810 North and Weingast the year 1617 total revenue did not match expenditures,leaving a deficit of f36,000 or of just under 10 percent of expenditures Under the Stuarts,therefore,the search for new sources of revenue became a major priority.An important new source which produced conflict between the Crown and Parliament was the raising of customs revenues through new "impositions.''Indeed,in the 1630s such in- creases almost brought financial solvency,and with it the ability of the Crown to survive without calling Parliament. Another method used by the Crown to raise revenue was to demand loans.The Crown did not,however,develop a systematic,regular relationship with moneyed interests,negotiating a series of loans in which it honored today's agreements because it wanted to avail itself of future loan opportunities.Indeed,just the opposite occurred.The Stuarts secured most of their loans under threat;hence they are known as "forced loans,''of which more later.Repayment was highly unpre- dictable and never on the terms of the original agreement.In the forced loan of 1604/5 the Crown borrowed fl11,891,nominally for one year; "although ..ultimately repaid,f20,363...was still due as late as December 1609.'11 The forced loan of 1617 (just under f100,000)was not repaid until 1628.The Crown behaved similarly on loans from 1611 and 1625.As time went on,such loans came to look more and more like taxes,but because these were nominally loans the Crown did not need parliamentary assent.12 The Crown's inability to honor its contractual agreements for bor- rowed funds is a visible indicator of its readiness to alter the rights of private parties in its own favor.Despite the significant incentive provided by the desire to raise funds in the future,the Crown followed its short-run interests,reneging on the terms to which it had agreed.As noted above,this type of behavior was not unique to England. A second revenue-raising method was the sale of monopolies.While not the most important source of new revenue,it is particularly instructive because of its economic consequences.13 In order to raise revenue in this manner,the Crown used patents in a new way. Originally designed to protect and promote the invention of new processes,patents came to be used to "reduce settled industries to monopolies under cover of technical improvements."14 From a revenue standpoint,the best sources of new monopoly rights involved an 11 Robert Ashton,The Crown and the Money Market,1603-1640(Oxford,1960),p.35. 12 Ashton,Crown and the Money Market,p.36.Richard Cust,in his recent study of the 1626 forced loan,provides several instances of sanctions imposed on individuals refusing to provide funds:leading refusers were "either committed to prison or pressed in readiness for service abroad."Richard Cust,The Forced Loans and English Politics (Oxford,1987),p.3. 13 Robert B.Ekelund,and Robert D.Tollison,Mercantilism as a Rent-Seeking Society (College Station,1981). 14 W.Price,English Patents of Monopoly(Boston,1906).Examples include soap,tobacco,and starch.810 North and Weingast the year 1617 total revenue did not match expenditures, leaving a deficit of £36,000 or of just under 10 percent of expenditures. Under the Stuarts, therefore, the search for new sources of revenue became a major priority. An important new source which produced conflict between the Crown and Parliament was the raising of customs revenues through new "impositions." Indeed, in the 1630s such in￾creases almost brought financial solvency, and with it the ability of the Crown to survive without calling Parliament. Another method used by the Crown to raise revenue was to demand loans. The Crown did not, however, develop a systematic, regular relationship with moneyed interests, negotiating a series of loans in which it honored today's agreements because it wanted to avail itself of future loan opportunities. Indeed, just the opposite occurred. The Stuarts secured most of their loans under threat; hence they are known as "forced loans," of which more later. Repayment was highly unpre￾dictable and never on the terms of the original agreement. In the forced loan of 160415 the Crown borrowed £ 11 1,891, nominally for one year; "although . . . ultimately repaid, f20,363 . . . was still due as late as December 1609. "l The forced loan of 1617 Gust under f 100,000) was not repaid until 1628. The Crown behaved similarly on loans from 161 1 and 1625. As time went on, such loans came to look more and more like taxes, but because these were nominally loans the Crown did not need parliamentary assent. l2 The Crown's inability to honor its contractual agreements for bor￾rowed funds is a visible indicator of its readiness to alter the rights of private parties in its own favor. Despite the significant incentive provided by the desire to raise funds in the future, the Crown followed its short-run interests, reneging on the terms to which it had agreed. As noted above, this type of behavior was not unique to England. A second revenue-raising method was the sale of monopolies. While not the most important source of new revenue, it is particularly instructive because of its economic consequence^.'^ In order to raise revenue in this manner, the Crown used patents in a new way. Originally designed to protect and promote the invention of new processes, patents came to be used to "reduce settled industries to monopolies under cover of technical improvements." l4 From a revenue standpoint, the best sources of new monopoly rights involved an " Robert Ashton, The Crown and the Money Market, 1603-1640 (Oxford, 1960), p. 35. l2 Ashton, Crown and rhe Money Marker, p. 36. Richard Cust, in his recent study of the 1626 forced loan, provides several instances of sanctions imposed on individuals refusing to provide funds: leading refusers were "either committed to prison or pressed in readiness for service abroad." Richard Cust, The Forced Loans and English Politics (Oxford, 1987), p. 3. I' Robert B. Ekelund, and Robert D. Tollison, Mercantilism as a Rent-Seeking Society (College Station, 1981). l4 W. Price, English Parents of Monopoly (Boston, 1906). Examples include soap, tobacco, and starch