Revenue Farming in Comparative Perspective: Reflections on Taxation, Social Structure and Development in the Early-Modern Period

Abstract

It is axiomatic that the taxation system in operation at any time or place is characteristic of the social and political structure, perhaps shaped by more fundamental determinist forces, as Marxists would argue. But whatever the society or method of analysis, taxes have served a variety of purposes while providing a handy back-pocket index to the extractive power of the state. Although it is probably true that ‘nothing is certain except death and taxes’, the study of revenue farming should prove of considerable interest to comparative historians, drawing upon interdisciplinary and cross-cultural perspectives while encouraging discussion of those factors which led to the emergence of an increasingly global economy.