The Failure of Cotton Imperialism in Africa: Seasonal Constraints and Contrasting Outcomes in French West Africa and British Uganda

Cash-crop diffusion in colonial Africa was uneven and defied colonizers’ expectations efforts, especially for cotton. This study investigates how agricultural seasonality affected African farmers’ cotton adoption, circa 1900–1960. A contrast between British Uganda the interior of French West demonstrates that a short rainy season resulting farming cycles generated seasonal labor bottlenecks food security concerns, limiting output. Agricultural also had wider repercussions, coercion, investment, income-earning strategies. productivity breakthrough post-colonial Francophone mitigated constraint, facilitating impressive output growth post-1960.