Page 17 - Free State Spring 2023_WEB

barrier built by the British colonial rulers of India to prevent
smuggling of salt from coastal regions in order to avoid
the substantial salt tax. Salt was a high value commodity
used in the preservation of meat and fish.

The customs line was begun under the East India
Company and continued into direct British rule. The
line had its beginnings in a series of customs houses
established in Bengal in 1803. These customs houses
were eventually formed into a continuous barrier that
was brought under the control of the Inland Customs
Department in 1843.
The line was gradually expanded as more territory was
brought under British control until it covered more than
2,500 miles, often running alongside rivers and other
natural barriers. The line was initially made of dead,
thorny material such as the Indian plum but eventually
evolved into a living hedge that grew up to 12 feet high
and was compared to the Great Wall of China. The
Inland Customs Department employed customs officers
and jemadars (armed officials) to patrol the line and
apprehend smugglers, reaching a peak of more than
14,000 staff in 1872.

The Willow Palisade
The Willow Palisade, was constructed during the early
Qing dynasty in the late 17th century to control people’s Inland Customs Line, or the Indian Salt Hedge
movement and to collect taxes on The Willow Palisade
ginseng and timber in southern
Manchuria. While the design of different
parts of the palisade varied greatly,
and changed with time, the palisades,
according to the research of the modern
geographer R.L. Edmonds, typically
consisted of two parallel earthen
levees just over 1 meter high and wide,
separated by a trench that was about
3.5 meters deep and 1 meter wide. Rows
of willow trees were planted on top of
the levees; each tree’s branches being
tied to those of its neighbors.
Modern Hedges
QuickHedge in The Netherlands was
established in 1985. I believe they
‘invented’ the in-ground system of
growing finished hedge. Several pieces
of specialized equipment were built
by Damcon also in The Netherlands.
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