This text reveals the true story of Zephaniah Job, the Cornishman who masterminded the flourishing contraband trade in Polperro during the Napoleonic wars, as well as the privateers whose adventures led to the capture of handsome prizes. Job's flair for business, his association with the Trelawny family and links with those engaged in the smuggling trade brought lasting prosperity to the inhabitants of this remote Cornish fishing village at the end of the 18th century.

This tale of smuggling is told through extracts from the letter-books of Zephaniah Job, the schoolteacher who became known as "Smugglers' Banker" for his role in the highly-organized contraband trade carried on in this Cornish village at the end of the 18th century. Featuring the exploits of the Quiller, Rowett and other Polperro families involved, it traces the voyages of the the "Swallow", the smuggling vessel whose capture of a valuable French prize laid the foundation to Job's fortune, and the raids on Polperro led by Captain Gabriel Bray in search of hidden contraband. Johns also tells the true story of the "Lottery": how the murder of a customs officer, the hunt for the men responsible and the subseqent trial and execution of Tom Potter led to the first Preventive boat being stationed at Polperro.

Smuggling in Cornwall: An Illustrated History tells the story of the smuggling trade that flourished in Cornwall during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Drawing on extant source material, it examines how the trade was organised and financed with particular reference to the fishing village of Polperro on the south coast of Cornwall, where it was masterminded by Zephaniah Job, known as the 'Smugglers' Banker'. Cornwall's extensive coastline and isolated location made it possible for large quantities of rum, brandy, gin, tea and tobacco to be shipped across from Guernsey and brought ashore in secluded coves. Repeated attempts by Revenue officers to seize contraband goods were invariably thwarted; even when a smuggler was caught red-handed, it was rare for a Cornish jury to convict him. But in 1798, the murder of a Customs officer by one of the crew of a smuggling vessel named the Lottery led to the establishment of the coastguard service and the eventual decline of the smuggling trade. Here, in this illustrated and well-researched book, Jeremy Rowett Johns explores this fascinating area of Cornish maritime history.