The sixteenth-century English smuggling trade has, in recent years, become a topic of increasing interest to historians of trade and maritime culture. Investigation into the inner workings of England’s ports and their relations with the wider world has helped to create a fuller image of sixteenth-century culture and politics. This research note examines the unpublished and understudied ‘Survey of the Port of Southampton’, commissioned by Elizabeth I in 1565 in an effort to deter illicit trading in English ports. Through study of this underused resource, this research note is designed to enhance understanding of smuggling culture in the sixteenth century, and to demonstrate the effect that regional, national and international factors could have on the types of illicit trade undertaken by smugglers.
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2.
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3.
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