John Hampden — politician. Originally, an occasional sum of money paid by English seaports to the crown to meet the cost of supplying a ship to the Royal Navy.
Charles I revived the tax in , while he was ruling without Parliament. In John Hampden was taken to court for refusing to pay and claimed that Charles needed Parliament's approval to levy such a regular tax.
The judges decided by seven to five in Charles's favour, but the narrowness of the victory encouraged widespread refusal to pay tax afterwards. The Long Parliament made ship money illegal in From: ship money in A Dictionary of World History ». View all reference entries ». View all related items in Oxford Reference ». Search for: 'ship money' in Oxford Reference ». But we must turn now to those complications in the northern kingdom of Scotland which at last drove Charles once more to summon an English parliament.
I picked up this delightful tome at a second-hand bookstore in Calgary, Canada, some years ago. Since it is now more than 70 years since Mr Innes's death in , we are able to share the complete text of this book with Britain Express readers. Some of the author's views may be controversial by modern standards, particularly his attitudes towards other cultures and races, but it is worth reading as a period piece of British attitudes at the time of writing.
English Heritage membership. Free entry to English Heritage properties throughout England, plus discounted admission to Historic Scotland and Cadw properties in Scotland and Wales. Membership details. About English Heritage. Harold was the initial winner, but he died in and was followed by Harthacanute. Toggle navigation. Best of Britain. History of Wales. History of Scotland. London History. John Hampden was a strong critic of the king and in the House of Commons he had said that his actions was undermining the Protestant religion.
Hemmed in with enemies; it is now a time to be silent, and not to show his Majesty that a man that has so much power uses none of it to help us? If he be no papist, papists are friends and kindred to him. At the beginning of , twelve senior judges had declared that, in the face of danger to the nation, the king had a perfect right to order his subjects to finance the preparation of a fleet.
Hampden decided to use the Ship Tax as a means of challenging the king's power by failing to pay just one pound of what he owed. In November, Hampden was prosecuted for refusing to pay the Ship Money on his lands in Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire.
The court case was a test of power between sovereign and subject. The judges voted seven against five in favour of conviction but the publicity surrounding the case made Hampton one of the most popular men in England. Oliver Cromwell , who was Hampden's cousin, was a strong opponent of the Ship Tax. He argued that such a tax was "a prejudice to the liberties of the kingdom" and that there should be no taxation without the consent of Parliament.
One of the critics of the tax said "he knew no law besides Parliament to persuade men to give away their own goods". Cromwell agreed and said he was "a great stickler" against the tax. During this period Cromwell developed a local reputation among those opposed to Charles's government. Diane Purkiss , the author of The English Civil War: A People's History , has argued that by his actions, Hampden had successfully portrayed Charles as "a tyrant" and after the court case many people refused to pay the tax.
For the sheriffs and constables forced to collect small sums such as a penny from the poorest people, life became nearly unbearable. The struggle against the Ship Tax continued in the House of Commons. This was led by John Pym , a Puritan, who was a large landowner in Somerset. He was known for his anti-Catholic views and saw Parliament's role as safeguarding England against the influence of the Pope: "The high court of Parliament is the great eye of the kingdom, to find out offences and punish them".
However, he believed that the king, who had married Henrietta Maria , a Catholic, was an obstacle to this process: "we are not secure enough at home in respect of the enemy at home which grows by the suspending of the laws at home".
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