Owling was a common term for the smuggling of

sheep Sheep or domestic sheep (''Ovis aries'') are domesticated, ruminant mammals typically kept as livestock. Although the term ''sheep'' can apply to other species in the genus '' Ovis'', in everyday usage it almost always refers to domesticated ...

wool Wool is the textile fibre obtained from sheep and other mammals, especially goats, rabbits, and camelids. The term may also refer to inorganic materials, such as mineral wool and glass wool, that have properties similar to animal wool. ...

from

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

to another country, particularly

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

. The practice was illegal in England from 1367 until 1824. Participants were called "owlers"; their ships "owling boats". The origins of the term are obscure, and it appears to have developed toward the end of the 17th century, well after owling was first outlawed. It is presumed to derive from owlers' preference for performing their work at night (traditionally the time of the

owl Owls are birds from the order Strigiformes (), which includes over 200 species of mostly solitary and nocturnal birds of prey typified by an upright stance, a large, broad head, binocular vision, binaural hearing, sharp talons, and feathers a ...

). The earliest citation in the ''

Oxford English Dictionary The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' (''OED'') is the first and foundational historical dictionary of the English language, published by Oxford University Press (OUP). It traces the historical development of the English language, providing a co ...

'' is

Narcissus Luttrell Narcissus Luttrell (1657–1732) was an English historian, diarist, and bibliographer, and briefly Member of Parliament for two different Cornish boroughs. His ''Brief Historical Relation of State Affairs from September 1678 to April 1714'', a c ...

's report in 1699 that a recent outbreak had been suppressed. The practice seems not to have had a particular name attached to it before that point. The principal reason for the

protectionist Protectionism, sometimes referred to as trade protectionism, is the economic policy of restricting imports from other countries through methods such as tariffs on imported goods, import quotas, and a variety of other government regulations. ...

law was to shield English clothing manufacturers from foreign competition, since England had a large supply of wool but a less successful

textile Textile is an umbrella term that includes various fiber-based materials, including fibers, yarns, filaments, threads, different fabric types, etc. At first, the word "textiles" only referred to woven fabrics. However, weaving is not the ...

industry. The wool industry was England's most lucrative in the late 12th and early 13th centuries; in fact, in discussing the origins of the wool protection laws,

David Hume David Hume (; born David Home; 7 May 1711 NS (26 April 1711 OS) – 25 August 1776) Cranston, Maurice, and Thomas Edmund Jessop. 2020 999br>David Hume" ''Encyclopædia Britannica''. Retrieved 18 May 2020. was a Scottish Enlightenment phil ...

claims that wool was England's only valuable export commodity at the time. However, the law was enacted by Edward III in the first place, and maintained throughout its history, as part of a particular grudge against France, as Hume points out. The original statute was strengthened several times; in 1566 owling was made punishable by "cutting off of the left hand and nailing it in a public place", and in 1660, as it became more professionalized, by the seizure of the ship used. The law gained particular currency after a 1689 bill outlawing all trade with France. Owlers were able to take advantage of a significant black market, and smuggling increased rapidly during the 1690s. According to

G. N. Clark Sir George Norman Clark, (27 February 1890 – 6 February 1979) was an English historian, academic and British Army officer. He was the Chichele Professor of Economic History at the University of Oxford from 1931 to 1943 and the Regius Profes ...

, period sources indicate that by 1689, 480,000 pounds of wool per year were being smuggled to France.Clark, G.N. "Trading with the Enemy and the Corunna Packets, 1689-97." ''The English Historical Review,'' Vol. 36, No. 144. (Oct., 1921), pp. 521-539. Troops were sent to

Romney Marsh Romney Marsh is a sparsely populated wetland area in the counties of Kent and East Sussex in the south-east of England. It covers about . The Marsh has been in use for centuries, though its inhabitants commonly suffered from malaria until th ...

, the chief point of departure for owlers, in 1693; conflict in the area over the practice (including both owlers and local wool manufacturers opposed to owling) came to a head with a riot in

Rye, East Sussex is a small town and civil parish in the Rother district of East Sussex, England, two miles from the sea at the confluence of three rivers: the Rother, the Tillingham and the Brede. An important member of the mediaeval Cinque Ports confederati ...

in 1696. The government began to get the upper hand soon afterward, and owling was apparently no longer common when the law was repealed in the 19th century.

References

{{reflist English laws Sheep wool Smuggling Economy of medieval England Tudor England Stuart England