ship money

noun

English history a tax levied to finance the fitting out of warships: abolished 1640

Nearby words

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Examples from the Web for ship money

Even the ship-money Johnson would not pronounce to have been an unconstitutional impost.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 15, Slice 4|Various
In 1636, John Hampden became universally known by his intrepid opposition to the ship-money, as an illegal tax.
The Illustrated London Reading Book|Various
The imposition of the ship-money tax was so distasteful that the Royal cause was not very popular at Bristol.
The Cathedrals of Great Britain|P. H. Ditchfield
When an arbitrary imposition is attempted upon the subject, undoubtedly it will not bear on its forehead the name of Ship-money.
Thoughts on the Present Discontents|Edmund Burke

In 1626 he was imprisoned for refusing to contribute towards the forced loan; he resisted the payment of ship-money.
The Browning Cyclopdia|Edward Berdoe