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93-535: The Pioneer Column was a force raised by Cecil Rhodes and his British South Africa Company in 1890 and used in his efforts to annex the territory of Mashonaland , later part of Zimbabwe (once Southern Rhodesia ). Rhodes was anxious to secure Matabeleland and Mashonaland before the Germans, Portuguese or Boers did. His first step was to persuade the Ndebele King Lobengula , in 1888, to sign

186-621: 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 companies was his combination of wealth and astute political instincts, also called the "imperial factor," as he often collaborated with the British Government. He befriended its local representatives, the British Commissioners , and through them organized British protectorates over

279-526: A Rhodesian public holiday ). The British union flag was hoisted on the following day, 13 September, in Fort Salisbury. Three towns were founded; the first in early August at the head of a gentle route that led up from the low altitude area known as the Lowveld (named Providential Pass), called Fort Victoria (renamed Masvingo in 1982); the second at Fort Charter on a plateau halfway to the terminus of

372-458: A 23-year-old adventurer, however, undertook to deliver the territory in nine months with a mere 250 men for £87,500. Frederick Selous , a hunter with close knowledge of Mashonaland, agreed to join the effort as guide. Johnson published recruitment notices in Kimberley offering each volunteer 1,200 hectares (3,000 acres) of land and 15 mining claims (aggregating about 8.5 hectares (21 acres)). On

465-500: A bloody civil war, we colonial statesmen must acquire new lands to settle the surplus population, to provide new markets for the goods produced in the factories and mines. The Empire, as I have always said, is a bread and butter question. If you want to avoid civil war, you must become imperialists". Rhodes wanted to develop a Commonwealth in which all of the British-dominated countries in the empire would be represented in

558-522: A brick manufacturer from Hackney, Middlesex . The family owned significant estates in London's Hackney and Dalston which Cecil would later inherit. The earliest traceable direct ancestor of Cecil Rhodes is James Rhodes ( fl. 1660) of Snape Green, Whitmore, Staffordshire . Cecil's siblings included Frank Rhodes , a British Army officer. Rhodes attended the Bishop's Stortford Grammar School from

651-487: A charter from the British government allowing him to act, essentially although in a limited way, with the government's consent. The next step was to occupy the territory. Rhodes's military advisers estimated that it would take 2,500 men and about one million pounds to win the war that would, they thought, inevitably result when Lobengula realised that Rhodes meant not only to mine but also to occupy his land. Frank Johnson ,

744-454: A collision course with many in Britain, as well as with British missionaries , who favoured what they saw as the more ethical direct rule from London. Rhodes prevailed because he would pay the cost of administering the territories to the north of South Africa against his future mining profits. The Colonial Office did not have enough funding for this. Rhodes promoted his business interests as in

837-467: A cornerstone of the modern-day Cape fruit industry. In 1873, Rhodes left his farm field in the care of his business partner, Rudd, and sailed for England to study at university. He was admitted to Oriel College, Oxford , but stayed for only one term in 1874. He returned to South Africa and did not return for his second term at Oxford until 1876. He was greatly influenced by John Ruskin 's inaugural lecture at Oxford , which reinforced his own attachment to

930-624: A raid to forcibly extract tribute from a Mashona chief in the district of the town of Fort Victoria , which inevitably led to a clash with the company. The British government agreed that the British South Africa Company would administer the territory stretching from the Limpopo to the Zambezi under royal charter . Queen Victoria signed the charter in 1889. Cecil Rhodes used this document in 1890 to justify sending

1023-774: A series of meetings between August and October, he persuaded the Impi to lay down their arms, thus ending the Second Matabele War. In the aftermath of the war in Matabeleland, but whilst the uprising in Mashonaland was being suppressed, Rhodes returned to London to give evidence to the UK House of Commons Select Committee of Enquiry into the Jameson Raid. As Rhodes had incriminating telegrams demonstrating

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1116-648: A significantly higher £75 which had a disproportionate effect on the previously growing number of enfranchised black people in the Cape under the Cape Qualified Franchise that had been in force since 1853. By limiting the amount of land which black Africans were legally allowed to hold in the Glen Grey Act of 1894, Rhodes further disenfranchised the black population. To quote Richard Dowden , most would now "find it almost impossible to get back on

