THE DANEGELD. Although the concept of an offer that can’t be refused is now associated with my wife Mary Jane’s Italian ancestors, I can remind her that my Viking ancestors pioneered the concept over a thousand years ago. This wikipedia article describes the “Danegeld (‘Danish tax’) … a tax raised to pay tribute to the Viking raiders to save a land from being ravaged. It was characteristic of royal policy in both England and Frankland during the ninth through eleventh centuries.
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I can’t remember the specifics too well, and don’t have my copy with me, but I believe an English dynasty was forced out over time (Ethelbert? Ethelred?) as they were bled by the Danegeld, and then eventually invaded anyway.