In Latin America, the negative view of smuggling has existed for a long time. In the US, however, it was not always negative. Namely, it is known that John Hancock, the one with the famous signature on the American Declaration of Independence, got rich through smuggling, and after he was accused of that crime, one of the protagonists of the American Revolution came to his defense: Lawyer John Adams.

Hancock had been friends with Adams since childhood and entered into a mutual relationship of cooperation with one of the leaders of the rebellion, John Adams’ cousin Samuel Adams. Hancock saw that the best way to secure protection around the city and in Boston harbor from the rebels was to heavily fund their movement.

In a protectionist system, both traders and consumers benefited greatly from smuggling, so smuggling was an informal institution that enjoyed public support. John Adams, in a famous case of 1768-69, argued that Hancock could not be guilty since the commercial law he was accused of violating was “…made without our consent. My colleague Mr. Hancock never agreed to that. He never voted for her, nor did he vote for someone to bring him such a law.”

During the American independence movement, it was from these interest groups that individuals promoted inclusive systems.

Something similar happened in Cartagena de Indias. There the autonomist movement, which later led to the declaration of independence of Cartagena in 1811, had as one of its leaders the important smuggler, José Ignacio de Pomba. Historian Jorge Arias de Greiff recalls that it used to be customary for a governor related by marriage to authorize the sailing of ships in exchange for a share of the profits from illicit trade. This was the case until the Catholic monarchy attempted to exert greater control over trade, and a navy loyal to the crown began to annoy the merchant elites of Cartagena, who were already poised to take over local power from the Commercial Consulate. Namely, during the Anglo-Spanish War (1796-1802), a schooner called La Fancy was arrested full of goods, and its famous owner – Pombo – was accused of smuggling in Santafé (Bogotá). Namely, between 1800 and 1810, Pombo dedicated himself to explaining the damage of the oppressive tax system and regulations that made his province less competitive. As one of his reports is entitled “Origin and causes of smuggling, its damages, ways of avoiding and detecting fraud”, some accused him of hypocrisy. But a closer reading shows us that despite enjoying the benefits of a politically connected family within the viceregal system, Pombo set up a defense based on the principles of individual liberty, much like the founding fathers of the United States. and he did so by risking his capital.

Exclusionary systems concentrate benefits in a few and spread costs widely. A few, realizing their benefits, organize politically to maintain them. But at the time of the independence movement in America, it was from these interest groups that the individuals who promoted inclusive systems emerged. (OR)