Camorra was a well-organized secret society, once spread thoughout all parts of the kingdom of Naples. At one time the Camorristi were all-powerful, levying a kind of blackmail at all markets, fairs, and public gatherings, claiming the right of deciding disputes, hiring themselves out for any criminal service from the passing of contraband goods to assassination. It had central stations in all the large provincial towns, and a regular staff of recruiting officers. Though properly a secret society, it did not find it necessary under the regime of the Bourbons to conceal its operations; but under the later governments of united Italy, the society lost most of its power, except in the wilder parts of Southern Italy.
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The Declaration of Paris in 1856 adopted with the Treaty of Paris to establish four principles of international law:
- 1) Privateering to be abolished;
- 2) the neutral flag might cover enemy goods except contraband of war;
- 3) neutral goods, except contraband of war, not to be subject to capture under an enemy's flag;
- 4) blockades, to be binding, must be effective, i.e. maintained by a sufficient force.
The treaty was accepted by nearly all civilized nations, except the United States. The United States refused to agree to the abolition of privateering, and this cost them heavily in the American Civil War.
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The Queen's Tobacco-pipe (also called the Queen's Pipe) was a popular name for the oven, later replaced in 1892 by a furnace, situated in the north-east corner of the tobacco warehouses of the London Docks. It was so called because it was used for burning all sorts of contraband but especially tobacco and cigars.
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The Pyrenean Mountain Dog or Great Pyrenees is a large shepherd dog bred from mastiff stock in the Pyrenees to guard sheep against wolves and later used to smuggle contraband across the mountains. The Pyrenean Mountain Dog stands about 70 centimetres tall, has a thick, shaggy coat generally white in colour, and is good-natured though wary of strangers.
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Chouans was a name given to the royalist peasantry of Brittany and Lower Maine, who carried on a petty warfare against the republican government from an early period of the French revolution. The name was finally extended to all the Vendeans. The name was derived from the first chief of the Chouans, Jean Cottereau, who with his three brothers organized these bands in 1792. Cottereau had joined a band of dealers in contraband salt, and acquired the surname Chouan from the cry of the screech-owl which he used as a signal with his companions. He was killed in an engagement with the republican troops in 1794. The remaining Chouans were not suppressed until 1799, and even after that occasional spurts of insurrection occurred down until 1830, when they were finally put down.
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Contraband is the term used to describe goods which are prohibited to be imported or exported by the laws of a state.
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The East India Company was an incorporated company trading with India and the East Indies. East India Companies were founded in the 17th and 18th centuries by many European countries, the most important being the British East India Company with a close rival in the Dutch East India Company.
The British East India Company was a great English company, originally simply a trading association, which played an important part in the history of Hindustan. It was formed in 1599 in London, with a subscribed capital of about 30,000 pounds, for the purpose of trade with the East Indies. A charterwas granted to it by Queen Elizabeth I on the 31st of December, 1600 1000, for fifteen years, renewable for a similar period. In this charter the company was styled, ' The Governor and Company of the Merchants of London trading- into the East Indies.' The first voyages resulted in large profits.conferring the monopoly of trade with the East Indies.
In 1609 the charter was renewed by James I, and made perpetual, reserving power to the crown to recall it at three years' notice. Additional power was granted to the Company of seizing and confiscating ships and goods of contraband traders, either in the British dominions or in any of the places where they were authorized to trade.
Among the motives which had induced the Company to press for this renewal of their charter was the necessity they had experienced from the jealousy of the Dutch and Portuguese to send out vessels fitted not only for trade, but for defence and indeed attack. Accordingly Captain Best, who commanded the eighth expedition, attacked four Portuguese war galleons, convoying 200 sail of merchantmen, off Surat, and gained a complete victory, which so impressed the Great Mogul that he immediafiely made a treaty with Captain Best, giving the English full liberty to trade in his dominions. This treaty was concluded on the 6th of February 1613. It was followed at once by a resolution of the Company to trade on a joint-stock. 429,000 pounds was raised as capital, and apportioned in fitting out four voyages for 1613, 1614, 1615, 1617. In 1617-18 the Company was so enlarged as to include 954 proprietors, while a new joint-stock of 1,600,000 pounds was subscribed.
In 1619 a treaty was made with the Dutch, by which the two companies were to work in harmony for twenty years; but in 1629 the Dutch massacred the leading members of the English factory at Amboyna. In the feeble reigns of James and Charles I, however, the outrage remained unredressed, and the English Company, ill supported by the crown, was often reduced to great straits. Their trade, impeded by the Dutch, became unprofitable, and, to add to their difficulties, Charles I in 1635 gave a license to a rival company.
