The start of smuggling took place probably in Hastings around the 17th Century, (where it was easier to get to France) and gradually as it became more popular, smugglers in order to hide from the Authorities moved to other parts of Kent and Sussex. After the Napoleonic wars Alfriston turned to smuggling. The things that the English wanted at the start were Strong Brandy and Tea. Smuggling was at its most crucial time when King Edward I put a tax on the sheep so the Farmers had to trade with the smugglers at night. The reason the French wanted the wool was because the English had the best wool and the French had the best weavers. The English public generally liked the smugglers because they could buy things cheaply from them. Today most people do not like smugglers because they are only doing it to make a profit, the money should be going to help us in the form of taxes.