I always thought that Jar Jar was Lucas’s revenge on those who complained about the Ewoks.
Hear me out:
The ewoks, collectively, are the best characters. Everyone remembers them FALSELY as the teddy bears that were marketed. The fact that they were man-eating little monsters is forgotten about completely. They had weird, bat-like faces, and claw-hands like Yoda. (Unfortunately, the sloppy construction job occasionally let their bellies resemble stuffed toys.)
Their society is 100 times better developed than movies in which primitive or naturalistic societies played similar roles, even Robin Hood or Dances with Smurfs. AND THEY FRICKIN’ COMMITTED THE MOST SHOCKING WAR CRIMES OF ANY “GOOD GUYS” IN MOVIE HISTORY: they ATE the entire Imperioal squadron! Go watch the movie again: No POWs, a giant bonfire at a picnic, banging on and drinking out of the helmets...
I thought of JarJar as a modern, disguised, politically acceptable Step’n’Fetch-It.