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Cecil Rhodes From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Jump to:navigation, search
Cecil John Rhodes DCL (5 July 1853 – 26 March 1902[1]) was an English-born businessman, mining magnate, and politician in South Africa. He was the founder of the diamond company De Beers, which today markets 40% of the world's rough diamonds and at one time marketed 90%.[2] An ardent believer in colonialism and imperialism, he was the founder of the state of Rhodesia, which was named after him. After independence, Rhodesia separated into the nations of Northern and Southern Rhodesia, later renamed Zambia and Zimbabwe, respectively. South Africa's Rhodes University is named after him. He set up the provisions of the Rhodes Scholarship, which is funded by his estate.
//[edit] Childhood in EnglandRhodes was born in 1853 in Bishops Stortford, Hertfordshire, England. He was the fifth son of the Reverend Francis William Rhodes and his wife Louisa Peacock Rhodes. His father was a Church of England vicar who was proud of never having preached a sermon longer than 10 minutes. His siblings included Francis William Rhodes, who became an army officer.
A sickly, asthmatic teenager, Cecil Rhodes was taken out of grammar school and sent to Natal, South Africa because his family thought the hot climate[[url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia lease_clarify]clarification needed[/url]] would improve his health. They expected he would help his older brother Herbert[3] who operated a cotton farm.[4]
 
Rhodes as a boy
[edit] South AfricaAfter a brief stay with the Surveyor-General of Natal, Dr. P.C. Sutherland, in Pietermaritzburg, Rhodes took an interest in agriculture. He joined his brother Herbert on his cotton farm in the Umkomanzi valley in Natal. When he first came to Africa, Rhodes lived on money lent by his aunt Sophia.[5]
In October 1871, Rhodes left the colony for the diamond fields of Kimberley. Financed by N M Rothschild & Sons, over the next 17 years Rhodes succeeded in buying up all the smaller diamond mining operations in the Kimberley area. His monopolyof the world's diamond supply was sealed in 1889 through a strategicpartnership with the London-based Diamond Syndicate. They agreed tocontrol world supply to maintain high prices.[6][7] Rhodes supervised the working of his brother's claim and speculated on his behalf. Among his associates in the early days were John X. Merriman and Charles Rudd, who later became his partner in the De Beers Mining Company and Niger Oil Company.
In the Cape colony, he established the Rhodes Fruit Farms in the Stellenbosch district shortly before his death in 1902.[8]
During the 1880s Cape vineyards had been devastated by a phylloxera epidemic. The diseased vineyards were dug up and replanted and farmers were looking for alternatives to wine.
In 1892, Rhodes financed The Pioneer Fruit Growing Company atNooitgedacht, a venture created by Harry Pickstone, an Englishman whohad experience of fruit-growing in California.[9]
In 1896 he began to pay more attention to fruit farming and boughtfarms in Groot Drakenstein, Wellington and Stellenbosch. A year later ,Rhodes bought Rhone and Boschendal and commissioned Sir Herbert Baker to build him a cottage there.[10][11]
The successful operation soon expanded into Rhodes Fruit Farms, and formed the cornerstone of the modern-day Cape fruit industry.[12]
[edit] Education
A portrait bust of Rhodes on the first floor of No. 6 King Edward Street marks the place of his residence whilst in Oxford.
Rhodes attended the Bishop's Stortford Grammar School.In 1873, Rhodes left his farm field in the care of his businesspartner, Rudd, and sailed for England to complete his studies. He wasadmitted to Oriel College, Oxford,but stayed for only one term in 1873. He returned to South Africa anddid not return for his second term at Oxford until 1876. He was greatlyinfluenced by John Ruskin's inaugural lecture at Oxford, which reinforced his own attachment to the cause of British imperialism. Among his Oxford associates were Rochefort Maguire, later a fellow of All Souls College and a director of the British South Africa Company, and Charles Metcalfe.Due to his university career, Rhodes admired the Oxford "system".Eventually he was inspired to develop his scholarship scheme: "Whereveryou turn your eye—except in science—an Oxford man is at the top of thetree".
