“I finde all men & my officers all soe unwilling”: The Collection of Ship Money, 1635–1640

John Locke, Private Property and the Birth of Achieved Celebrity

“…To come to the denial of the worth of private property in the English Stuart regime, ‘from above’, the issue of ‘the divine right of kings’ was a major contributory factor in the British Civil War. For example, most historians agree that Ship Money , which Charles I attempted to levy, heedless of parliamentary approval from 1634, was a core issue in precipitating the outbreak of hostilities (Langeluddecke, 2007; Mendle, 1995). 4 The demand for Ship Money applied what Charles faithfully took to be his indisputable divine right to raise funds from his subjects to finance the goals of the nation, as defined by him.…”

‘Thy sceptre to a trident change / And straight , unruly seas thou canst command’: Contemporary Representations of King Charles I and the Ship Money Fleets within the Cultural Imagination of Caroline England

“…It is only when the masque shutters return us to Jones's opening scene of 'Britain' (l. 565) complete with 'English houses of the old and newer forms […] and afar off prospect of the city of London and the river Thames' (ll. [59][60][61], that the masquers finally move as one and 'dance their entry' (l. 566). Such a spectacle is all the more potent, as intermingled with those masquers who staunchly supported the king, such as William Cavendish, 3 rd Earl of Devonshire, and James Stewart, 4 th Duke of Lennox, were powerful families who were increasingly critical of the monarch.…”

“…60 Henrik Langelüddecke's examination of the surviving correspondence between those Sheriffs ordered to collect the levy and the Privy Council reveals that opposition to ship money was 'widespread and employed a variety of forms of passive and active resistance'. 61 Grave reports of violence against ship money collectors abounded, and some of the reported objections to the tax veered towards the treasonable. In July 1635, Edward Boys of Bonnington, Kent, was censured for declaring 'yf wee have such taxes layd uppon us we must rebell' whilst, in April 1638, Thomas Mace from Gloucestershire commented: 'If it be so, that the King must have all, I would the king were dead'.…”

Review of periodical literature published in 2007

“…Through a survey of nearly 500 officers in this decade, he argues that office‐holding may have been ‘more egalitarian than has been assumed’. His other study (in Journal of British Studie s ), on local efforts to collect ship money, indicates that these officers could express passive and active hostility to unpopular measures. Disputing revisionist claims about the ‘success’ of ship money collection, Langelüddecke shows how payment rates slowed down considerably after 1635.…”