Prepared to be presented to the Long Parliament on the day it first convened in 1640, The Case of Shipmony has been called "the first intellectually significant political pamphlet of the Long Parliament era" (Mendle, The Ship Money Case..., 1989). Shipmoney was a royal tax of medieval origin, sometimes levied on coastal towns by the King in times of war. While it had largely fallen out of use by the 17th-century, it was revived (and expanded) by Charles I while the Crown desperately sought additional revenues for war with Scotland. With growing public discontent, the controversy came to a head when a wealthy landowner refused to comply with the tax. In Rex v. Hampden, the defense argued that the King was usurping parliamentary power in imposing a tax without legislative approval. The twelve judge panel voted seven-five in favor of the crown.

The present work argues not only for the illegality of the shipmoney tax, but for an expansive theory of parliamentary sovereignty. Henry Parker (1604 - 1652) published the work anonymously, but would go on to become one of the most highly regarded political theorists among the parliamentarians and presbyterians. He served as secretary to Cromwell's army in Ireland, and died there in 1652. The Case of Shipmony is a consequential document of both political and intellectual history, representing not only an opening salvo in the English Civil War, but also an articulation of a concept central to the American Revolution over a century later: no taxation without representation.

The printer behind this edition was the prolific Elizabeth Purslowe, who took over operation of her husband's printshop after his death in 1632. She owned and operated the business for fourteen years, publishing about 164 books (including John Donne's Juvenalia). She was also a partner in the printer's syndicate Eliot's Court Press, alongside Anne Griffin and John Halivand. (Plomer, A Dictionary of the Booksellers and Printers who were at work in England, Scotland and Ireland from 1641 to 1667, 1907).

References: ESTC S114002; STC 19216; TT1, p. 2; BL E.204 [4].

Small Quarto, [4], 49 pages, [24]. In Good plus condition. Pamphlet, later bound in full calf with morocco spine label and gilt lettering. Boards show light wear to tooled edges, slight bowing to front cover, cracking to leather along joint of front cover, and moderate chipping to head of spine. Text block has light plus age-toning to speckled edges. The forty-nine page pamphlet is bound-in with 24 pages of unruled paper, but pagination conforms with ESTC entry. RW Consignment. Shelved in Case 7.