While attending Oriel College, Rhodes became a Freemasonin the Apollo University Lodge. Although initially he did not approveof the organization, he continued to be a Freemason until his death in1902. The failures of the Freemasons, in his mind, later caused him toenvisage his own secret society with the goal of bringing the entireworld under British rule.[4][13]
[edit] Diamonds
Sketch of Rhodes by Violet Manners
Whilst at Oxford, Rhodes continued to prosper in Kimberley. Beforehis departure for Oxford, he and C.D. Rudd had moved from the Kimberley Mine to invest in the more costly claims of what was known as old De Beers (Vooruitzicht).It was named after Johannes Nicolaas de Beer and his brother, DiederikArnoldus, who occupied the farm. After purchasing the land in 1839 fromDavid Danser, a Korannachief in the area, Fourie had allowed the de Beers and various otherAfrikaner families to cultivate the land. The region extended from the Modder River via the Vet River up to the Vaal River.{[14][15][16]
In 1874 and 1875, the diamond fields were in the grip of depression,but Rhodes and Rudd were among those who stayed to consolidate theirinterests. They believed that diamonds would be numerous in the hard blue groundthat had been exposed after the softer, yellow layer near the surfacehad been worked out. During this time, the technical problem ofclearing out the water that was flooding the mines became serious.Rhodes and Rudd obtained the contract for pumping water out of thethree main mines. It was during this period that Jim B. Taylor, still a young boy and helping to work his father's claim, first met Rhodes.
On 12 March 1880, Rhodes and Rudd launched the De Beers Mining Company after the amalgamation of a number of individual claims. With £200,000[17] of capital, the company, of which Rhodes was secretary, owned the largest interest in the mine.
[edit] Politics in South AfricaIn 1880, Rhodes prepared to enter public life at the Cape. With the incorporation of Griqualand West into the Cape Colony in 1877, the area obtained six seats in the Cape House of Assembly. Rhodes chose the constituency of Barkly West, a rural constituency in which Boer voters predominated. Barkly West remained faithful to Rhodes even after his support of the Jameson Raid against the Transvaal. He continued as its Member until his death.
When Rhodes became a member of the Cape Parliament, the chief goal of the assembly was to help decide the future of Basutoland. The ministry of Sir Gordon Sprigg was trying to restore order after the 1880 rebellion known as the Gun War.The ministry had precipitated the revolt by applying its disarmamentpolicy to the Basuto. In 1890, Rhodes became Prime Minister of the CapeColony and implemented laws that would benefit mine and industryowners. He introduced the Glen Grey Actto push black people from their lands and make way for industrialdevelopment. He also introduced educational reform to the area.
Rhodes' policies were instrumental in the development of British imperial policies in South Africa, such as the Hut tax. He did not, however, have direct political power over the Boer Republic of the Transvaal.He often disagreed with the Transvaal government's policies. Hebelieved he could use his money and his power to overthrow the Boergovernment and install a British colonial government supporting mine-owners' interests in its place.
In 1895, Rhodes supported an attack on the Transvaal, the infamous Jameson Raid, which proceeded with the tacit approval of governor Joseph Chamberlain.The raid was a catastrophic failure. It forced Cecil Rhodes to resignas Prime Minister of the Cape Colony, sent his oldest brother Col. Frank Rhodes to jail in Transvaal convicted of high treason and nearly sentenced to death, and led to the outbreak of both the Second Matabele War and the Second Boer War.
[edit] Expanding the British Empire[edit] Rhodes and the Imperial Factor[url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fileunch_Rhodes_Colossus.png] [/url][url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fileunch_Rhodes_Colossus.png][/url]
Cartoon by Edward Linley Sambourne, published in Punch after Rhodes announced plans for a telegraph line from Cape Town to Cairo.
