Predation, Seigneurial Tenure and Development in French Colonial America
27 Pages Posted: 12 Feb 2018
Date Written: February 10, 2018
Abstract
This paper argues that significant transfers from peasants to landlords through private taxes and duties under seigneurial law in the French colonies in North America in the eighteenth century have been underestimated. They represented a burden equal to 5.19% to 6.89% of income. This high taxation burden – which was not converted into public goods – created a supply-side impediment to economic growth.
Keywords: Seigneurial tenure, divergence, colonial origins, predatory state, Canada, economic history
JEL Classification: K0, N21, O17
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation
Geloso, Vincent, Predation, Seigneurial Tenure and Development in French Colonial America (February 10, 2018). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3121783 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3121783
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