"In those parts of the continent where land was still in African hands, colonial governments forced Africans to produce cash crops no matter how low the prices were. The favorite technique was taxation. Money taxes were introduced on numerous items—cattle, land, houses, and the people themselves. Money to pay taxes was got by growing cash crops or working on European farms or in their mines. [...] Finally, when all else failed, colonial powers resorted widely to the physical coercion of labor—backed up of course by legal sanctions, since anything which the colonial government chose to do was “legal.”"
Quote Details
Added by wikiquote-import-bot
Unverified quote
0 likes
Original Language: English
Available Languages (1)
Sources
p. 165
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Walter_Rodney
Revision History
No revisions have been submitted for this quote.
Categories
Walter Rodney
Walter Rodney (23 March 1942 – 13 June 1980) was a prominent Guyanese historian, political activist and preeminent scholar, who was assassinated in Guyana in 1980.
175 quotes on TrueQuotesView all quotes by Walter Rodney →
Related Quotes
"It has been noted with irony that the principal “industry” of many underdeveloped countries is administration. Not lo…"
"Members of the privileged groups inside Africa always defend themselves by saying that they pay the taxes which keep …"
"We were told that violence in itself is evil, and that, whatever the cause, it is unjustified morally. By what standa…"
"Development in human society is a many-sided process. At the level of the individual, it implies increased skill and …"
"Development cannot be seen purely as an economic affair, but rather as an overall social process which is dependent u…"
"However, the peasants and workers of Europe (and eventually the inhabitants of the whole world) paid a huge price so …"
"Capitalism has proved incapable of transcending fundamental weaknesses such as underutilization of productive capacit…"
"All of the countries named as “underdeveloped” in the world are exploited by others; and the underdevelopment with wh…"
"In some quarters it has often been thought wise to substitute the term "developing" for "underdeveloped". One of the …"
"By paying attention to the wealth created by human labor out of nature, one can immediately appreciate that very few …"