1209-551: A staunch ally of the British. The Matabele army mobilised to prevent Forbes from reaching the city, and twice engaged the column as it approached: on 25 October, 3,500 warriors assaulted the column near the Shangani River . Lobengula's troops were well-drilled and formidable by pre-colonial African standards, but the pioneers' Maxim guns, which had never before been used in battle, far exceeded expectations, according to an eyewitness "mow[ing] them down literally like grass". By

1302-468: A treaty giving him rights to mining and administration (but not settlement as such) in the area of Mashonaland which was not under direct Ndebele rule. Using this Rudd Concession (so called because Rhodes's business partner, Charles Rudd , was instrumental in securing the signature) between Rhodes' British South Africa Company (allegedly on behalf of Queen Victoria though without any official knowledge or authority) and Lobengula, he then sought and obtained

1395-696: Is at the top of the tree". While attending Oriel College, Rhodes became a Freemason in the Apollo University Lodge . Although initially he did not approve of the organisation, he continued to be a South African Freemason until his death in 1902. The shortcomings of the Freemasons, in his opinion, later caused him to envisage his own secret society with the goal of bringing the entire world under British rule. During his years at Oxford, Rhodes continued to prosper in Kimberley . Before his departure for Oxford, he and C.D. Rudd had moved from

1488-649: Is buried alongside Leander Starr Jameson and 34 British soldiers killed in the Shangani Patrol . Despite occasional efforts to return his body to the United Kingdom, his grave remains there still, "part and parcel of the history of Zimbabwe" and attracts thousands of visitors each year. One of Rhodes's dreams was for a "red line" on the map from the Cape to Cairo (on geo-political maps, British dominions were always denoted in red or pink). Rhodes had been instrumental in securing southern African states for

1581-612: Is humiliating to be utterly beaten by these niggers." The British Colonial Office also decided to administer British Central Africa owing to the activism of David Livingstone trying to end the East African Arab-Swahili 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 Rhodes in

1674-533: The British South Africa Company's Police , with an undetermined number of possible colonial volunteers and an additional 700 Tswana (Bechuana) allies. Cecil Rhodes , who was Prime Minister of the Cape Colony, and Leander Starr Jameson , the Administrator of Mashonaland, also tried to avoid war to prevent loss of confidence in the future of the territory. Matters came to a head when Lobengula approved

1767-619: The British South Africa Police ). A further party of 110 men, 16 wagons, 250 cattle and 130 spare horses later attached itself to the column. The troopers were equipped with Martini-Henry rifles, revolvers, seven-pound field guns and Maxim machine guns , as well as an electric searchlight (which they later used to good effect to intimidate Matabele warriors shadowing the column). The route began at Macloutsie in Bechuanaland on 28 June 1890. On 11 July, it crossed

1860-500: 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, Diederik Arnoldus, who occupied the farm. After purchasing the land in 1839 from David Danser, a Koranna chief in the area, David Stephanus Fourie, forebear of Claudine Fourie-Grosvenor, had allowed the de Beers and various other Afrikaner families to cultivate

1953-763: 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

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2046-535: The Pioneer Column , a group of settlers protected by well-armed British South Africa Company's Police (BSAP) and guided by the big game hunter Frederick Selous , through Matabeleland and into Shona territory to establish Fort Salisbury (now Harare ). Throughout 1891 and 1892, Lobengula ensured that his raiding parties were directed away from their main target areas of Mashonaland and so precluded possible clashes between his zealous young commanders and

2139-547: The Rhodes Scholarship , which is funded by his estate. The son of a vicar , Rhodes was born at Netteswell House , Bishop's Stortford , Hertfordshire . A sickly child, he was sent to South Africa by his family when he was 17 years old in the hope that the climate might improve his health. He entered the diamond trade at Kimberley in 1871, when he was 18, and with funding from Rothschild & Co , began to systematically buy out and consolidate diamond mines. Over

2232-520: The Shona . Because gold deposits weren't as plentiful as they had hoped, many of the white settlers who accompanied the BSAC to Mashonaland became farmers rather than miners. White settlers and their locally-employed Native Police engaged in widespread indiscriminate rape of Ndebele women in the early 1890s. The Ndebele and the Shona —the two main, but rival, peoples—took advantage of the absence of most of

2325-662: The Umkomazi valley in Natal. The land was unsuitable for cotton, and the venture failed. In October 1871, 18-year-old Rhodes and his 26-year-old brother Herbert left the colony for the diamond fields of Kimberley in Northern Cape Province. Financed by N M Rothschild & Sons , Rhodes succeeded over the next 17 years in buying up all the smaller diamond mining operations in the Kimberley area. His monopoly of

