Benevolence (tax) (original) (raw)
A benevolence, also called a loving contribution, voluntary contribution or free gift, was a type of tax imposed by several English monarchs from the 15th to the 17th century. Although taken under the guise of a charitable contribution to the king, the money was in fact extorted from the king's subjects. Commissioners or letters were sent from town to town, detailing the financial need of the king and asking that the town's wealthiest pay. The requested could not refuse to give, unless they denied the king's need or professed their own poverty, a "doubtless difficult, if not virtually impossible" task. Benevolences allowed the king to raise money outside of Parliament, which traditionally had to authorise any tax the king proposed.
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| dbo:abstract | A benevolence, also called a loving contribution, voluntary contribution or free gift, was a type of tax imposed by several English monarchs from the 15th to the 17th century. Although taken under the guise of a charitable contribution to the king, the money was in fact extorted from the king's subjects. Commissioners or letters were sent from town to town, detailing the financial need of the king and asking that the town's wealthiest pay. The requested could not refuse to give, unless they denied the king's need or professed their own poverty, a "doubtless difficult, if not virtually impossible" task. Benevolences allowed the king to raise money outside of Parliament, which traditionally had to authorise any tax the king proposed. A benevolence was first imposed in 1473 by Edward IV. It ended lucratively for the king, and he made similar demands leading up to the 1482 invasion of Scotland which yielded yet more for the royal coffers. Despite this, the benevolences were extremely unpopular and gained Edward a "reputation for avarice". Richard III attempted to make similar exactions, but met with stringent condemnations of the taxes from Parliament which described them as unjust and unprecedented impositions. Richard's benevolences were not carried out and Parliament ultimately outlawed the practice in 1484. Richard's deposer Henry VII sidestepped these statutes and imposed a benevolence in 1491. His actions were supported by Parliament, although not by the whole populace, and earned him £48,000. Henry VIII levied yet more benevolences in 1525 and 1545: the first ending in rebellion and withdrawal, and the second ending with a profit of £120,000. During Elizabeth I's half-century long reign, benevolences were only raised a few times in the 1580s and 1590s, and then only to small subsets of the population, and raising small amounts. Benevolences had grown increasingly unpopular, criticised by contemporary writers to the ire of Elizabeth's government. The last benevolence of the Tudor period was levied in 1599. Benevolences were revived when James I, meeting with an obstinate Parliament, used them to augment his treasury extra-parliamentarily in 1614. This proved successful, but a further benevolence in 1620 to support Frederick V of the Palatinate did not, forcing James to call Parliament the following year. No further benevolences were collected, though both James and his son Charles I took preliminary steps to implement them during their reigns. (en) Una benevolenza, chiamata anche contributo amorevole, contributo volontario o dono gratuito, era un tipo di imposta richiesta da diversi monarchi inglesi dal XV al XVII secolo. Sebbene apparisse un contributo volontario al re, in realtà si trattava per i sudditi di un obbligo. In ogni città venivano inviati commissari o lettere specificando il bisogno finanziario del re e chiedendo che i più ricchi della città pagassero. I richiedenti non potevano rifiutare di contribuire, a meno che non negassero il bisogno del re o professassero la propria povertà, un compito "senza dubbio difficile, se non praticamente impossibile". Le benevolenze permettevano al re di raccogliere fondi senza il consenso del Parlamento, che tradizionalmente doveva autorizzare qualsiasi imposta proposta dal re. La prima benevolenza fu imposta nel 1473 da Edoardo IV. I risultati furono soddisfacenti per il re e quindi egli rifece una richiesta simile prima dell'invasione del Regno di Scozia del 1482 che rese alle casse reali maggiori introiti. Nonostante ciò, le benevolenze furono estremamente impopolari e guadagnarono a Edoardo IV una "reputazione di avarizia". Riccardo III tentò di fare simili esazioni, ma si scontrò con il netto rifiuto da parte del Parlamento che le definì imposizioni ingiuste e senza precedenti. Le benevolenze di Riccardo III non furono attuate e il Parlamento vietò la pratica nel 1484. Il successore di Riccardo III, Enrico VII, ripropose la pratica esigendo una benevolenza nel 1491. Le sue manovre furono sostenute dal Parlamento, sebbene non da tutta la popolazione, e l'esazione gli valse 48 000 sterline. Enrico VIII riscosse ancora più benevolenze nel 1525 e nel 1545: la prima generò una ribellione che portò al suo ritiro, mentre la seconda si concluse con un profitto di 120 000 sterline. Durante il regno di Elisabetta I, le benevolenze furono raccolte solo poche volte negli anni 1580 e 1590, e poi solo a piccoli sottogruppi della popolazione, raccogliendo somme più modeste. Le benevolenze erano diventate sempre più impopolari e furono criticate dagli scrittori dell'epoca. L'ultima benevolenza del periodo Tudor fu riscossa nel 1599. Le benevolenze furono riesumate quando Giacomo I, incontrando un ostinato Parlamento, nel 1614 le usò per aumentare il suo tesoro extra-parlamentare. La raccolta ebbe successo, ma un'ulteriore benevolenza richiesta nel 1620 per sostenere Federico V del Palatinato non lo ebbe, costringendo re Giacomo a convocare il Parlamento l'anno seguente. In seguito non furono raccolte altre benevolenze, sebbene sia Giacomo sia suo figlio Carlo I intrapresero preparativi per metterle in atto durante i loro regni. (it) |
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| rdfs:comment | A benevolence, also called a loving contribution, voluntary contribution or free gift, was a type of tax imposed by several English monarchs from the 15th to the 17th century. Although taken under the guise of a charitable contribution to the king, the money was in fact extorted from the king's subjects. Commissioners or letters were sent from town to town, detailing the financial need of the king and asking that the town's wealthiest pay. The requested could not refuse to give, unless they denied the king's need or professed their own poverty, a "doubtless difficult, if not virtually impossible" task. Benevolences allowed the king to raise money outside of Parliament, which traditionally had to authorise any tax the king proposed. (en) Una benevolenza, chiamata anche contributo amorevole, contributo volontario o dono gratuito, era un tipo di imposta richiesta da diversi monarchi inglesi dal XV al XVII secolo. Sebbene apparisse un contributo volontario al re, in realtà si trattava per i sudditi di un obbligo. In ogni città venivano inviati commissari o lettere specificando il bisogno finanziario del re e chiedendo che i più ricchi della città pagassero. I richiedenti non potevano rifiutare di contribuire, a meno che non negassero il bisogno del re o professassero la propria povertà, un compito "senza dubbio difficile, se non praticamente impossibile". Le benevolenze permettevano al re di raccogliere fondi senza il consenso del Parlamento, che tradizionalmente doveva autorizzare qualsiasi imposta proposta dal re. (it) |
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