The Millones were an indirect tax

Indirect tax

The term indirect tax has more than one meaning.In the colloquial sense, an indirect tax is a tax collected by an intermediary from the person who bears the ultimate economic burden of the tax...

 on food in Spain

Spain

Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...

 in the 16th and 17th centuries. They were first imposed by Philip II

Philip II of Spain

Philip II was King of Spain, Portugal, Naples, Sicily, and, while married to Mary I, King of England and Ireland. He was lord of the Seventeen Provinces from 1556 until 1581, holding various titles for the individual territories such as duke or count....

 and were approved by the Cortes de Castilla 4 April 1590. The tax was initially intended in 1590 as a temporary measure to replace the Spanish Armada

Spanish Armada

This article refers to the Battle of Gravelines, for the modern navy of Spain, see Spanish NavyThe Spanish Armada was the Spanish fleet that sailed against England under the command of the Duke of Medina Sidonia in 1588, with the intention of overthrowing Elizabeth I of England to stop English...

 lost in attacking England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

. The millones was voted by the Cortes of Castille in 1590 as a 6 year grant for 8 million ducats. It was originally levied on the cuatro especies of wine, meat, olive oil, and vinegar. The tax was renewed by the Cortes in 1596, and used as well by Philip's successors Philip III

Philip III of Spain

Philip III , also known as Philip the Pious, was the King of Spain and King of Portugal and the Algarves, where he ruled as Philip II , from 1598 until his death...

, Philip IV

Philip IV of Spain

Philip IV was King of Spain between 1621 and 1665, sovereign of the Spanish Netherlands, and King of Portugal until 1640...

 and Charles II

Charles II of Spain

Charles II was the last Habsburg King of Spain and the ruler of large parts of Italy, the Spanish territories in the Southern Low Countries, and Spain's overseas Empire, stretching from the Americas to the Spanish East Indies...

. Under Philip III the tax brought in 3 million ducats a year, although that fell back to 2 million ducats a year due to population loss and recession at the and of his reign. In 1626, Philip IV and his Cortes doubled the tax to the level of 4 million ducats by also levying it on salt, paper and ship anchorage in lieu of proposed taxes on offices, grants and property; in the Cortes of 1632, the tax raised an additional 2.5 million ducats a year because it was levied on chocolate, sugar, fish, tobacco and other commodities. From 1655, renewal of the tax was practically automatic, and from 1668 it was renewed by the Junta de asistentes that the king called together in lieu of bringing together the full Cortes.

This complex system was later simplified by adding so-called cientos (hundredths) as a surcharge on another sales tax, the alcabala

Alcabala

The alcabala or alcavala was a sales tax of up to fourteen percent, the most important royal tax imposed by Spain under the Antiguo Régimen....

.

This tax burden was a factor in the impoverishment of the Castilian populace in the 17th century, because it increased the prices of the most basic goods. Unlike direct tax

Direct tax

The term direct tax generally means a tax paid directly to the government by the persons on whom it is imposed.-General meaning:In the general sense, a direct tax is one paid directly to the government by the persons on whom it is imposed...

es, it fell on the nobility

Nobility

Nobility is a social class which possesses more acknowledged privileges or eminence than members of most other classes in a society, membership therein typically being hereditary. The privileges associated with nobility may constitute substantial advantages over or relative to non-nobles, or may be...

 as well as the common people

Common People

"Common People" is a song by English alternative rock band Pulp. It was released as a single in 1995, reaching number two on the UK singles chart. It also appears on the band's 1995 album Different Class. The song is about those who were perceived by the songwriter as wanting to be "like common...

, but as can be imagined a tax on basic foodstuffs was extremely regressive