2418-578: The "most despicable specimens of human beings" should be inhabited by Anglo-Saxons. However others have disputed these views. For example, historian Raymond C. Mensing notes that Rhodes has the reputation as the most flamboyant exemplar of the British imperial spirit, and always believed that British institutions were the best. Mensing argues that Rhodes quietly developed a more nuanced concept of imperial federation in Africa, and that his mature views were more balanced and realistic. According to Mensing, "Rhodes

2511-603: The BSAC (with power of attorney to take decisions without reference back to the Board in London) until June 1896, defying Chamberlain's calls to resign, and he gave instructions that no mercy be shown in putting down the rebellion, telling officers that "Your instructions are" he told a major, to "do the most harm you can to the natives around you." He ordered a police officer to "kill all you can", even those Ndebele who begged for mercy and threw down their arms. Shortly after learning of

2604-421: The BSAC's north-eastern territories. Johnston shared Rhodes's expansionist views, but he and his successors were not as pro-settler as Rhodes, and disagreed on dealings with Africans. The BSAC had its own police force, the British South Africa Police , which was used to control Matabeleland and Mashonaland , in present-day Zimbabwe . The company had hoped to start a "new Rand " from the ancient gold mines of

2697-656: The BSAP for the Jameson Raid in January 1896; they separately rebelled against the coming of the European settlers, and the BSAC defeated them in the Second Matabele War . Rhodes went to Matabeleland after his resignation as Cape Colony Premier, and appointed himself Colonel in his own column of irregular troops moving from Salisbury to Bulawayo to relieve the siege of whites there. He remained Managing Director of

2790-713: The Boer government, Rhodes supported the Jameson Raid , an unsuccessful attempt to create an uprising in the Transvaal that had the tacit approval of Secretary of State for the Colonies Joseph Chamberlain . The raid was a catastrophic failure. It forced Cecil Rhodes to resign as 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 contributed to

2883-677: The British Parliament . Rhodes explicitly stipulated in his will that all races should be eligible for the scholarships. It is said that he wanted to develop an American elite of philosopher-kings who would have the United States rejoin the British Empire. As Rhodes also respected and admired the Germans and their Kaiser , he allowed German students to be included in the Rhodes scholarships. He believed that eventually

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2976-630: The British government and the public had been allowed to think, the Rudd Concession was not vested in the British South Africa Company , but in a short-lived ancillary concern of Rhodes, Rudd and a few others called the Central Search Association , which was quietly formed in London in 1889. This entity renamed itself the United Concessions Company in 1890, and soon after sold the Rudd Concession to

3069-536: The Cape Qualified Franchise]," with Rhodes arguing that "the native is to be treated as a child and denied the franchise. We must adopt a system of despotism, such as works in India, in our relations with the barbarism of South Africa". Rhodes advocated the governance of indigenous Africans living in the Cape Colony "in a state of barbarism and communal tenure" as "a subject race. I do not go so far as

3162-653: The Cape. With the earlier incorporation of Griqualand West into the Cape Colony under the Molteno Ministry in 1877, the area had obtained six seats in the Cape House of Assembly . Rhodes chose the rural and predominately Boer constituency of Barkly West , which would remain loyal to Rhodes until his death. When Rhodes became a member of the Cape Parliament , the chief goal of the assembly

3255-599: The Chartered Company for 1,000,000 shares. When Colonial Office functionaries discovered this chicanery in 1891, they advised Secretary of State for the Colonies Viscount Knutsford to consider revoking the concession, but no action was taken. 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

3348-461: The Empire. He and others felt the best way to "unify the possessions, facilitate governance, enable the military to move quickly to hot spots or conduct war, help settlement, and foster trade" would be to build the "Cape to Cairo Railway". This enterprise was not without its problems. France had a conflicting strategy in the late 1890s to link its colonies from west to east across the continent and

3441-580: The Niger Oil Company. 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 at Nooitgedacht , a venture created by Harry Pickstone, an Englishman who had experience with fruit-growing in California. The shipping magnate Percy Molteno had just undertaken

3534-586: The Portuguese produced the " Pink Map ", representing their claims to sovereignty in Africa. Ultimately, Belgium and Germany proved to be the main obstacles to the British objective until the United Kingdom conquered and seized Tanganyika from the Germans as a League of Nations mandate in World War I . Rhodes wanted to expand the British Empire because he believed that the Anglo-Saxon race

