The Commission was set up under the Great Seal (Privy Council) on 1 Jul 1626, to try and reduce debts incurred by the Royal Household.
Excise are inland duties levied on articles at the time of their manufacture, notably, alcoholic drinks, but has also included salt, paper and glass. In 1643 a Board of Excise was established by the Long Parliament, to organize the collection of duties in London and the provinces. Excise duty was settled by statute in 1660. A permanent board of Excise for England and Wales was established in 1683 with separate boards for Ireland in 1682 and Scotland in 1707.
Early in his adult life Campbell was appointed by Parliament to be Captain of His Majesty's Foot Guards. In 1658 he was imprisoned for not swearing to a renunciation of the Stuarts. After a further sentence was rescinded in 1662 he was restored his grandfather's title of Earl of Argyll and to his estate. In 1664 he gained a place on the Scottish Privy Council, although he was not too concerned with public affairs, turning his attention instead to raising the fallen estate of the family. He faced more controversy and sentencing after disagreements concerning civil servants and clergy having to declare firm adherence to the Protestant religion. Escaping prison Campbell went on to spend some considerable time in Holland. On hearing of the death of Charles he returned to Scotland to attempt an uprising. He was captured and executed on old sentences of false oaths and treason, being beheaded on 30th June 1685.
Sir Thomas Culpeper the Younger (fl 1655-1673). Publications: The Advantages which will manifestly accrue to this kingdom by Abatement of interest from six to four per cent (Christopher Wilkinson, London, 1668); Morall Discourses and Essayes upon severall select subjects (Charles Adams, London, 1655); A Discourse, shewing the many Advantages which will accrue to this Kingdom by the Abatement of Usury (Tho. Leach for Christopher Wilkinson, London, 1668); The Necessity of abating Usury re-asserted...Together with a familiar and inoffensive way propounded for the future discovery of summes at interest, that so they may be charged with their equal share of publick taxes and burthens (Christopher Wilkinson, London, 1670).
Acts of Sederunt were the ordinances of the Scottish Court of Session for the ordering of processes and expediting of justice. The Court of Session was the supreme Scottish court, instituted in 1532.
No information was discovered at the time of compilation.
Sir Edwin Sandys (1561-1629) was Prebendary of York from 1582-1602, and MP for Andover, 1586, and Plympton, 1589 and 1593. He travelled abroad with Archbishop Cramner, where he wrote 'Europae Speculum' (1599), which was piratically published as A Relation of the state of religion; and with what hopes and policies it hath beene framed and is maintained in the severall states of these westerne parts of the world, (S Waterson, London, 1605). On his return to England in 1603, Sandys was knighted, became MP for Stockbridge, and assumed a leading position in the House of Commons. He was later MP for Sandwich, 1621, Kent, 1624, and Penryn, 1625 and 1626. In addition, Sandys was deeply involved in the colonisation and government of Virginia, acting as joint Manager, 1617, and Treasurer, 1619-1620, of the Virginia Company. Sandys died in 1629.
The Hohenzollern dynasty was prominent in European history, chiefly as the ruling house of Brandenburg-Prussia (1415-1918) and of imperial Germany (1871-1918). Frederick II (1712-1768), also known as Frederick the Great, was King of Prussia from 1740. He was the eldest son of Frederick William I (1688-1740), the second King of Prussia.
Friendly societies comprised a group of people contributing to a mutual fund so that they could receive benefits in times of need. The concept had been popular for hundreds of years, but in the 1800s, their role was acknowledged by the government and membership was encouraged. The early meetings were often held as a social gathering when the subscriptions would be paid. Prior to the Welfare State they were often the only way a working person had to receive help in times of ill health, or old age.
Great Britain was the first country to impose a general income tax (1799) to finance the Napoleonic Wars. It was alternately repealed and reimposed until the 1880s, by which time it was generally accepted as a permanent levy.
The years of Louis XIV of France's minority were dominated by the civil disturbances known as The Frondes. These were caused by the attempts of the Government, and especially Cardinal Jules Mazarin, to raise revenue for the war with Spain using arbitrary measures which antagonised a wide cross-section of Parisian society. The two outbreaks were the Fronde of the Parlement (1648-1649) and the Fronde of the Princes (1650-1652), the latter being led by Louis de Bourbon, Prince de Condé. Though dominant for a short period, the Grand Condé was eventually defeated and fled to the Spanish Netherlands. Louis XIV entered Paris in triumph on October 21, 1652.
