Development Under the Surface: The Rise of Indigenous Agriculture as an Unintended Consequence of Settler Institutions in Southern Rhodesia, 1896–1962

A broad body of scholarly work claims that Africans in settler colonies were economically marginalised as an intended consequence of colonial policies. What is not recognized in this literature is that institutions might instigate a multitude of social forces, some of them in unexpected directions. This paper takes the case of Southern Rhodesia—a typical African settler economy—to add to this discussion by shedding light on a largely discounted economic phenomenon, namely the rise of commercially oriented Africans. We argue that the relative success of this group can largely be understood as an unintended consequence of settler‐oriented colonial institutions. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.