British Colonial Post-War Fiscal Policies in Benin, Nigeria: 1945–1960

Abstract

This paper focuses on post-war fiscal and economic policies in colonial Benin between 1945 and 1960. It was the period of British economic reconstruction occasioned by the effect of the Second World War. The paper therefore examines the impact of the post-war fiscal reforms on tax and expenditure patterns of the British authorities in Benin. It gives a robust analysis, as a background, of the goal and effect of the British economic reforms in her colonies. The study argues that the main objective of the British was to promote fiscal policies in order to revamp the metropolitan economy battered by the Second World War. Thus, at the Benin protectorate or division, the tax assessment rate was relatively high compared to the level of income paid by the colonial authorities, in order to create surplus for expenditure. This created discontents and petitions from different local communities against the assessment rate. The paper shows that the expenditure level, especially on social services, was low compared to the tax revenue generated. It adopts the historical method of research which utilised data obtained from both primary and secondary sources for interpretation and analysis. It’s on aspects of the Benin Division in Benin Province, created in 1914, as one of the administrative divisions, by the British which comprises of the Benin speaking people of southern Nigeria. It subsequently became part of the Western Region in 1945 following the constitution of regional government in Nigeria.

Keywords

• benin
• british colonialism
• post-war fiscal reforms
• colonial fiscal policies