Ship money was a
tax of
medieval origin levied intermittently in the
Kingdom of England until the middle of the 17th century. Assessed only on the inhabitants of coastal areas of England, it was one of several taxes that English
monarchs could levy by
prerogative without the approval of
Parliament. The attempt of
King Charles I from 1634 onwards to levy ship money during peacetime and extend it to the inland counties of England without Parliamentary approval provoked fierce resistance, and was one of the grievances of the English propertied class in the lead-up to the
English Civil War.