Book contents
- Fiscal Capacity and the Colonial State in Asia and Africa, c. 1850–1960
- Cambridge Studies in Economic History
- Fiscal Capacity and the Colonial State in Asia and Africa, c. 1850–1960
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Figures and Maps
- Tables
- Contributors
- Acknowledgements
- 1 Fiscal Capacity and the Colonial State: Lessons from a Comparative Perspective
- 2 Towards a Modern Fiscal State in Southeast Asia, c. 1900–60
- 3 Why Was British India a Limited State?
- 4 Colonial and Indigenous Institutions in the Fiscal Development of French Indochina
- 5 Fiscal Development in Taiwan, Korea and Manchuria: Was Japanese Colonialism Different?
- 6 From Coast to Hinterland: Fiscal Capacity Building in British and French West Africa, c. 1880–1960
- 7 New Colonies, Old Tools: Building Fiscal Systems in East and Central Africa
- 8 Local Conditions and Metropolitan Visions: Fiscal Policies and Practices in Portuguese Africa, c. 1850–1970
- 9 How Mineral Discoveries Shaped the Fiscal System of South Africa
- Index
- References
7 - New Colonies, Old Tools: Building Fiscal Systems in East and Central Africa
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 15 November 2019
Book contents
- Fiscal Capacity and the Colonial State in Asia and Africa, c. 1850–1960
- Cambridge Studies in Economic History
- Fiscal Capacity and the Colonial State in Asia and Africa, c. 1850–1960
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Figures and Maps
- Tables
- Contributors
- Acknowledgements
- 1 Fiscal Capacity and the Colonial State: Lessons from a Comparative Perspective
- 2 Towards a Modern Fiscal State in Southeast Asia, c. 1900–60
- 3 Why Was British India a Limited State?
- 4 Colonial and Indigenous Institutions in the Fiscal Development of French Indochina
- 5 Fiscal Development in Taiwan, Korea and Manchuria: Was Japanese Colonialism Different?
- 6 From Coast to Hinterland: Fiscal Capacity Building in British and French West Africa, c. 1880–1960
- 7 New Colonies, Old Tools: Building Fiscal Systems in East and Central Africa
- 8 Local Conditions and Metropolitan Visions: Fiscal Policies and Practices in Portuguese Africa, c. 1850–1970
- 9 How Mineral Discoveries Shaped the Fiscal System of South Africa
- Index
- References
Summary
East and Central Africa were among the last regions to be colonized by European powers in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Due to limited trade with the region, along with more fragmented indigenous political organization in many colonies, colonial governments faced a particularly challenging task of establishing fiscal systems which would support the conquest and rule of these territories. This chapter examines the ways they tried to overcome these difficulties, focusing on the histories of the Belgian Congo, Kenya, Nyasaland, Northern Rhodesia, Southern Rhodesia, Tanganyika and Uganda. In all of these, the imperial powers made use of older tools of colonial rule, including settlement and the outsourcing of government to chartered companies, but the implementation of these were shaped by the circumstances of the period. The chapter argues that these early policies influenced the development of both taxation and public spending during and after the colonial period. In particular, colonial and post-independence governments were more dependent on direct taxation, and faced fierce debates about the distribution of public spending.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2019
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