The colonial sinews of imperial power: the political economy of Jamaican Taxation, 1768–1838
This article uses a new data-set to calculate the ‘political economy’ or nature and purpose of taxation and spending in Jamaica between 1768 and 1839. It argues that these levels increased considerably, both in absolute terms and relative to the size of the population and econo...
| Main Author: | |
|---|---|
| Format: | Journal article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Taylor and Francis
2017
|
| _version_ | 1797052996101603328 |
|---|---|
| author | Graham, A |
| author_facet | Graham, A |
| author_sort | Graham, A |
| collection | OXFORD |
| description | This article uses a new data-set to calculate the ‘political economy’ or nature and purpose of taxation and spending in Jamaica between 1768 and 1839. It argues that these levels increased considerably, both in absolute terms and relative to the size of the population and economy of the island, and that the assembly raised taxes mainly to protect the white elite and the plantation economy against slave revolts and foreign invasion. Although the balance of spending shifted after Emancipation in 1834, the purpose did not, since military spending was simply redirected to subsidise policing and the cost of public order. Depending on how the national income or gross domestic product of the island is calculated, levels of taxation rose from 2 per cent in peacetime to about 4–6 per cent in wartime, peaking at 6–8 per cent in moments of crisis. White elites therefore made a significant contribution to the cost of their own defence, and to the wider projection of imperial power, and were willing to tolerate increasingly high levels of taxation because it was spent in ways that suited their interests. They thereby formed the colonial sinews of imperial power. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-06T18:38:16Z |
| format | Journal article |
| id | oxford-uuid:0c075d75-1b4d-4559-9c8a-cbb803f61442 |
| institution | University of Oxford |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-06T18:38:16Z |
| publishDate | 2017 |
| publisher | Taylor and Francis |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | oxford-uuid:0c075d75-1b4d-4559-9c8a-cbb803f614422022-03-26T09:32:39ZThe colonial sinews of imperial power: the political economy of Jamaican Taxation, 1768–1838Journal articlehttp://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_dcae04bcuuid:0c075d75-1b4d-4559-9c8a-cbb803f61442EnglishSymplectic ElementsTaylor and Francis2017Graham, AThis article uses a new data-set to calculate the ‘political economy’ or nature and purpose of taxation and spending in Jamaica between 1768 and 1839. It argues that these levels increased considerably, both in absolute terms and relative to the size of the population and economy of the island, and that the assembly raised taxes mainly to protect the white elite and the plantation economy against slave revolts and foreign invasion. Although the balance of spending shifted after Emancipation in 1834, the purpose did not, since military spending was simply redirected to subsidise policing and the cost of public order. Depending on how the national income or gross domestic product of the island is calculated, levels of taxation rose from 2 per cent in peacetime to about 4–6 per cent in wartime, peaking at 6–8 per cent in moments of crisis. White elites therefore made a significant contribution to the cost of their own defence, and to the wider projection of imperial power, and were willing to tolerate increasingly high levels of taxation because it was spent in ways that suited their interests. They thereby formed the colonial sinews of imperial power. |
| spellingShingle | Graham, A The colonial sinews of imperial power: the political economy of Jamaican Taxation, 1768–1838 |
| title | The colonial sinews of imperial power: the political economy of Jamaican Taxation, 1768–1838 |
| title_full | The colonial sinews of imperial power: the political economy of Jamaican Taxation, 1768–1838 |
| title_fullStr | The colonial sinews of imperial power: the political economy of Jamaican Taxation, 1768–1838 |
| title_full_unstemmed | The colonial sinews of imperial power: the political economy of Jamaican Taxation, 1768–1838 |
| title_short | The colonial sinews of imperial power: the political economy of Jamaican Taxation, 1768–1838 |
| title_sort | colonial sinews of imperial power the political economy of jamaican taxation 1768 1838 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT grahama thecolonialsinewsofimperialpowerthepoliticaleconomyofjamaicantaxation17681838 AT grahama colonialsinewsofimperialpowerthepoliticaleconomyofjamaicantaxation17681838 |