This study will look to examine how the impoverished conditions that were present within coastal communities of Devon and Cornwall 1750-1850, were influential in the participation of locals in the wrecking ships, opposing naval impressment and involvement in the smuggling trade. These acts can be deemed as a form of resistance, as they saw communities disobey economic, maritime, and naval legislation to gain personal liberty and financial rewards. The correlation of data that depicts localised poverty and the frequency of these acts of ‘resistance’ shall determine whether there was a tangible link between these acts within deprived coastal communities.