New Octavians

The Octavians were a financial commission of eight in the government of Scotland first appointed by James VI in January 1596. James's minister John Maitland, 1st Lord Maitland of Thirlestane had died a few months earlier, and his financial situation was troubled. They were a reforming body, eager to bring order to the royal finances and bear down on patronage. They imposed a 5% import tax and promoted an expedition into the Highlands to recover tax revenue.

The initial commission lasted only one year, and was much disliked; Presbyterians attempted a coup at the end of 1596, and one demand was that the Octavians should be disbanded. When renewed in 1597, it faced disabling opposition from vested interests, and some of the Octavians were suspect as sympathetic to Catholics. But the concept of the commission as an extension of the exchequer into government persisted, and under the name of New Octavians it played a part in Scottish administration into the reign of Charles I.

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