Overview
The research project seeks to uncover how the drastic disruptions and reworkings of global commodity chains during the Second World War impacted environments far from the war fronts: Using extensive archival sources in European and African archives, the projects investigates these effects on the Lake Victoria region in Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania. The focus is on the questions of how the Second World War changed agriculture in the pre-war period and how the war intensified the introduction of export goods (coffee, cocoa, cotton and assorted foodstuffs). Furthermore, the project zeros in on how this influenced the social and ecological situation in the region: On the one hand, the project looks at the overall impact on the environment, such as land use, erosion, deforestation, water supply, pests and diseases. On the other hand, it also looks at the effects on the social environment, such as changes in practices, perception and use of the environment. In addition, questions of sustainability, access to work and working conditions are also examined. The changing experiences of women in this area are particularly important.
