The Introduction of the Excises

The most remarkable feature of the English excises is the speed with which excise taxation became a permanent part of the revenue. Exploring the political negotiations that led to the imposition of the excises in July 1643 helps to explain why this outcome is so surprising. By employing previously under-used sources in the National Archives, the Bodleian Library and the British Library, it is possible to reconstruct how the parliamentary excise was administered during the First Civil War. To a surprising degree, Parliament was responsive both to petitions from special interests that pled hardship and to complaints from the excise commissioners about the extent of frauds and evasion. Many of the practices, which became standard later, were first introduced during this period. Recent historiography of resistance to the excises fundamentally mischaracterises the difficulties that the parliamentary regime faced in raising the needed revenues amidst civil war and constitutional fracture.