Power, Plenty and Pressure groups: British and Danish colonialism in the West Indies and the role of the state, 1768-1772

• Why was the British crown unable to yield a net revenue from their West Indian possessions during the early modern era, while a country such as Denmark was able to do just that? This paper undertakes a comparison between the two imperial states, since such a comparison might yield important insights into what was yielding revenue from and driving costs of colonialism. The paper argues that the British state had to pay a comparatively high cost for their overseas colonies largely since intra-European conflicts had a tendency of spilling over unto the colonies. The British West Indian lobby was at the same time a rent-seeking special interest successful in keeping the imperial tax burden comparatively low.

Ämnesord

SAMHÄLLSVETENSKAP  -- Ekonomi och näringsliv -- Ekonomisk historia (hsv//swe)

SOCIAL SCIENCES  -- Economics and Business -- Economic History (hsv//eng)

Nyckelord

Colonialism; Imperialism; Profitability; West Indies; Britain; Denmark; State; Early Modern

Publikations- och innehållstyp

vet (ämneskategori)

kon (ämneskategori)