ship money

A tax once levied on English maritime towns and shires to provide ships for war.

A tax raised in England in medieval times to provide ships for the navy.

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Ship money was an occasional tax on property, traditionally levied in port towns for their protection by the navy. Because Parliament had been dissolved in 1629, Charles I lacked money both for the fleet and for other expenses. In 1634 he therefore levied ship money in London, extending the tax in the following year to the whole country. In 1635, 1636, and 1637 it produced a high yield, but in 1638 it produced only one-third of the assessed amount. John Hampden, a Buckinghamshire squire, and others refused to pay on principle. In 1641 Parliament declared ship money illegal.

The noun has one meaning:

Meaning #1: an impost levied in England to provide money for ships for national defense