An Anatomy of Colonial States and Fiscal Regimes in Portuguese Africa: Long-Term Transformations in Angola and Mozambique, 1850S-1970S
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An anatomy of colonial states and fiscal regimes in Portuguese Africa: Long-term transformations in Angola and Mozambique, 1850s-1970s Kleoniki Alexopoulou Thesis committee Promotors Prof. Dr E.H.P. Frankema Professor of Rural and Environmental History Wageningen University & Research Prof. Dr E.J.V. van Nederveen Meerkerk Associate Professor, Department of Economic and Social History Utrecht University Special Professor of Comparative History of Households, Gender and Work Radboud University Nijmegen Co-promotor Dr. J.M.H.M. Santos Assistant Professor, Centro de Estudos Africanos University of Porto, Portugal Other members Dr L.A. Gardner, London School of Economics, United Kingdom Prof. Dr A.C. Pinto, University of Lisbon, Portugal Dr F.R. da Silva, International Institute of Social History, Amsterdam Prof. Dr J.W.M. van Dijk, Wageningen University & Research This research was conducted under the auspices of the Wageningen School of Social Sciences (WASS) An anatomy of colonial states and fiscal regimes in Portuguese Africa: Long-term transformations in Angola and Mozambique, 1850s-1970s Kleoniki Alexopoulou Thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of doctor at Wageningen University by the authority of the Rector Magnificus, Prof. Dr A.P.J. Mol, in the presence of the Thesis Committee appointed by the Academic Board to be defended in public on Tuesday 4 December 2018 at 1:30 p.m. in the Aula. Kleoniki Alexopoulou An anatomy of colonial states and fiscal regimes in Portuguese Africa: Long-term transformations in Angola and Mozambique, 1850s-1970s, 220 pages. PhD thesis, Wageningen University, Wageningen, the Netherlands (2018) With references, with summary in English ISBN: 978-94-6343-374-7 DOI: https://doi.org/10.18174/463804 Personal note During my previous studies, I was often attracted by popular historical books sold at the central bookstores of the city, at the airport or at the train stations. What struck me the most while I was browsing through such books was the absence of the seemingly simple but so crucial question of “who is paying?”. Either the books were telling the story of a political regime or a national army or they dealt with the history of technology and infrastructure, very few authors brought up the question of who is paying for all this. Who is paying for the war, for the king, for the railway? And who is producing the wealth that is accumulated and (re-) invested in war making and road construction? In a way, who “embodies” the resources and the capital (financial, material and human)? History is the best “natural experiment” an economist, a sociologist or a political scientist can “make”. However, the laboratory of history resembles a black box that can keep giving different answers if one keeps opening it from different angles. The question determines to a large extent the answer. The perspective, from which a story is told, determines to a large extent the perception of the story. This PhD gave me the opportunity to tell the story of how states and fiscal regimes evolved in Portuguese Africa, from the early colonial era to the late colonial years before independence, paying attention to who made the decisions, who produced wealth and who paid taxes. Acknowledgements I owe deep gratitude... ...To my father Dimitris, who inspired curiosity in me, taught me humanism and rationality in matters of both society and nature. Plus, he filled in several excel files and edited maps, when deadlines approached. To my mother Naja, who protected me whenever I was ill and encouraged me to set goals and be proud of who I am. To my partner Φαίδων, who threw light on the darkness of the past, “transmitted” to me enthusiasm about the world and despite moments of unrest, opened my heart to happiness. To my sister Evina, who showed to me compassion and sensitivity. To my grandmother Evgenia, who taught me perfectionism (though I naturally resist). To my uncle Giannis in 5 Switzerland who taught me how to whistle when I was little, which helped me stay calm since then. To the ones who left και δεν πρόλαβαν. To Frida who taught me to unlock the mystery of my dreams and appreciate the value of music and art, apart from books. To Giorgos and my grandfather Aggelos who showed to me how to overcome obstacles and insist till the end. To my promotor Ewout Frankema and co-promotor Elise van Nederveen Meerkerk, who were the best supervisors I ever had. For the “tons of knowledge”, creative ideas, empirical methods and systematic feedback. You are a cornerstone in my academic life, which hopefully will continue further along. To my research group RHI: Special thanks to Sandra and Carry who have been always willing to make