Gauging a state : excise taxation, practical mathematics, and cask measuring in seventeenth century England

This thesis investigates the mathematical developments and the continued use of gauging instruments designed to calculate the contents of wooden barrels for the purposes of collecting excise revenue for the English state. This research situates the work of mathematical practitioners alongside the practices of excise officers, or gaugers, to examine how the calculation of the contents of barrels became a fundamental part of the English state's financial development throughout the seventeenth century. By championing the ubiquity of wooden barrels, their examination within the context of England's financial developments will provide remarkable insight into the connections underpinning the practical advancements that were made in the mathematical sciences, commercial activities, and state knowledge of the brewing trade and excise system. While the thesis argues that the theoretical knowledge of mathematics served to influence and develop the very practical methods excise officers used to gauge barrels, it was ultimately the state's interest in taxation, via the ability to gauge said barrels, which ultimately drove efforts to develop and refine such practices throughout the century. Previous scholarship on the history of excise generally begins with the Excise Ordinance of 1643. The first three chapters of this thesis are case studies which trace the origins of barrel gauging in relation to the development of early mathematics, and the expanding brewing and wine trade prior to 1643. This research is necessary to highlight the steps that were needed before the English state could enact such an ordinance in the first place.