3627-574: The United Kingdom (including Ireland), the US, and Germany together would dominate the world and ensure perpetual peace. Rhodes's views on race have been debated; he supported the rights of indigenous Africans to vote, but critics have labelled him as an "architect of apartheid " and a " white supremacist ", particularly since 2015. According to Magubane, Rhodes was "unhappy that in many Cape Constituencies, Africans could be decisive if more of them exercised this right to vote under current law [referring to

3720-406: The advice of Rhodes, Johnson selected for his column, from thousands of applicants, mostly the sons of rich families, so that if they were, indeed, imperiled by Lobengula their families would be more likely to enlist British government support for their rescue. Johnson's column eventually consisted of 180 civilian colonists, 62 wagons and 200 volunteers (who ultimately formed the nucleus of what became

3813-478: The age of nine, but, as a sickly, asthmatic adolescent, he was taken out of grammar school in 1869 and, according to Basil Williams , "continued his studies under his father's eye ..." At age seven, he was recorded in the 1861 census as boarding with his aunt, Sophia Peacock, at a boarding house in Jersey , where the climate was perceived to provide a respite for those with conditions such as asthma . His health

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3906-422: The amalgamation of a number of individual claims. With £200,000 of capital, the company, of which Rhodes was secretary, owned the largest interest in the mine (£200,000 in 1880 = £22.5m in 2020 = $ 28.5m USD). Rhodes was named the chairman of De Beers at the company's founding in 1888. De Beers was established with funding from N.M. Rothschild & Sons in 1887. In 1880, Rhodes prepared to enter public life at

3999-575: The assassination of the Ndebele spiritual leader, Mlimo, by the American scout Frederick Russell Burnham , and after participating in the cavalry charge at one of the last pitched battles of this phase of the war, Rhodes' associate Johan Colenbrander arranged for a meeting with the remaining Ndebele chiefs. Rhodes and a few colleagues walked unarmed into the Ndebele stronghold in Matobo Hills . In

4092-458: The auspices of Col. Frank Rhodes , brother of Cecil, with the ultimate purpose of connecting the Cape with Cairo . The railway from Cape Town passed Mafeking , and approached the Rhodesian frontier, reaching Bulawayo in 1897. The east coast line to connect Salisbury (now Harare ) with Beira, Mozambique (then Portuguese East Africa Colony ) was completed in 1899. The First Matabele War

4185-667: The barbarism of South Africa." Rhodes also introduced educational reform to the area. His policies were instrumental in the development of British imperial policies in South Africa, such as the Hut tax . Rhodes did not, however, have direct political power over the independent Boer Republic of the Transvaal . He often disagreed with the Transvaal government's policies, which he considered unsupportive of mine-owners' interests. In 1895, believing he could use his influence to overthrow

4278-610: The board of the BSAC in 1898. He remained an MP in the Cape Parliament and a Privy Councillor. 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 km between the Limpopo River and Lake Tanganyika . In May 1895, its name was officially changed to "Rhodesia", reflecting Rhodes's popularity among settlers who had been using

4371-460: The cause of British imperialism . Among his Oxford associates were James Rochfort 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 tutorial system. Eventually, he was inspired to develop his scholarship scheme: "Wherever you turn your eye—except in science—an Oxford man

4464-530: The centre point of the country, on 16 October 1893. Together the force totalled about 700 men, commanded by Major Patrick Forbes and equipped with five Maxim machine guns . Forbes' combined column moved on the Matabele king's capital at Bulawayo , to the south-west. An additional force of 700 Bechuanas marched on Bulawayo from the south under Khama III , the most influential of the Bamangwato chiefs, and

4557-649: The column at the originally named Fort Salisbury. The Pioneer Corps was officially disbanded on 1 October 1890 and each member was granted land on which to farm. The occupation of Mashonaland by the Pioneer Column lead to the start of Company rule in Rhodesia . The BSAC would expand its rule across the Zambezi in 1891, and over Matabeleland through the First Matabele War in 1893-1894. In 1927,

4650-422: The column before it reached the river. They were to tell the white people that the king admitted defeat, and offered this money in tribute if the BSAP would turn back. "Gold is the only thing that will stop the white men," Lobengula reportedly said. Petchan and Sehuloholu reportedly reached the column on 2 December 1893, and gave the money and the message to two men in the rear guard. No man who had been attached to