life easier for me and protect me from bureaucracy; To Dacil Juif, who has been a valuable co-author and good friend; To Kate and Corinne for the continuous psychological and intellectual support, to Angus for the unbearable amount of British humour and “f” words, to Michiel for the intriguing questions, to Harm for the mid-day breaks and car rides, to Anton for the kindness, to Pim and Danielle for the tips, and to the rest of the group members for the inspiring conversations not only at the office but also during our conference trips. To my far-away supervisors and colleagues Prof. Maciel Santos, Dr. Corrado Tornimbeni, Dr. Leigh Gardner, Prof. Nuno Valério, Dr. Filipa Ribeiro, Prof. António Costa Pinto and Dr. Barbara Direito, who helped me formulating my research objectives as well as digging into the archives and libraries of Portugal, Mozambique, South Africa, Britain and Italy. To Diogo Paiva, who assisted me with the collection of early data and without him the time span of my thesis would be much shorter. To African Economic History Network, Hellenic Network for African Studies and Lusophone African Studies Organization for disseminating my work. To my teachers and classmates at Panteion University and University of Athens, who built the theoretical foundations of my critical thinking in social sciences. Special thanks to Prof Nikos Theotokas and Dr Stavros Konstantakopoulos. The latter accepted to supervise my Bachelor’s thesis on political elites in post-colonial Africa twelve years ago, when nobody else at the University was willing to dive into such a “distant” subject. Unfortunately he passed away a few years ago, but his memory is kept alive. 6 To Roelien for teaching me Portuguese and to my tango and yoga teachers, who helped me keep balance during difficult times. To the activist group Reinform, which offered me political shelter. Particularly, I would like to thank my beloved housemate in Amsterdam Antonia, who was my window to the outside world during the days (and nights) of writing; Ioanna, who besides her friendship offered me her editing skills; and Athina, who was my first generous host in Amsterdam. Dimitris, Stella, Christina and Nikolas I love being member of your family. Vicky, we did not find time to make that GIS map but I am grateful for your willingness to help me. Nikoleta, I appreciate your efforts to teach me how to bike and facilitate my integration into the Dutch society, though I admit I still don’t use it in my everyday life (no-one is perfect). To the dream neighbourhood (συνοικία το όνειρο) of Nikos, Paris, Nasia, Ismini, Kostas and Alex for dancing, drinking and cooking together whenever possible. To Xrats, Pericles, Vasilis, Kostas, Marios, Cid, Dimitris, Marianna and the other members of the music band Aman Mollie that I always wanted to sing for and finally discovered over the last year. To Peni, Kostas and my other warm friends in Utrecht, who accommodated me after fests; to my former housemates and cat-loving neighbours Arron, Zanin, and Aggelos who took care of Zarathustra whenever I was travelling around. Eleni, Stavroula and Sofia, we lost each other throughout the years, but our good moments stay untouched. To my lifelong friends Anna-Maria, Myrto and Ioanna for their constant “presence” and care all the way from London, Athens and Paris. To my beloved relatives in Patras and Lefkada and particularly my cousin Naussika. Last but not least, to the digital magazine Marginalia which re-introduced me to the magical world of collective initiatives and exchange of ideas in my country of origin, Greece. Thank you. Ευχαριστώ. Bedankt. Obrigada. Grazie. 7 8 CONTENTS Personal note .............................................................................................................................. 5 Acknowledgements .................................................................................................................... 5 List of figures, tables and maps ............................................................................................... 11 CHAPTER 1. Introduction....................................................................................................... 13 1.1. Problem statement and motivation ................................................................................ 13 1.2 Research design and objectives ...................................................................................... 15 1.3. Fiscal regimes as causes and outcomes of state and social (trans)formations ............... 16 1.4. The colonial origins of state fragility ............................................................................ 20 1.5. Extractive and developmental fiscal states. Τhe case of Portuguese Africa ................. 22 1.6. Conceptual framework .................................................................................................