John Davies was born in 1569. He became a barrister in Middle Temple, London, in 1595, and was elected as MP for Corfe Castle in 1601. Davies was appointed Solicitor General for Ireland in 1603, and served as Attorney-General from 1606-1619. During this period he was MP for County Fermanagh and Speaker of the Irish Parliament, 1613, and MP for Newcastle-under-Lyme, 1614 and 1621. He was appointed Chief Justice of England in 1626, but died before he was able to take up office. Davies wrote extensively on government history and also wrote poetry.
Publications: A full list of the works of Sir John Davies may be found in the British Library catalogue.
Born in 1575, Sir Thomas Reade became High Sheriff of the counties of Berkshire, Oxfordshire and Hertfordshire. He died in 1650.
The Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, first opened in 1663 under a Royal Charter from Charles II. In 1672 it was badly damaged by fire, and replaced by a new theatre designed by Sir Christopher Wren, which was opened in 1674.
The Mappa Mundi is a thirteenth century map bearing the name of 'Richard de Haldingham e de Lafford', who some scholars have identified as Richard de Bello, Prebendary of Lafford, in the diocese of Lincoln. The map has been dated to around 1290.Drawn on a sheet of vellum, the Mappa Mundi depicts a world with Jerusalem at its centre , based on the writings of the fifth century scholar Orosius. It includes drawings and descriptions illustrating man's history, the marvels of the natural world, and the imagined inhabitants of distant lands, though in other respects is relatively geographically accurate.The map is held at Hereford Cathedral.
William Wordsworth was born in the Lake District in 1770. An orphan by the age of 13, he was sent to be educated at Hawkshead grammar school. He then moved on to St John's College, Cambridge University, where he achieved only a pass in his degree. In 1791 Wordsworth travelled to France, where he formed a romantic attachment to a woman named Marie Vallon. Before their child was born in December 1792, Wordsworth had to return to England and was cut off by the outbreak of war between England and France. He did not meet his daughter Caroline until she was nine years old.
For the next few years he remained in London, associating with radicals such as William Godwin. In 1795, a legacy from a friend enabled him to be reunited with his sister Dorothy, and the pair moved into Alfoxden House near Bristol, where they met Samuel Taylor Coleridge and Robert Southey. Wordsworth and Southey embarked on a partnership which was to change the former's style of poetry from long poems of social protest the short lyrical and dramatic poems for which he is best known. In 1798 Coleridge and Wordsworth published Lyrical Ballads. It is at this point that Wordsworth began work on The Prelude, a poem which was finally published in 1850.
Following a tour of the Lake District, the Wordsworths and Coleridge moved to the Lake District, the former two moving into Dove Cottage in Ambleside. In 1802, William married his childhood companion, Mary Hutchinson. As their family grew, the Wordsworths moved several times, finally settling at Rydal Mount in 1813. During this time, Wordsworth wrote and published some of his best known work, including Poems in two volumes (1807), Poems (1815), The excursion (1814), The White Doe of Rylstone (1815), Thanksgiving ode (1816), Peter Bell (1819), The Waggonier (1819) and Ecclesiastical sketches (1822).Wordsworth was made Poet Laureate in 1843, a post which he held until his death in 1850.
The House of Commons is the effective legislative authority in Great Britain. It alone has the right to impose taxes and to vote money to, or withhold it from, the monarch and the various public departments and services. The passage of legislation is the House of Commons' primary function.
William Sanderson (1586-1676) was secretary to Henry Rich, Earl of Holland, whilst the latter was Chancellor of Cambridge University. During the English Civil War, Sanderson took the side of the royalists, leading to his appointment as a Gentleman of the Privy Chamber to King Charles II, who bestowed a knighthood upon him. Publications: A Compleat History of the life and raigne of King Charles from his cradle to his grave (London, 1658), A Compleat History of the lives and reigns of Mary Queen of Scotland, and of her son ... James the Sixth (H Moseley, R. Tomlins, and G. Sawbridge: London, 1656-55).
No information was discovered at the time of compilation.
Maximilien de Béthune, Duc de Sully (1560-1641) was a French statesman, who acted as director of the king's Council of Finance in 1596, and sole superintendent of finances, 1598.
The Thirty Years War was a series of wars fought by various European nations for various reasons, including religious, dynastic, territorial, and commercial rivalries. Its destructive campaigns and battles occurred over most of Europe.
