When all such options failed to meet the pressing needs of the time Charles had to resort to some form of credit. At various times, in various places, Charles used all of these methods in attempts to increase his revenue. loans where there was no choice about the provision of the money and no security that it would be returned) could be imposed on wealthy sections of the community, though the unpopularity of these ‘loans’ is easy to imagine. Customs duties could be applied to more products and monopolies sold to merchants. More money could be produced from the mint, but this had the obvious danger of currency depreciation, so that in the end more money did not buy more! The rights to certain taxes were sometimes ‘farmed out’ to individuals or groups who then had the right to collect the taxes for a period of time. Offices in the judiciary or administration could be handed to the highest bidder. Family lands might be sold - but only once. New demands for taxes could cause serious problems especially if his subjects knew or believed that the money would be spent outside their lands. When the traditional taxes and revenues were not sufficient then other means of raising money needed to be used. This depended not only on his subjects’ wealth but also on their privileges and rights in each territory. Despite all his possessions, he was limited in the amount of money that was readily available for his immediate use. Charles was by no means the most extravagant in his personal spending but his revenues did not match the rising level of expenditure.

During the Renaissance many rulers badly needed money for a range of activities that were becoming increasingly expensive: war, bureaucracy, diplomacy, the administration of justice, and, for many, spending on palaces, works of art and displays of wealthi. Charles had enormous powers over the life and death of his subjects and in matters such as war and peace but when it came to taxation he was severely constrained by his subjects’ ability and willingness to pay.

Charles v