Toleration Acts.
An Act passed on the accession of William and Mary in 1689, giving Protestant Dissenters the right to hold services in their own chapels, provided such chapels were registered. A further Act applying to Scotland was passed in 1712 for the toleration of all episcopal clergymen who were willing to take the Oath of Abjuration established by the Act of 1702.
Tonkinois, Le.
A nickname of Jules Ferry, referring to his responsibility for the unpopular Tongking expedition of 1883.
Tonnage and Poundage.
A tax levied on all merchandise other than the staple commodities, whether exported or imported. It varied from 1s. 6d. to 3s. on every tun of wine or beer, and from 6d. to 1s. on every pound of merchandise. It was first levied in the reign of Edward III.
Toom Tabard.
Empty Jacket, the nickname of John Baliol, King of Scotland (1292-1314), because he had the semblance but not the reality of royal power.
Tordesillas, Treaty of.
A treaty between Spain and Portugal, signed in 1494. Portugal being dissatisfied with the terms of the Papal Bull of Demarcation, Spain agreed to the dividing line between the two spheres of colonisation being drawn 370 leagues west of Cape Verde. Under the terms of this treaty Portugal subsequently claimed Brazil.