Cecil John Rhodes

Cecil John Rhodes

Surnames: Rhodes, Cecil John 

Born: July 5, 1853, England

Died: 26 March 1902, Cape Colony, Muizenberg 

In Summary: South African statesman, a strong advocate of British imperialism, and businessman after whom Rhodesia (Zimbabwe) was named. 

Cecil John Rhodes was born on 5 July 1853 in England. He was the fifth son of Francis William Rhodes and his second wife, Louisa Peacock. A priest in the Church of England, his father served as pastor of Brentwood, Essex for fifteen years until 1849 when he was vicar of Bishops Stortford, where he remained until the 1876th Rhodes had nine brothers and two sisters and attended the Latin School in Bishops Stortford. He fell ill shortly after leaving school, and his lungs were affected, it was decided that he would visit his brother, who had recently immigrated to Natal. He arrived in Durban on 1 september 1870th He brought three thousand pounds his aunt had loaned him and used it to invest in diamond digging in Kimberley. 

After a brief stay with the Surveyor General of Natal, Dr. PC Sutherland in

Pietermaritzburg Rhodes joined his brother Herbert on his cotton farm in the Umkomaas valley in Natal. In October 1871 Rhodes left the colony for the diamond fields of Kimberley. He supervised the work with his brother claims and speculated on his behalf. Among his associates in the early days was John X Merriman and CD Rudd, who later became his partner in the De Beers Mining Company. 

In 1872 Rhodes was a minor heart attack. First to recover, but also to explore possibilities of finding gold in the interior, Rhodes brothers trekked north by ox wagon. Their wandering took them along the way in Bechuanaland missionaries as far north as Mafeking, Transvaal and eastwards through respect Murchison Range. Journey inspired a love for the country, Rhodes and marked the beginning of his interest in the road to the north and the northern interior self. 

In 1873, Rhodes left his diamond fields in the care of his partner, Rudd, and sailed to England to complete his studies. He was admitted to Oriel College, but only stayed one term in 1873 and only returned for his second term in 1876. He was heavily influenced by John Ruskin's inaugural lecture at Oxford, which strengthened his connection to the cause of British imperialism. Among his Oxford employees were Rochefort Maguire, later a fellow at All Souls, and a director of British South Africa Company, and Charles Metcalfe. His academic career at Rhodes provoked his admiration for the Oxford 'system', which was finally mature in his scholarship: "Wherever you turn your eye - except in science - an Oxford man is at the top of the tree. 

While at Oxford, Rhodes continued growth in Kimberley. Before his departure to Oxford, he and Rudd moved from the Kimberley mine to invest in costly requirements on what was known as the old De Beers (vooruitzichten), which owed its name to Johannes Nicolaas de Beer and his brother Diederik Arnoldus De Beers, the original owners of the farm vooruitzichten. 

In 1874 and 1875 diamond fields was gripped by depression, but Rhodes and Rudd were among those who stayed on to consolidate their interests. They thought that diamonds would be numerous in the harsh blue light, which had been postponed after the softer, yellow layer near the surface had been prepared. During this time, that the technical problem emptying the water that was flooding the mines were serious, and he and Rudd had the contract to pump water out of the three largest mines. 

In April 1880 Rhodes and Rudd launched the De Beers Mining Company, after the merger of a number of individual claims. With 200 000 pounds capital company secretary as Rhodes had owned the largest interest in the mine. In 1880 Rhodes ready to go public life at the Cape. With the inclusion of Griqualand West in the Cape Colony in 1877 the area had six seats in the Cape House of Assembly. Rhodes chose the constituency of Barkley West, a rural constituency, to be chosen dominant. Barkley West remained faithful to Rhodes, even after the Jameson Raid, and he continued as its member until his death. 

The chief preoccupation of the Cape Parliament, when Rhodes became a member was the future of Basutoland, where the ministry of Sir Gordon Sprigg was trying to restore order after a rebellion in 1880. The Ministry had precipitated the rebellion through its policy of disarmament for the Basuto. In 1890 Rhodes became prime minister of Cape Colony and implemented laws that would benefit my and industrial owners. He introduced the Glen Gray Act to push Black people from their land and make way for industrial development. 

Rhodes' policy was instrumental in the development of British imperial policy in South Africa. He has not had direct political power over the Boer Republic of Transvaal. He often disagreed with the Transvaal government policy, and felt that he could use his money and power to overthrow the Boer government and install a British colonial rule government supports mine-owners' interests instead. In 1895 Rhodes supported an attack on the Transvaal. It was a fiasco and Rhodes was forced to resign as prime minister in the Cape. 

Rhodes also used his wealth to pursue his dream of expanding the British Empire in Africa. His British South Africa Company, which had a police force that was used to colonize Mashonaland, Zimbabwe at the moment. They had hoped to start a new edge "from the old gold mines in the Mashona, but the gold had been produced by the earth long before. White settlers who accompanied the British South Africa Company Mashonaland were farmers. When the Matabele and Mashona rebellion against the coming of the white settlers for their land, the British South Africa Company police crushed them. They have conquered the land was called the Southern and Northern Rhodesia, in honor of Rhodes. Today these countries are in Zimbabwe and Zambia. 

He died in Muizenberg, 26 March in 1902.