4743-508: The column confirmed this, but company authorities thought it unlikely that the Matabele would simply invent such a story. Two officers' batmen were accused of accepting the gold, then keeping it for themselves and not passing on the message. The evidence against them was inconclusive, but they were found guilty and sentenced to 14 years' hard labour by the Resident Magistrate. They were released after two years, however, because

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4836-543: The company flag and the Union Jack to a tree. The reconstruction of Bulawayo began almost as soon as the fires were out, with a new Company-run city rising atop the ruins of Lobengula's former residence. The column of Khama's men from the south had reached the Tati River , and won a victory on the Singuesi river on 2 November. Advanced scouts for the colonial forces, including Burnham and Selous , reached Bulawayo that same day, only to watch as Lobengula blew up his arsenal of ammunition rather than allow it to be captured by

4929-423: The company was exonerated from the charge by Lord Ripon , the Colonial Secretary . Following the end of the war, one of Lobengula's izinDuna said that just before Forbes' column had reached the Shangani on 3 December 1893, the king had attempted to buy the pioneers off. According to this story, two Matabele messengers, Petchan and Sehuloholu, had been given a box of gold sovereigns , and instructed to intercept

5022-400: The company. The town, mostly made up of wood-beam huts with mud (dagga) walls, was largely destroyed. On 3 November, Bulawayo was reached by the Victoria column from Mashonaland , accompanied by Jameson and Sir John Willoughby. By this time, Lobengula and his warriors were in full flight towards the Zambezi. An attempt was made to induce Lobengula to surrender, but no replies were received to

5115-464: The complicity and foreknowledge of the Raid by Joseph Chamberlain, the Colonial Secretary, he and his solicitor were able to blackmail Chamberlain into retaining the BSAC Charter, leaving the Company in charge of administering the territory north of the Limpopo even as it became a Crown colony . Rhodes returned to Mashonaland, further overseeing the suppression of the uprising there into 1897. The scandal attached to his name did not prevent him rejoining

5208-418: The fifth son of the Reverend Francis William Rhodes (1807–1878) and his wife, Louisa Peacock. Francis was a Church of England clergyman who served as perpetual curate of Brentwood, Essex (1834–1843), and then as vicar of nearby Bishop's Stortford (1849–1876), where he was well known for never having preached a sermon longer than ten minutes. Francis was the eldest son of William Rhodes (1774–1855),

5301-416: The first successful refrigerated export to Europe. In 1896, after consulting with Molteno, Rhodes began to pay more attention to export fruit farming and bought farms in Groot Drakenstein, Wellington and Stellenbosch. A year later, he bought Rhone and Boschendal and commissioned Sir Herbert Baker to build him a cottage there. The successful operation soon expanded into Rhodes Fruit Farms , and formed

5394-498: The government of Southern Rhodesia issued a new British South Africa Company Medal to commemorate the earlier 1890 Pioneer Column. This medal was identical to the prior British South Africa Company Medals issued for the First Matabele War and Second Matabele War , except that it was struck without any campaign details on the reverse. Cecil Rhodes Cecil John Rhodes ( / ˈ s ɛ s əl ˈ r oʊ d z / SES -əl ROHDZ ; 5 July 1853 – 26 March 1902)

5487-620: The hostilities that developed the Ndebele sustained about 40 casualties; this led to their withdrawal. King Lobengula had given stern warning to his fighters when they started the raid. "If you shed one drop of the white man's blood on this raid into Mashonaland, I will have every one of you killed when you return". There was a delay of just over two months (August to October) while Jameson corresponded with Rhodes in Cape Town and considered how to amass enough troops to undertake an invasion of Matabeleland. BSAP columns rode from Fort Salisbury and Fort Victoria, and combined at Iron Mine Hill, around

5580-429: The land. The region extended from the Modder River via the Vet River up to the Vaal River . In 1874 and 1875, the diamond fields were in the grip of depression, but Rhodes and Rudd were among those who stayed to consolidate their interests. They believed that diamonds would be numerous in the hard blue ground that had been exposed after the softer, yellow layer near the surface had been worked out. During this time,

5673-446: The list because of the legal limit on the amount of land they could hold". In addition, Rhodes was an early architect of the Natives Land Act, 1913 , which would limit the areas of the country where black Africans were allowed to settle to less than 10%. At the time, Rhodes would argue that "the native is to be treated as a child and denied the franchise. We must adopt a system of despotism, such as works in India , in our relations with

