Rhodes << rohdz >>, Cecil John (1853-1902), was a British businessman and statesman. He made a fortune in the diamond industry and probably did more than anyone else of his time to enlarge the British Empire in Africa. Rhodes used his wealth and his ability as a statesman to gain control of most of southern Africa. He spent his fortune freely when he thought he could advance the empire. But he was often ruthless and racist in pursuing his goals. Rhodes left much of his fortune to Oxford University for the establishment of the Rhodes Scholarship (see Rhodes Scholarship).
Early life.
Rhodes was born on July 5, 1853, in the county of Hertfordshire in England. In 1870, he went to Natal (then a British colony in what is now South Africa), where one of his brothers was a cotton grower. In 1871, he became a supervisor in a diamond mine his brother had opened at Kimberley, also in present-day South Africa. By 1873, Rhodes had taken control of the mine. Rhodes enrolled at Oxford University in 1873 and spent half of each year there until he graduated in 1881. He also gained control of more diamond mines at Kimberley.
Gains Rhodesia.
In 1881, Rhodes was elected to the assembly of Britain’s Cape Colony in what is now South Africa. Aided by his wealth, he set out to advance British imperial authority in southern Africa. He forced the annexation of Bechuanaland (now Botswana) to the British Empire in 1885. By 1888, when he combined all his mines into the De Beers Consolidated Mines, Rhodes had become extremely rich and powerful. In 1889, he forced the Shona and Ndebele (often called Matabele) peoples to surrender most of their land to Britain. This huge territory later became the state of Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe). Rhodes also arranged the annexation of what later became Northern Rhodesia (now Zambia). The British South Africa Company, which Rhodes had created, effectively ruled both territories.
In 1890, Rhodes became prime minister of the Cape Colony. He dreamed of building a railroad from the colony to Egypt and of extending British power over much of Africa. He also sought cooperation between English-speaking white colonists and moderate Boers (now called Afrikaners), especially in the Cape Colony. The Boers were white settlers, mainly of Dutch descent.
In 1892, Rhodes approved the Franchise and Ballot Bill, which denied almost all the colony’s Black people the right to vote. In 1894, he enacted the Glen Grey Act, which restricted the amount of land Black people could own.
Conflict with the Boers.
Rhodes saw that British rule in southern Africa could only be expanded at the expense of the Boers, who had large possessions in the region. Rhodes interfered in the politics of the Transvaal area (in what later became South Africa). The area was settled by the Boers. Rhodes was largely responsible for the Jameson Raid of 1895, in which Rhodesian troops attacked the Transvaal. This incident was badly planned and widely criticized. After the raid, Rhodes resigned as prime minister of the Cape Colony and withdrew into Rhodesia.
Rhodes was at Kimberley when the Anglo-Boer War of 1899-1902 finally broke out between Britain and the Boers (see Anglo-Boer Wars). He assisted in the defense of the city and helped direct the course of the war. But he had a fatal heart attack and died on March 26, 1902, before the war ended.
