In English law, poundage was an ''ad valorem (in proportion to value)''

customs duty A tariff is a tax imposed by the government of a country or by a supranational union on imports or exports of goods. Besides being a source of revenue for the government, import duties can also be a form of regulation of foreign trade and po ...

imposed on imports and exports at the rate of 1 shilling for every pound (of weight) of goods imported or exported.Higgs, Henry. ''Palgrave's Dictionary of Political Economy'', Macmillan & Co. Ltd., London, 1926, p.548. Poundage was implemented in order to keep a strong naval force that would protect the

Kingdom of England The Kingdom of England (, ) was a sovereign state on the island of Great Britain from 12 July 927, when it emerged from various History of Anglo-Saxon England, Anglo-Saxon kingdoms, until 1 May 1707, when it united with Kingdom of Scotland, ...

. The custom duty would allow the Monarch of the Kingdom to collect money that would then be spent to develop and maintain the naval force that protects the Kingdom. Poundage was closely associated with ''

tonnage Tonnage is a measure of the cargo-carrying capacity of a ship, and is commonly used to assess fees on commercial shipping. The term derives from the taxation paid on ''tuns'' or casks of wine. In modern maritime usage, "tonnage" specifically r ...

'', or ''tunnage'', which was a duty on every tun of wine imported.

Poundage in English History

The levy was introduced in 1347 under

Edward III of England Edward III (13 November 1312 – 21 June 1377), also known as Edward of Windsor before his accession, was King of England and Lord of Ireland from January 1327 until his death in 1377. He is noted for his military success and for restoring ...

and was then granted by the

Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. Th ...

in 1373. It continued for many years at the same rate until after the Restoration (in 1660, when the English, Scottish and Irish monarchies were all restored under King Charles II) from when the

set the rates according to current needs. Moreover, the Parliament voted in 1414, under Henri V of England, the right for life for every successive monarch to benefit of a royal collection on the ton and pound on imports. King Charles I after original by van Dyck

King Charles I after original by van Dyck

Poundage under Charles I of England

Under the reign of

Charles I of England Charles I (19 November 1600 – 30 January 1649) was King of England, Scotland, and Ireland from 27 March 1625 until his execution in 1649. He was born into the House of Stuart as the second son of King James VI of Scotland, but after hi ...

(1600–1649), the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. T ...

voted a limitation of the royal collection to a period of one year (while the period was for life for the previous monarchs). Charles continued to collect the customs duties, even if no Parliament act was established. In January 1629, Charles opened the second session of the English Parliament, which had been prorogued in June 1628, with a moderate speech on the tonnage and poundage issue. Members of the

began to voice opposition to Charles's policies in light of the case of John Rolle, a Member of Parliament whose goods had been confiscated for failing to pay tonnage and poundage. On March 2, 1629,

Charles I Charles I may refer to: Kings and emperors * Charlemagne (742–814), numbered Charles I in the lists of Holy Roman Emperors and French kings * Charles I of Anjou (1226–1285), also king of Albania, Jerusalem, Naples and Sicily * Charles I of ...

ordered a parliamentary adjournment, but when the parliament's speaker, Sir John Finch, was held by members of the Parliament in his chair in order to delay the end of the session, Charles decided to dissolve the Parliament. Sir John Finch as well as nine members of the Parliament were imprisoned.

The Tonnage and Poundage Act (1641)

In September 1640, following the Bishops' Wars, King

issued writs summoning the Parliament to convene on 3 November 1640. It was the creation of the

Long Parliament The Long Parliament was an English Parliament which lasted from 1640 until 1660. It followed the fiasco of the Short Parliament, which had convened for only three weeks during the spring of 1640 after an 11-year parliamentary absence. In Septem ...

, which lasted until it voted its own dissolution on the 16 March 1660. In 1641, the Tonnage and Poundage Act was voted by the

, that would regulate all the taxes in force within the kingdom, concerning consequently the current poundage imposed on imports and exports. King Charles II by John Michael Wright or studio

King Charles II by John Michael Wright or studio

Poundage under Charles II of England

Under the reign of Charles II of England (1660–1685), the Convention Parliament (25 April 166029 December 1660) was founded and followed the

that was dissolved on 16 March 1660. The Convention Parliament, which had only been in existence for eight months, re-established the right for life to collect the poundage to the monarch of England. From 1660, successive monarchs were able to collect poundage once again.

Abolition of poundage

The Customs and Excise Act 1787 replaced all the customs duties, which included poundage, by a system where individual

tariff A tariff is a tax imposed by the government of a country or by a supranational union on imports or exports of goods. Besides being a source of revenue for the government, import duties can also be a form of regulation of foreign trade and pol ...

s would be applied to importations. The act was divided into two parts. The first part included a statement related to the regulation of all the customs duties; the second part listed tables of duty and drawback amounts for all types of products. A list comprising all importations and

s related to each import was consequently put in place.

Poundage on postal orders

In Britain, and elsewhere, the term ''poundage'' is used for the charge imposed on the sale of a

postal order A postal order or postal note is a type of money order usually intended for sending money through the mail. It is purchased at a post office and is payable at another post office to the named recipient. A fee for the service, known as poundage, ...

.Annual Register 1914, p.262. A postal order is a financial instrument usually intended for sending money through the mail. It is purchased at a

post office A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letters and parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post offices may offer additional ser ...

and is payable at another post office to the named recipient. The poundage represents the small fee for the service that is paid by the purchaser.

References

{{reflist History of taxation in the United Kingdom Numismatics Postal orders Economy of medieval England Protectionism Taxation in England Customs duties Trade in the United Kingdom 1347 establishments in England 1347