Peasants, Planters and Cotton Capitalists: The "Dual Economy" in Colonial Uganda

Economic historians have always regarded peasant agriculture & plantation-style cultivation as mutually exclusive because of their competition for the same resources. A case study of the colonial Ugandan economy prior to WWI shows that view to be mistaken. The colonial authorities tried to harmonize the two modes of production. They promoted a policy that allowed a freedom of choice, but did not favor one mode at the expense of the other. The policies pursued by the British administrators are attributed to the interest of international capitalism in cotton, not to a belief in the efficacy of one or the other mode of production. 3 Tables. HA Tr & Modified by S. Karganovic.