Rhodes used his wealth and that of his business partner Alfred Beit and other investors to pursue his dream of creating a British Empire in new territories to the north by obtaining mineral concessions from the most powerful indigenous chiefs.Rhodes' competitive advantage over other mineral prospecting companieswas his combination of wealth and astute political instincts, alsocalled the 'imperial factor', as he used the British Government. Hebefriended its local representatives, the British Commissioners, and through them organised British protectorates over the mineral concession areas via separate but related treaties. In this way he obtained both legality and security for mining operations. He could then win over more investors. Imperial expansion and capital investment went hand in hand.[18]
The imperial factor was a double-edged sword: Rhodes did not want the bureaucrats of the Colonial Office in Londonto interfere in the Empire in Africa. He wanted British settlers andlocal politicians and governors to run it. This put him on a collisioncourse with many in Britain, as well as with British missionaries,who favoured what they saw as the more ethical direct rule from London.Rhodes won because he would pay to administer the territories north ofSouth Africa against future mining profits. The Colonial Office did nothave the funds to do it. Rhodes promoted his business interests as inthe strategic interest of Britain: preventing the Portuguese, the Germans or the Boersfrom moving in to south-central Africa. Rhodes' companies and agentscemented these advantages by obtaining many mining concessions, asexemplified by the Rudd and Lochner Concessions.[18]
[edit] Treaties, concessions and chartersRhodes had already tried and failed to get a mining concession from Lobengula, king of the Ndebele of Matabeleland. In 1888 he tried again. He sent John Moffat, son of the missionary Robert Moffat,who was trusted by Lobengula, to persuade the latter to sign a treatyof friendship with Britain, and to look favourably on Rhodes'proposals. His agent Francis Thompson, who had travelled to Bulawayo inthe company of Charles Rudd and Rochfort Maguire, assured Lobengulathat no more than ten white men would mine in Matabeleland. Thislimitation was left out of the document which Lobengula signed, knownas the Rudd Concession. Furthermore it stated that the mining companiescould do anything necessary to their operations. When Lobengula discovered later the true effects of the concession, he tried to renounce it, but the British Government ignored him.[18]
Armed with the Rudd Concession, in 1889 Rhodes obtained a charter from the British Government for his British South Africa Company (BSAC) to rule, police and make new treaties and concessions from the Limpopo River to the great lakes of Central Africa. He obtained further concessions and treaties north of the Zambezi, such as those in Barotseland (the Lochner Concession with King Lewanika in 1890, which was similar to the Rudd Concession); and in the Lake Mweru area (Alfred Sharpe's 1890 Kazembe concession). Rhodes also sent Sharpe to get a concession over mineral-rich Katanga, but met his match in ruthlessness: when Sharpe was rebuffed by its ruler Msiri, King Leopold II of Belgium obtained a concession over Msiri's dead body for his Congo Free State.[19]
Rhodes also wanted Bechuanaland Protectorate (now Botswana) under the BSAC charter. But three Tswana kings, including Khama III,travelled to Britain and won over British public opinion for it toremain governed by the British Colonial Office in London. Rhodescommented: "It is humiliating to be utterly beaten by these niggers."[18]
The British Colonial Office also decided to administer British Central Africa (Nyasaland, today's Malawi) owing to the activism of Scots missionaries trying to end the slave trade. Rhodes paid much of the cost so that the British Central Africa Commissioner Sir Harry Johnston,and his successor Alfred Sharpe, would assist with security for Rhodesin the BSAC's north-eastern territories. Johnston shared Rhodes'expansionist views, but he and his successors were not as pro-settleras Rhodes, and disagreed on dealings with Africans.
