SHIP MONEY


Meaning of SHIP MONEY in English

n [ U ]

a tax that English kings and queens traditionally collected from people living on the coast in times of war. In the 1630s Charles I used the tax to collect money without involving Parliament , at first on the coast and then all over England, by saying that there was a possibility of war. A group of people led by John Hampden refused to pay the tax, and in 1640 the Long Parliament made it illegal.

Oxford guide to British and American culture English vocabulary.      Руководство по британской и американской культуре, Оксфордский английский словарь.