Description
Book SynopsisHow much did the British Empire cost, and how did Britain pay for it? Taxing Colonial Africa explores a source of funds much neglected in research on the financial structure of the Empire, namely revenue raised in the colonies themselves. Requiring colonies to be financially self-sufficient was one of a range of strategies the British government used to lower the cost of imperial expansion to its own Treasury. Focusing on British colonies in Africa, Leigh Gardner examines how their efforts to balance their budgets influenced their relationships with local political stakeholders as well as the imperial government. She finds that efforts to balance the budget shaped colonial public policy at every level, and that compromises made in the face of financial constraints shaped the political and economic institutions that were established by colonial administrations and inherited by the former colonies at independence.Using both quantitative data on public revenue and expenditure as well as a
Trade ReviewIt is rare to come across a book of such high quality, especially for an author's first monograph. Colonial fiscal policy is not the most glamorous of topics. But Gardner convincingly argues that taxation tells us much about the nature and purpose of Britain's African empire. * Nicholas J. White, The Economic History Review *
Table of ContentsPreface ; 1. An Introduction to the Problem of Colonial Taxation ; PART I: BUILDING A SELF-SUFFICIENT EMPIRE IN AFRICA, 1885-1913 ; 2. Building Colonial States in Africa ; 3. Fiscal Foundations of the African Colonial State ; PART II: CRISIS MANAGEMENT IN COLONIAL PUBLIC FINANCE ; 4. From Complement to Conflict: Trade Taxes, 1914-38 ; 5. Collective Action and Direct Taxation, 1918-1938 ; 6. The Failure of Africa's 'New Deal'? ; PART III: FROM SELF-SUFFICIENCY TO NATION-BUILDING ; 7. 'Cash, Competence and Consent': Building Local Governments ; 8. Fiscal Policy and Regional Integration, 1945-63 ; 9. Fiscal Consequences of Decolonization ; Bibliography
