The Colonialist: The Vision of Cecil Rhodes
The Colonialist: The Vision of Cecil Rhodes
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Abstract
Cecil John Rhodes (1853–1902) was one of the most influential people in the history of the British Empire. Born in England, he made a fortune in South Africa by leading the world’s most important diamond mining company, De Beers, as well as a gold-mining company, Consolidated Gold Fields. He dreamed of uniting Southern Africa’s colonies and republics into one state, dominated by white settlers, with labor provided by Black people who were constrained and pressured by discriminatory laws. To achieve his goals, he served as a member of the Cape Colony’s legislature and even took a turn as prime minister from 1890 to 1896. Under his leadership, racism became baked into mining, farming, communication, and transportation. He lost the premiership after attempting a failed coup in the Boer republic of the Transvaal, an action that helped to precipitate the South African War (1899–1902). Meanwhile in the 1890s, his British South Africa Company used fraud and violence to rule and exploit what is today Zambia and Zimbabwe. A visionary of technology and imperialism, he famously advocated for a Cape-to-Cairo railway. His best-known legacy is the Rhodes Trust, which funds the Rhodes Scholarships at the University of Oxford.
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Front Matter
- Introduction: Reconsidering Cecil Rhodes
- 1 Becoming an Englishman and a Migrant
- 2 Digging Diamonds
- 3 Growing Pains
- 4 Learning at Oxford
- 5 Entering Politics
- 6 Aiming North
- 7 Controlling De Beers
- 8 Amalgamating the Mines
- 9 Connecting a Country
- 10 Stealing Arcadia
- 11 Perpetrating a Fraud
- 12 Leading the Cape Colony
- 13 Multiplying Force
- 14 Consolidating Rhodesia
- 15 Fighting for Arcadia
- 16 Maintaining Mines
- 17 Raiding the Rand
- 18 Defending the Vision
- 19 Recovering the Vision
- 20 Falling Short
- Conclusion: Perpetuating the Vision
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End Matter
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