Veranstaltungen

rMA and PhD workshop OPG / DIA

One might wonder why taxation is not one of the hottest topics among historians, as it is one of the most central pieces of government politics. Without taxation there would be no redistribution, no government spending, no education, no infrastructure nor healthcare – thus: no striving for equality. The history of taxation perfectly explains the changing political regimes on equality in Europe. Turing the Industrial Revolution, particularly in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, inequality rose rapidly. This period was followed by a new political regime in which equality levels increased as a result of taxation. From the 1980s onwards, inequality began to grow again. Outside Europe, taxation was also used to uphold colonial power relations. One of the main questions for colonial regimes was whether they should align with indigenous taxation practices or introduce their own. The answer to this question could have enormous consequences. In this workshop, we will discuss how historians could benefit from the studies of taxation and how we should understand the changing political regimes on equality. Finally, we will learn how important taxation was für maintaining colonial power ‘relations’.