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Research ArticleArticle

The Political Economy of Postwar Southern Rhodesia

The 1949 Tobacco Tax Crisis

Sibanengi Ncube and Honest E. Koke
African Economic History, November 2023, 51 (2) 79-101; DOI: https://doi.org/10.3368/aeh.51.2.79
Sibanengi Ncube
Sibanengi Ncube ([email protected]) is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow with the International Studies Group, University of the Free State in South Africa, with research interests in commodity histories in southern Africa and global production networks.
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Honest E. Koke
Honest E. Koke ([email protected]) is a Research Associate at the University of the Free State, International Studies Group (ISG) Department. He researches fiscal and financial histories of Southern Africa.
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Abstract

This article focuses on the events of 1949 in the Southern Rhodesia tobacco industry. In that year, the Southern Rhodesian government under Godfrey Huggins unilaterally announced the imposition of an export tax on the colony’s tobacco industry. This triggered opposition and resistance among various economic interest groups in the colony in what later became known as the 1949 Tobacco Tax Crisis. By tracing how the crisis unfolded, the article contributes to the literature on white settler politics and taxation in Southern Rhodesia, opening a new frontier towards understanding fiscal policy framing and interest group politics in Africa. At the same time, the article agrees with recent scholarship that goes beyond the role of the colonial state in the settler colonial economy to cast light on how white settler economic interest groups charted their course. The article draws on archival data from the National Archives of Zimbabwe, newspaper reports, and parliamentary debates to make its case.

KEYWORDS:
  • Southern Rhodesia
  • interest groups
  • settlers
  • tax
  • politics
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African Economic History: 51 (2)
African Economic History
Vol. 51, Issue 2
1 Nov 2023
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The Political Economy of Postwar Southern Rhodesia
Sibanengi Ncube, Honest E. Koke
African Economic History Nov 2023, 51 (2) 79-101; DOI: 10.3368/aeh.51.2.79

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The Political Economy of Postwar Southern Rhodesia
Sibanengi Ncube, Honest E. Koke
African Economic History Nov 2023, 51 (2) 79-101; DOI: 10.3368/aeh.51.2.79
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  • Article
    • Abstract
    • Introduction
    • Whitehead’s Bombshell
    • The Tobacco Industry’s Response
    • Governing by Trial and Error
    • Conclusion
    • Footnotes
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Keywords

  • Southern Rhodesia
  • interest groups
  • settlers
  • tax
  • politics
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