Page "Ship money" Paragraph 0

Ship money refers to a tax that Charles I of England tried to levy without the consent of Parliament.

This tax, which was only applied to coastal towns during a time of war, was intended to offset the cost of defending that part of the coast, and could be paid in actual ships or the equivalent value.

The collection of the tax inland during peacetime started in 1634 and provoked increasing resistance by 1636.

This conflict was one of the causes of the English Civil War.