At length, under Oliver Cromwell, the Company received a new charter. A territorial footing had been acquired in Madras in 1640, to which settlement was given the control of all the factories in Bengal and the Coromandel coast, the supreme council in India still remaining at Surat. A new charter, granted by Charles II in 1660, enlarged the powers of the Company, giving it political and judicial authority in the factories and colonies established by it, with the right to appoint governors.
On the Revolution of 1688 the Company was involved in new difficulties, and in 1692 the Commons presented an address to the crown praying for their dissolution. At this time, by an accidental failure to pay a tax upon their stock, the Company formally forfeited their charter, and were compelled to accept its renewal with the important proviso of a reservation to the crown of the right to alter or modify its conditions. The maximum stock to be held by any individual was fixed at 10,000 pounds, every 1000 pounds of which was to give a vote, while the right of membership was thrown open to all British subjects.
The Scottish Parliament also sanctioned a company, but a war with Spain and the bitter opposition of the English Parliament made difficulties under which this company succumbed. Meantime the misconduct of the English company had so strengthened its enemies, that, in spite of all its opposition, a resolution in favour of the formation of a new company passed the House of Commons on 4th May, 1698, and
this company was actually constituted by Act 9 William III. cap. xliv. This act provided for the extinction of the old company, but an amalgamation was eventually arranged in 1708. The possessions of the old company at the time of amalgamation, upon which the valuation of 330,000 pounds was placed in 1700, included a large number of places in India, a footing having been by this time acquired in each if the three presidencies, besides possessions in Persia, Cochin-China., Sumatra, etc. The dividends of the Company rose rapidly after the amalgamation, and finally settled at 8 per cent; and it procured without difficulty, at various periods, a prolongation of its exclusive privileges until 1780, still with three years' notice.
In the meantime the French possessions had, as well as the English, been growing in power and importance in the East, and on the outbreak of the war of the Austrian Succession in 1741 commenced those struggles (Clive being the first great English leader) by which a mercantile company was led on to establish British supremacy over nearly the whole of India.
In 1766 the right of the Company to acquire territorial possessions formed a subject of parliamentary inquiry; and the question of the political rights of the Company being thus opened up, the ministry began to act on their view of it by sending out a crown plenipotentiary to India. A regulating act was passed in 1773 remodelling the powers of the Company, and placing it completely under the control of parliament, providing for the establishment by the crown of courts of judicature in India. The charter, which expired in 1780, was renewed until 1791. The renewal act provided that the Company, which was already bound to submit to the government all despatches received from India, should submit for approval all despatches proposed to be transmitted thither. In 1784 another act established a board, afterwards known as the board of control, to superintend, direct, and control all acts, operations, and concerns relating to the civil and military government or revenues of India. The board was to consist of a principal secretary of state, the chancellor of the exchequer, and four privy-councillors nominated by the crown. The directors of the Company were bound to submit all their papers except those referring to commercial matters to this board, and obey its instructions.
From this time the political power of the Company was little more than nominal. While the right of nominating the servants of the Company was still left to the directors, the absolute right of recall was vested in the crown. A subsequent declaratory bill regulated the power of the board of control to send out troops at the expense of the Company. In 1813 the charter was renewed on condition that the right of exclusive trade should be restricted to China, while the India trade should be thrown open to all British subjects. A church establishment for India was also provided by this act. The appointment of governors-general, governors, and commanders-in-chief was no longer to be valid without the direct sanction of the crown. The renewal of the Company's charter in 1834 took place amid continued opposition to their mercantile, and even to their legislative privileges. It continued them in all their possessions except the island of St Helena, put an end to the exclusive right of trade with China, and enacted that the Company should with all convenient speed close their commercial business, and make sale of all their property not retained for government purposes; all their other property was to be held in trust for the crown, which was to take over their debts and guarantee their dividend out of the revenues of India. The stock was valued at 6,000,000 pounds, which was to bear interest at 10 per cent, and be redeemable after the 30th of April, 1874, on payment of 12,000,000 pounds. The Company was now fairly in liquidation, and on the outbreak of the mutiny of 1857 it was felt indispensable to vest the government of India directly in the crown, and this was accordingly done in 1858.
Henceforth the British East India Company existed only for the purpose of receiving payment of its capital, and of the dividends due upon capital until its repayment.
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Contraband is a Second World War spy thriller starring Conrad Veidt, Valerie Hobson, Hay Petrie and Joss Ambler in a story about a Danish sea captain, delayed in a British port, becoming entangled with German spies. Contraband was directed by Michael Powell in 1940.
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Contraband was a bluffing family card-based game produced by Pepys Games in the UK between the 1950s and 1970's, based upon the classic playing card game of 'Cheat'. Contraband used proprietary cards, and currency tokens in a game where the object was to smuggle goods - represented pictorially upon the cards - past the 'customs official' - one of the players.
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