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Role and Influence of Cecil Rhodes (Actions In Africa (Formed British…
Role and Influence of Cecil Rhodes
Personal Background
Son of a vicar
Had 11 siblings
Very ill as a child
At 17 went to Africa because the air was thought to be better for him
Had to join brother Herbert on his cotton farm
Cotton farm failed
1871 Rhodes and his brother se out to the diamond fields in Kimberly
First diamond found there in 1867
Borrowed money from N M Rothchild and sons
Bought smaller mines with it
Built up his monopoly
Originally a trader
Commuted from Kimberly to Oxford intermittently between 1873 and 1881 to get a degree
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Views On The Empire
"I contend that we are the finest race in the world and the more we inhabit, the better it is for the human race"
Believed British were entitled to land
Example: forced indigenous tribes from their lands to make way for industrial development
Believed English to be the "master race"
Wanted to bring the whole world under British rule
"the furtherance of the British Empire and the bringing of the whole of the uncivilised world under British rule"
Believed British civilisation and control were key to the betterment of the world
Hoped the United States after American War of Independence, would reunite with the other English-speaking countires in a new federal Empire
Called Bechaunaland South Africa's 'Suez Canal'
Aim For Africa
Wanted to draw a 'red line' from Cairo to Cape Town, building a railway across the entire continent, without leaving British territory
Route blocked by German occupation of East Africa from 1891
Wanted a united South Africa
Establish British rule from north to south of Africa, linking the Cape to British- dominated Sudan and Egypt
Ensure British dominance of all east-central Africa
Wanted to attract British settlers
to expand the empire
Keep balance of South Africa British
Keep alive the dream of an all-red route from Cape to Cairo
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Actions In Africa
Owned all South African diamond mines
Cape colony politician
Changed the name of Zambesia to 'Rhodesia' in 1895
Failed to annex Bechaunaland protectorate
Made De Beers Consolidated mines company 1888
1890 partnered up with London based diamond syndicate and gained monopoly in worlds diamond supply
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1880's invested in fruit growing after Cape vineyards wiped out after epidemic
Formed British South African Company
Received royal charter in 1889
Concessions and treaties to control a large area of land in Africa
Prime minister of Cape Colony 1890-1896
Resigned after the Jameson Raid (Dec 1895)
His stock was falling at the time of the raid
Started off growing cotton in Natal
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Sent settlers to establish Fort Salisbury in Matabeleland
Opened up territories
From c1899 known by Rhodesias
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Rhodes Scholarships, take young men from the Empire, United States and Germany to Oxford
Became M.P for Griqualand 1880
Among the first to buy a substantial stake in the Witwatersrand
Gave him an edge on some of his old rivals in the diamond fields
Collected pioneers and marched on Mashonaland, avoiding Matabele territory summer of 1890
September 1890 hoisted the Union Jack at the outpost, Fort Salisbury, took possession of Mashonaland in the name of the Queen
1891 Barotseland became Northern Rhodesia
Legacy
Positive
Helped British expand in Africa
Brought political and physical infrastructure to South Africa
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Negative
Oxford students pulled down his statue
People view him as racist
Disliked by most black South Africans, Afrikaners and most of people with British heritage
Introduced education reforms
Endowed Rhodes Scholarships, for young people to study at Oxford University, in his will
His fortune made from the British empire helped him to fun promotion of the empire after his death
Example: Publicity of the Round Table
Round Table: An imperial pressure group established in 1910 by Alfred Milner
Most Convincing Interpretation?
Article about the University
Shows how he is still affecting peoples lives today
Acknowledges the negative side of Cecil Rhodes and his legacy
Book photocopy
Does give background information and some examples of things he has done in his life time good and bad.
Least Convincing Interpretation?
Textbook
Makes Cecil Rhodes sound like an amazing man
Fails to acknowledge completely how he affected the indigenous people
Makes I'm sound like an amazing business man
Doesn't talk much about the negative effects he made on Africa
Most Surprising Fact?
Not an elitist, but is a British supremacist
Borrowed money from Rothchild
Actually reluctant to help him
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Coincidence that he ended up in Africa, was due to his illness
Had 11 siblings
People in Africa want to remove his remains frothier land and send them back to Britain
Multi-milionaire by his mid thirties
Although didn't care about money
Dressed like a tramp
Didn't keep any careful account of his wealth