[edit] RhodesiaThe BSAC had its own police force, which was used to control Matabeleland and Mashonaland, in present-day Zimbabwe.[citation needed] The company had hoped to start a "new Rand" from the ancient gold mines of the Shona.Because the gold deposits were on a much smaller scale, many of thewhite settlers who accompanied the BSAC to Mashonaland became farmersrather than miners. When the Ndebeleand the Shona—the two main, but rival peoples—separately rebelledagainst the coming of the European settlers, the BSAC defeated them inthe two Matabele Wars (1893–94; 1896–97). Shortly after learning of the assassination of the Ndebele spiritual leader, Mlimo, by the American scout Frederick Russell Burnham, Rhodes walked unarmed into the Ndebele stronghold in Matobo Hills. He persuaded the Impi to lay down their arms, thus ending the Second Matabele War.[20]
By the end of 1894, the territories over which the BSAC had concessions or treaties, collectively called "Zambesia" after the Zambezi River flowing through the middle, comprised an area of 1,143,000 km² between the Limpopo River and Lake Tanganyika.In May 1895, its name was officially changed to "Rhodesia", reflectingRhodes' popularity among settlers who had been using the nameinformally since 1891. The designation Southern Rhodesia was officially adopted in 1898 for the part south of the Zambezi, which later became Zimbabwe; and the designations North-Western and North-Eastern Rhodesia were used from 1895 for the territory which later became Northern Rhodesia, then Zambia.[21][22]
Rhodes decreed in his will that he was to be buried in Matobo Hills.After his death in the Cape in 1902, his body was transported by trainto Bulawayo.His burial was attended by Ndebele chiefs, who asked that the firingparty should not discharge their rifles as this would disturb thespirits. Then, for the first time, they gave a white man the Matabeleroyal salute, Bayete. Rhodes was buried alongside Leander Starr Jameson and 34 British soldiers killed in the Shangani Patrol.
[edit] "Cape to Cairo Red Line"
Map showing almost complete British control of the Cape to Cairo route, 1914
Main articles: Cape to Cairo Railway and Cape to Cairo RoadOne of Rhodes' dreams (and the dream of many other members of the British Empire)was for a "red line" on the map from the Cape to Cairo. (Ongeo-political maps, British dominions were always denoted in red orpink.) Rhodes had been instrumental in securing southern African statesfor the Empire. He and others felt the best way to "unify thepossessions, facilitate governance, enable the military to move quicklyto hot spots or conduct war, help settlement, and foster trade" wouldbe to build the "Cape to Cairo Railway".
This enterprise was not without its problems. Francehad a rival strategy in the late 1890s to link its colonies from westto east across the continent. The Portuguese produced the "Pink Map", representing their claims to sovereignty in Africa.
[edit] Political views
Cecil Rhodes
Rhodes wanted to expand the British Empire because he believed that the Anglo-Saxon racewas destined to greatness. In his last will and testament, Rhodes saidof the British, "I contend that we are the first race in the world andthat the more of the world we inhabit the better it is for the humanrace."[23]He wanted to make the British Empire a superpower in which all of theBritish-dominated countries in the empire, including Canada, Australia,New Zealand, and Cape Colony, would be represented in the BritishParliament. Rhodes included American students as eligible for the Rhodes scholarships. He said that he wanted to breed an American elite of philosopher-kings who would have the United States rejoin the British Empire. As Rhodes also respected the Germans and admired the Kaiser,he allowed German students to be included in the Rhodes scholarships.He believed that eventually Great Britain, the USA and Germany togetherwould dominate the world and ensure peace.[5]
On domestic politics within the United Kingdom, Rhodes was a supporter of the Liberal Party.[5] Rhodes' only major impact on domestic politics within the United Kingdom was his support of the Irish nationalist party, led by Charles Stewart Parnell (1846–1891). He contributed a great deal of money to the Irish nationalists,[4][5] although Rhodes made his support conditional upon an autonomous Ireland's still being represented in the British Parliament.[5]Rhodes was such a strong supporter of Parnell that, after the Liberalsand the Irish nationalists disowned him because of adultery with thewife of another Irish nationalist, Rhodes continued his support.[4]
Rhodes was more tolerant of the Dutch-speaking whites in the CapeColony than were the other English-speaking whites in the Cape Colony.He supported teaching Dutch as well as English in public schools in theCape Colony and lent money to support this cause. While Prime Ministerof the Cape Colony, he helped to remove most of the legal disabilitiesthat English-speaking whites had imposed on Dutch-speaking whites.[5] He was a friend of Jan Hofmeyr, leader of the Afrikaner Bond, and it was largely because of Afrikaner support that he became Prime Minister of the Cape Colony.[4][5]Rhodes advocated greater self-government for the Cape Colony, in linewith his preference for the empire to be controlled by local settlersand politicians rather than by London (see "Rhodes and the imperialfactor" above).
