今,邻居们会互相借出一叠 50 欧元的钞票

without bothering to count how many notes there were in the pile. 而不去数那堆钞票有多少张。

But smuggling was costing the British taxpayer dearly. |||maliyeti|||vergi mükellefi| Aber der Schmuggel kam den britischen Steuerzahler teuer zu stehen. Але контрабанда дорого обходилася британським платникам податків. 但走私却给英国纳税人带来了巨额损失。

It's estimated that up to 25% of the entire British import trade during the 据估计,英国整个进口贸易中高达 25%

18th century consisted of smuggled goods, goods on which tax had not been paid. 18 世纪的货物都是走私货物,即未缴税的货物。

And for certain goods, the percentage was much higher.

Up to 500,000 gallons of brandy, which is 2.3 million litres, were smuggled into Britain every year. ||gallon|||||||||||| Jährlich wurden bis zu 500.000 Gallonen Branntwein, d. h. 2,3 Millionen Liter, nach Großbritannien geschmuggelt.

And some estimates have as much as 80% of tea drunk in Britain being smuggled into the country. ||tahminler||||||||||||||

But the good times weren't to last forever. Doch die guten Zeiten sollten nicht ewig andauern.

In the late 18th century import taxes were lowered, and the number Im späten 18. Jahrhundert wurden die Einfuhrzölle gesenkt, und die Zahl der

of customs officers employed to stop the smugglers increased. збільшилася кількість митників, задіяних для затримання контрабандистів.

It was a double punch, a double whammy, a pincer movement. |||||||çifte darbe||kıskaç| Це був подвійний удар, подвійний удар, рух кліщами.

Now there was less of an incentive, less of a reason, to

smuggle, because the taxes weren't nearly as high as before. schmuggeln, weil die Steuern nicht mehr so hoch waren wie früher.

And you were much more likely to get caught.

The glory days of the Cornish smuggler were over, and by the mid

19th century the amount of smuggling had drastically reduced. 19 століття кількість контрабанди різко скоротилася.

Smuggling does live on in Cornish legends, though.

You can find it in pub names, like the King of Prussia or even the Bucket of Blood,

a pub named after a landlord who went into his well one morning and pulled out the eine Kneipe, die nach einem Wirt benannt ist, der eines Morgens in seinen Brunnen stieg und die 一家以一位房东的名字命名的酒吧,这位房东一天早上进入他的井里,捞出了

head of a customs officer who had presumably been getting too close to the smugglers. Kopf eines Zollbeamten, der vermutlich den Schmugglern zu nahe gekommen war. 一名海关官员可能与走私者走得太近了。

And if you go to Cornwall today, and I would certainly recommend a visit, Und wenn Sie heute nach Cornwall fahren, und ich würde einen Besuch auf jeden Fall empfehlen,

you can visit the coastline, you can see the rocks where the ships might

have got stuck, you can see the sandy beaches where the smugglers would have steckengeblieben sind, kann man die Sandstrände sehen, an denen die Schmuggler

unloaded their cargo, and visit the caves where it would have been stored. вивантажили свій вантаж і відвідали печери, де він мав би зберігатися.

It might have been illegal, it might have been punishable by death, and it might Es hätte illegal sein können, es hätte mit dem Tod bestraft werden können, und es hätte

have technically been stealing money from the British taxpayer, but it's hard to

deny that there is something quite magical about the legend of the Cornish Smuggler.

OK then, that is it for today's episode on Cornish Smugglers.

I hope it's been an interesting one, that you've learnt something new, and

that you now know a little bit about this curious element of British history.

As always, I would love to know what you thought of this episode.

Have you been to Cornwall?

What do you think about Cornish Smugglers?

Were they real criminals, or simply people doing whatever they could to get by?

And are there interesting stories of smugglers from your country?

I would love to know.

You can head right into our community forum, which is at

community.leonardoenglish.com and get chatting away to other curious minds.

You've been listening to English Learning for Curious Minds, by Leonardo English.

I'm Alastair Budge, you stay safe, and I'll catch you in the next episode. Я Аластер Бадж, бережіть себе, і ми побачимося в наступній серії.