The Usury Act 1660 was an
Act of the
Parliament of England
The Parliament of England was the legislature of the Kingdom of England from the 13th century until 1707 when it was replaced by the Parliament of Great Britain. Parliament evolved from the great council of bishops and peers that advised ...
(
12 Cha. 2. c. 13) with the
long title
In certain jurisdictions, including the United Kingdom and other Westminster-influenced jurisdictions (such as Canada or Australia), as well as the United States and the Philippines, primary legislation has both a short title and a long title.
The ...
"An Act for restraining the taking of Excessive
Usury
Usury () is the practice of making unethical or immoral monetary loans that unfairly enrich the lender. The term may be used in a moral sense—condemning taking advantage of others' misfortunes—or in a legal sense, where an interest rate is c ...
".
The purpose of the Act was to reduce the maximum
interest rate
An interest rate is the amount of interest due per period, as a proportion of the amount lent, deposited, or borrowed (called the principal sum). The total interest on an amount lent or borrowed depends on the principal sum, the interest rate, ...
from 8% (imposed in 1624 by the
Usury Act 1623 (
21 Jas. 1. c. 17)) to 6%. The legislation had been enacted in 1651 under the
Commonwealth, but this Act was passed to confer legality on the measure following the
Restoration
Restoration is the act of restoring something to its original state and may refer to:
* Conservation and restoration of cultural heritage
** Audio restoration
** Film restoration
** Image restoration
** Textile restoration
* Restoration ecology
...
of
Charles II.
['Book 1, Ch. 14: From the Restoration to the Fire', A New History of London: Including Westminster and Southwark (1773), pp. 210-30. URL: http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.asp?compid=46731. Date accessed: 07 March 2007.]
It was amended by the
Usury Act 1714 (
13 Ann. c. 15), which further reduced the interest rate to 5%; the
Usury Act 1840 (
3 & 4 Vict. c. 83); the
Usury Act 1841 (
4 & 5 Vict. c. 54); the
Usury Act 1843 (
6 & 7 Vict. c. 45); the
Usury Act 1845 (
8 & 9 Vict. c. 102); and the
Usury Act 1850 (
13 & 14 Vict. c. 56). It was repealed by section 1 of the
Usury Laws Repeal Act 1854 (
17 & 18 Vict. c. 90); the last Act is also known as ''An Act to repeal the Laws relating to Usury and to the Enrolment of Annuities''.
References
1660 in law
1660 in England
Acts of the Parliament of England
Usury
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