Confusingly for the modern reader, self-government of the typeRhodes supported was known as "colonialism". The opposed policy, directcontrol of a colony from London, was known as "imperialism". Thisshould be kept in mind when reading documents from this time.
[edit] Personal relationships[edit] SexualityRhodes never married, pleading "I have too much work on my hands" and saying that he would not be a dutiful husband.[24] However, some writers and academics[25][26] have suggested that Rhodes may have been homosexual, although the amount of direct evidence is scarce.
The scholar Richard Brown observed: "there is still the simpler butmajor problem of the extraordinarily thin evidence on which theconclusions about Rhodes are reached. Rhodes himself left fewdetails... Indeed, Rhodes is a singularly difficult subject... sincethere exists little intimate material - no diaries and few personalletters."[27]
Brown also comments: "On the issue of Rhodes' sexuality... there is,once again, simply not enough reliable evidence to reach firm,irrefutable conclusions. It is inferred, but not proved, that Rhodeswas homosexual and it is assumed (but not proved) that hisrelationships with men were sometimes physical. Neville Pickering isdescribed as Rhodes' lover in spite of the absence of decisiveevidence."[27]
Rhodes was close to Pickering; he returned from negotiations forPickering's 25th birthday in 1882. On that occasion, Rhodes drew up anew will leaving his estate to Pickering.[24]Two years later, Pickering suffered a riding accident. Rhodes nursedhim faithfully for six weeks, refusing even to answer telegramsconcerning his business interests. Pickering died in Rhodes' arms, andat his funeral Rhodes was said to have wept with fervor.[25]
Rhodes' tomb
His successor was Henry Latham Currey, the son of an old friend, who had become Rhodes's private secretary in 1884.[28] When Currey got engaged in 1894, Rhodes was deeply mortified and their relationship split.[29]
Rhodes also remained close to Leander Starr Jameson after the two had met in Kimberley, where they shared a bungalow.[30] In 1896 Earl Greycame to give Rhodes bad news. Rhodes instantly jumped to the conclusionthat Jameson, who was ill, had died. On learning that his house hadburnt down he commented, "Thank goodness. If Dr. Jim had died, I shouldnever have got over it."[31]Jameson nursed Rhodes during his final illness, was a trustee of hisestate and residuary beneficiary of his will, which allowed him tocontinue living in Rhodes' mansion after his death. Rhodes' secretary,Jourdan, who was present shortly after Rhodes' death said, "Jameson wasfighting against his own grief...No mother could have displayed moretenderness towards the remains of a loved son". Jameson died in Englandin 1917, but after the war in 1920 his body was transferred to a gravebeside that of Rhodes on Malindidzimu Hill or World's View, a granitehill in the Matopo National Park 40 km south of Bulawayo.[32]
[edit] Princess RadziwiłłIn the last years of his life, Rhodes was stalked by Polish princess Catherine Radziwiłł, born Rzewuska, married into a noble Polish-Lithuanian dynasty called Radziwiłł.Radziwiłł falsely claimed that she was engaged to Rhodes, or that theywere having an affair. She asked him to marry her, but Rhodes refused.She got revenge by falsely accusing him of loan fraud. He had to go totrial and testify against her accusation. He died shortly after thetrial in 1902. She wrote a biography of Rhodes called Cecil Rhodes: Man and Empire Maker. Her accusations were eventually proven false.[4][33]
[edit] Boer WarDuring the Boer War Rhodes went to Kimberley at the onset of the siege,in a calculated move to raise the political stakes on the government todedicate resources to the defence of the city. The military felt he wasmore of a liability than an asset and found him intolerable. Inparticular, Lieutenant Colonel Kekewich disliked Rhodes because of Rhodes' inability to cooperate with the military;[34] Rhodes insisted that the military adopt his plans and ideas instead of following their orders.[4][35]Despite the differences, Rhodes' company was instrumental in thedefense of the city, providing water, refrigeration facilities,constructing fortifications, manufacturing an armoured train, shells and a one-off gun named Long Cecil.[36]
Rhodes used his position and influence to lobby the Britishgovernment to relieve the siege of Kimberley, claiming in the pressthat the situa |
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