Conference „Comparative Perspectives on Taxation and the Colonial State”, September 25-27, 2025
How did European colonialism work? What long-term effects did it have on Europe and the world? And who had to pay for European domination, both literally and figuratively? Although these questions have been debated for decades, they have recently received renewed scholarly and public attention. What is still lacking, however, is a comparative perspective that would allow us to analyze the similarities and differences in the methods employed by the various colonial powers.
The international conference "Taxation and the Colonial State" aims to build such a comparative framework with regard to the area of colonial finance by fostering discussion among scholars who have focused primarily on individual colonial powers or colonies.
Funded by the Fritz Thyssen Stiftung, the conference is organized by Marc Buggeln and Jan Kreutz (both Forschungsstelle für regionale Zeitgeschichte und Public History) as part of their DFG-funded research project "Die Konturen des Kolonialstaats. Steuer- und Haushaltspolitik in den deutschen Kolonien 1884-1914".
Further Information
September 25, 2025
14:00 Arrival and Registration
15:00–15:30 Introduction
Marc Buggeln and Jan Kreutz, both Europa-Universität Flensburg
15:30–16:45 Keynote-Lecture: Comparative Research on Colonial Finance: Achievements, Unanswered Questions, and Future Directions
Anne Booth, School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London
16:45–17:15 Coffee-Break 1
17:15-18:30 Panel 1 Imperial Rule and the Categorization of Taxpayers
- Sarah Albiez-Wieck, Universität Münster: Taxes and Hair – Controlling the Chinese in the Spanish Philippines, 17th-19th century
- Naz Yucel, Independent Scholar: Debating Taxation in the Ottoman Empire after the Second Constitutional Revolution
September 26, 2025
9:30–11:00 Panel 2: Case Studies on Colonial Taxation, part 1
- Laura Channing, Durham University: Colonial Taxation and Local Government in British West Africa
- Jan Kreutz, Europa-Universität Flensburg: Exercising Power and Balancing Budgets. The Construction of a Colonial Fiscal State in German East Africa.
- Maarten Manse, Linnaeus University, Växjö, Sweden: Promise and Pragmatism: Taxation and Governance in Colonial Indonesia, c 1870-1940
11:00–11:15 Break
11:15–12:45 Panel 3 Case Studies on Colonial Taxation, part 2
- Madeline Woker, University of Sheffield: A Taxing Empire: Power and Taxation in the French Colonial Empire, 1850s-1950s
- Kleoniki Alexopoulou, Princeton University: Colonial State Formation and Fiscal Regimes in the Portuguese Colonies of Mozambique and Angola
12:45–14:00 Conference Lunch
14:00–15:30 Panel 4: Self-Assertion and Resistance to Taxation
- Uzoamaka Nwachukwu, Indiana University: Negotiating Citizenship through Taxation: Non-Violent Tax Resistance in Colonial Eastern Nigeria (1930-1960)
- Mads Yding, University of Copenhagen: A Share in Ruling the Waves. Taxation and Evasion in Colonial Turkana
- Yaruipam Muivah, École des hautes études en sciences sociales: From Tax Avoidance to Tax Revolt. Examples from Colonial India
15:30–17:00 Panel 5 Infrastructure, Business, and Colonial Taxation
- Kim Todzi, Universität Hamburg: Counting the Cost. Taxes, Business and the Colonial Economy of Cameroon, 1884-1914
- Nina Kleinöder, Universität Bamberg: Colonial Tracks. Building Railways between Private Enterprise and State Intervention
17:00–17:30 Coffee-Break 2
17:30–18:45 Keynote-Lecture: Colonial Taxation and Public Finance in the Age of Globalized Capitalism
Martin Daunton, University of Cambridge
19:30 Conference Dinner
September, 27 2025
8:30–10:30 Discussion Panel: Long-Term-Effects of Colonial Taxation and Fiscal Extraction on Economic Development
- Gurminder K. Bhambra, University of Sussex
- Leigh Gardner, London School of Economics and Political Science
- Marlous van Waijenburg, Harvard Business School
10:30–11:30 General Discussion and Concluding Remarks
Conference Venue:
Europa-Universität Flensburg, Building Tallinn, Room TAL 007
