The Octavians were a financial commission of eight in the government of Scotland first appointed by James VI in January 1596.[1] 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 promotes an expedition into the Highlands to recover tax revenue.[2]
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.[3] When renewed in 1597, it faced disabling opposition from vested interests, and some of the Octavians were suspect as sympathetic to Catholics.[4] 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.