Parliament is the legislative body of England, and has the right to impose taxes and to vote money to, or withhold it from, the monarch and the various public departments and services. Excise are inland duties levied on articles at the time of their manufacture, notably, alcoholic drinks, but has also included salt, paper and glass. In 1643 a Board of Excise was established by the Long Parliament, to organize the collection of duties in London and the provinces. Excise duty was settled by statute despite widespread aversion in 1660.
William Sanderson (1586-1676) was secretary to Henry Rich, Earl of Holland, whilst the latter was Chancellor of Cambridge University. During the English Civil War, Sanderson took the side of the royalists, leading to his appointment as a Gentleman of the Privy Chamber to King Charles II, who bestowed a knighthood upon him. Publications: A Compleat History of the life and raigne of King Charles from his cradle to his grave (London, 1658), A Compleat History of the lives and reigns of Mary Queen of Scotland, and of her son ... James the Sixth (H Moseley, R. Tomlins, and G. Sawbridge: London, 1656-55).
The company was incorporated by Royal Charter in 1812 and the first meeting of what was known as the Court of Directors was held at 27 Norfolk Street, Strand on 24 June 1812. Offices were set up at 96 Pall Mall and a wharf and house rented at Cannon Row, Westminster, became the site for the works. In 1818 the company leased premises at Orchard Street, Poplar to establish a tar works and the Brick Lane and Westminster works began their own ammonia products works so the company could make the most of coal burning by-products. This also led to a large Products Works being built at Beckton in 1868. Another by-product coke was sold on to a wide domestic market. The rapid expansion of the Gas Light & Coke Co. led to the need for a large transport fleet. Every type of transport was used and usually owned by the company. Shipping, barges and railway engines were often used for the import and export of coal and by-products at the works. Road transport ranging from horse drawn carts to wagons catered for other supplies and maintenance needs. The expansion of the company and competition from electricity in the late nineteenth century led to development of the domestic market. Lady Demonstrators were employed to promote gas cooking and the Home Service eventually developed into a full advisory service on domestic gas use. As a large employer the company took its social obligations seriously and provided various pension, sickness and benefit funds. Links were established with the Territorial Army and by the time of the Boer War in 1899, company employees were eligible for duty as reservists and volunteers were given leave of absence. The company was so large that after nationalisation of the gas industry in 1949 the area it covered, which stretched from Pinner in North West London to Southend-on-Sea in Essex, became a single regional Gas Board called North Thames.
The Magistracy sat at Zeeland (also spelt Zealand) which constitutes the Southwest region of the Netherlands.
No information available at present.
During this period Hamburg was one of the most economically important towns in Germany. A stock exchange was founded in 1558 and the Bank of Hamburg in 1619; a convoy system for shipping was inaugurated in 1662, Hamburg's merchantmen being the first to be escorted on the high seas by men-of-war.
Dixon was born in Manchester on 30 June 1821. He began contributing to magazines and journals in the early 1840s. In 1846 he moved to London, where he entered the Inner Temple. Dixon never practised law and decided instead to pursue a literary career. He contributed regularly to the Athenaeum and Daily News. He also published a series of articles on prisons and a book on the prison reformer John Howard. In 1850 Dixon published, The London Prisons. In 1853 Dixon became the editor of the Athenaeum, a post held until 1869. He also travelled widely in Europe, North Africa and North America and published books and articles on the countries he had visited. Dixon also served in public office as a deputy commissioner for the Great Exhibition 1851, Justice of the Peace for Middlesex and Westminster and as a member of the London School Board. He died on 26 December 1879.
No information was discovered at the time of compilation.
A formulary is a book or other list of stated and fixed forms.
Tithes were a tax of a tenth of the income from the agricultural yield of the land and livestock, which was paid to the etablished church for the support of the clergy, or for religious and charitable uses. When Henry VIII disestablished the monasteries in 1537, these tithes, which were mainly collected centrally by monasteries and churches, were effectively sold to the highest bidder and most of them passed into the hands of wealthy, and often absentee, landlords.
The Land Tax Commissioners came into existence in 1657 in an attempt to implement a solid taxation system. Throughout the eighteenth century the Land Tax Commission was not considered effective and was even charged with irregularities and fraud. However, as the Commission moved into the nineteenth century it began the administration of income tax and attained a stronger and more efficient practice.
