Sole Native Authority (SNA) and the People at War: A Historical Review of the 1948 Erunkoja Tax Riots in Ile-Ife, Nigeria
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Date
2023
Authors
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Journal ISSN
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Publisher
the Department of History, University of Texas, Austin, United States of America
Abstract
The establishment of the British colonial administration and the introduc tion of the Indirect Rule system attracted opposition and riots in some places
in Southern Nigeria. Indeed, the British decentralized despotism, the introduction
of some burdensome taxation policies, and other prevalent tax related consider ations naturally engendered resistance, which manifested in protest movements,
revolts and outright riots in some places in Yorubaland. The article adopts the frus tration-aggression theory. Evidence gathered from primary and secondary sources,
chief among them being archival sources, interviews, and the use of extant litera ture. The paper argues that the increase in taxes after World War II had a political
underpinning to the protest that led to the Erunkoja riot of 1948. Put differently,
the riot was a consequence of the overbearing impact that increased taxes from
the Second World War had on the people
Description
Keywords
British, Colonial, Despotism, Indirect Rule, Riots, Taxation
Citation
Sole Native Authority (SNA) and the People at War: A Historical Review of the 1948 Erunkoja Tax Riots in Ile-Ife, Nigeria, Yoruba Studies Review, Vol. 7, (2): Pp.167 - 186, Published by the Department of History, University of Texas, Austin, United States of America