| Buganda's historiography has focused on chiefs and colonial officials, presenting a narrative which stresses that elites were primarily responsible for the development of Buganda within the colonial period. The majority, peasant farmers, are presented as powerless, malleable and dominated. However, recent literature on the pre-colonial period has re-evaluated the impact of peasant producers on state development, finding that they played a key role. This thesis extends the peasant-centric pre-colonial analysis to the colonial period, explaining the agency of peasants and demonstrating how they contributed to Bugandan state development. Cotton, introduced by British officials, was embraced by peasant growers since it was mutually rewarding. However, following the establishment of a monopsony in 1928, economic conflict simmered through the 1930s and exploded in 1949. At the same time, economic conflict fuelled a political opposition which sought to reinstate accountability in chiefs and recreate the autonomy of the Buganda Government. |