Edward Burnell was a Professor of Greek at Rostock University in Mecklenburg-Schwerin (Germany). Rostock University was founded in 1419, making it the oldest university in Northern Europe.
The Court of Common Council forms part of the governing body of the City of London, along with the Court of Aldermen and the Court of Common Hall, and is responsible for local government and administration. Common councillors were first appointed during the reign of Edward I, and were formed into the Court of Common Council in 1384. The Court comprises the Lord Mayor, aldermen and councilmen, the latter two being elected from each ward of the city by local government electors.
No information was available at the time of compilation.
The Court Baron was the principal type of manorial court, and was the court of the chief tenants of the manor. It was responsible for the internal regulation of local affairs within the manor, and was attended by all those free tenants whose attendance at court was a condition of their tenure, and by customary tenants. Customary tenants held land by an agreement made at the manor court which was entered on its roll, a 'copy' of which was his regarded as proof of title.
The Court Baron was the principal type of manorial court, and was the court of the chief tenants of the manor. It was responsible for the internal regulation of local affairs within the manor, and was attended by all those free tenants whose attendance at court was a condition of their tenure, and by customary tenants. Customary tenants held land by an agreement made at the manor court which was entered on its roll, a 'copy' of which was his regarded as proof of title.
The Manor of Westington was in the area around Hatfield in Hertfordshire.
No information available at present.
A jury is a group chosen from the citizenry of a district to try a question of fact. It is the standard jury used in civil and criminal trials.
James Blair Leishman was born on 8 May 1902. He was educated at St John's College, Oxford. He was Assistant Lecturer, Lecture and Senior Lecture in English Literature at University College Southampton from 1928 to 1946 and lecturer in English Literature at Oxford University in 1946. He published many works on English literature, including, The Metaphysical Poets, 1934 and volumes of translations from Rainer Maria Rilke, 1934-1963. He died on 14 August 1963.
The system of weights and measures in Great Britain had been in use since the reign of Queen Elizabeth I. Following a reform begun in 1824 the imperial standard yard was adopted in 1855. The imperial standards were made legal by an Act of Parliament in 1855.
Members of the Commission appointed in 1838 'to consider the steps to be taken for the restoration of the standards of weights and measures', included Sir George Biddell Airy (Astronomer Royal), Francis Baily, Sir John George Shaw-Lefevre and Sir John William Lubbock. A report was issued in 1841.
Blackmore was a bolting cloth manufacturing business situated in Wandsworth, Surrey. No further information was discovered at the time of compilation.
Senegal, West Africa, was a French colony until its independence in 1960. The French established a trading port at the mouth of the Senegal river in 1638 and founded Saint-Louis in 1659. Gorée Island, which had previously been occupied by the Portuguese and the Dutch, was claimed by the French in 1677, and served as an outpost for slave trading until the abolition of slavery in 1848. Slaves, gum arabic, ivory and gold were exported from Senegal by Europeans throughout the 17th and 18th centuries. Albréda was a trading settlement founded by the French on the north bank of the Gambia river in 1681.
The Exchequer was responsible for receiving and dispersing the public revenue. The lower Exchequer, or receipt, closely connected with the permanent Treasury, was an office for the receipt and payment of money. The upper Exchequer was a court sitting twice a year to regulate accounts. The business of the ancient Exchequer was mainly financial, though some judicial business connected with accounts was also conducted.
Frank Wallis Galton was born in London in 1867. He was educated at the Working Men's College at Great Ormond, London. He was apprentice to a silversmith and engraver in the City of London and Freeman of the City by servitude. He was Private Secretary to Sydney and Beatrice Webb from 1892 to 1898; Secretary of the London Reform Union, 1899-1918 and the City of London Liberal Association, 1903-1905. During the First World War he was Assistant Secretary to the Central Association of Volunteer Regiments and editor of The Volunteer Gazette. After the war he became the editor of the Municipal Journal from 1918-1920. Galton also published works on the social sciences, including, The Tailoring Trade, published by the London School of Economics and Workers on their Industries, as well as various articles and pamphlets. Galton died on 9 April 1952.
No information was available at the time of compilation.
No information was available at the time of compilation.
Hamburg is Germany's largest port and commercial centre and one of the largest and busiest ports in Europe, with this growth beginning in the medieval period.
This diplomatic paper may have had something to do with Dutch support for the United States during the American War of Independence (1775-1783).