Compared to the 500 years covered by Chapter 1, this chapter covers a comparatively brief period of less than fifty years from the outbreak of the English Civil War through the Restoration and to the eve of the Glorious Revolution in 1688. This was a turbulent period, involving religious clashes, the continuing struggle for power between the Crown and Parliament, expansion of colonies in the New World resulting in jostling to secure new trade and, often as a consequence of these other factors, war. During this period major issues in England continue to spill over and have important effects on developments in the colonies. Inevitably, as with other unsettled times, this period sees major developments both in English direct taxation as well as in the direct tax systems of the colonies.

The chapter is divided under four headings. The first heading is devoted to developments in the tax system during the period of the Commonwealth. It focuses on the form of direct taxation used by the English Parliament but also considers important developments in the colonies, where the issues and fallout of the English Civil War reverberated. The second heading takes stock of developments in landholding and accounting to the 1660s. The period from the passage of the Statute of Uses of 1536 (see above at p. 62) to the Glorious Revolution saw changes in the manner in which land was held in England and, in particular, the form of family settlements.