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5766-416: The maximum term the Magistrate could give was three months; the convictions were ultimately quashed altogether on a re-assessment of the evidence by the High Commissioner's legal team. The truth of the matter has never been conclusively resolved. In every step taken by the company, the guiding hand was that of Cecil Rhodes , a fact which received recognition when the company's territory officially received

5859-447: The member for Victoria West, who would not give the black man a vote. ... If the whites maintain their position as the supreme race, the day may come when we shall be thankful that we have the natives with us in their proper position." He once stated "I prefer land to niggers" and referred to the 'Anglo-Saxon race' as "the best, most human, most honourable race the world possesses". He thought that those lands which were occupied by

5952-462: The messages. The United Salisbury Column later arrived in Bulawayo, and on 13 November, Major Patrick Forbes organized his column and started in pursuit of Lobengula. The pursuing party was delayed by difficult routes and heavy rains, and did not catch up with Lobengula until December 3. Major Allan Wilson , in command of thirty-four troopers known as the Shangani Patrol , crossed the Shangani river and bivouacked close to Lobengula's quarters. In

6045-487: The mineral concession areas via separate but related treaties. In this way he obtained both legality and security for mining operations. He could then attract more investors. Imperial expansion and capital investment went hand in hand. The imperial factor was a double-edged sword: Rhodes did not want the bureaucrats of the Colonial Office in London to interfere in the Empire in Africa. He wanted British settlers and local politicians and governors to run it. This put him on

6138-516: The mining companies could 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. During the company's early days, Rhodes and his associates set themselves up to make millions (hundreds of millions in current pounds) over the coming years through what has been described as a " suppressio veri  ... which must be regarded as one of Rhodes's least creditable actions". Contrary to what

6231-464: The missionary Robert Moffat , who was trusted by Lobengula, to persuade the latter to sign a treaty of friendship with Britain, and to look favourably on Rhodes's proposals. His associate Charles Rudd, together with Francis Thompson and Rochfort Maguire, assured Lobengula that no more than ten white men would mine in Matabeleland. This limitation was left out of the document, known as the Rudd Concession , which Lobengula signed. Furthermore, it stated that

6324-402: The name " Rhodesia " on May 3, 1895. During this year there was great activity in exploiting Matabeleland , with "Stands" or plots being sold at extraordinary prices in Bulawayo . Within nine months the rebuilt town of Bulawayo had a population of 1,900 colonials with over 2,000 more prospectors in the various goldfields . A new company, the African Transcontinental Company, was founded under

6417-412: The name informally 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 . He built a house for himself in 1897 in Bulawayo. Rhodes decreed in his will that he

6510-422: The news from Bembesi; in keeping with traditional custom, he and his subjects torched the royal town as they went. In the resultant conflagration, the city's large store of ivory, gold and other treasure was destroyed, and its ammunition magazine exploded. The flames were still rising when the British marched into the settlement the next day; they set up base in the "White Man's Camp" already present, and nailed

6603-439: The next two decades he gained a near-complete monopoly of the world diamond market. His diamond company De Beers , formed in 1888, retains its prominence into the 21st century. Rhodes entered the Cape Parliament at the age of 27 in 1881, and in 1890, he became prime minister. During his time as prime minister, Rhodes used his political power to expropriate land from black Africans through the Glen Grey Act , while also tripling

6696-534: The night the river rose, and early the next morning the Matabele surrounded the Shangani Patrol, overwhelming Wilson and his followers. 34 men of the Shangani Patrol perished in the encounter, while the remaining three (American scouts Frederick Russell Burnham and Pearl "Pete" Ingram, and an Australian named Gooding) crossed the swollen river under orders from Wilson, and returned to Forbes to request reinforcements. However, Forbes' forces were unable to cross

6789-492: The outbreak of the Second Boer War . In 1899, Rhodes was sued by a man named Burrows for falsely representing the purpose of the raid and thereby convincing him to participate in the raid. Burrows was severely wounded and had to have his leg amputated. His suit for £3,000 in damages was successful. Rhodes used his wealth and that of his business partner Alfred Beit and other investors to pursue his dream of creating

6882-438: The river Tuli into Matabeleland. It proceeded north-east and then north over a distance of about 650 kilometres (400 mi) intending to terminate at an open area explored by Selous a few years earlier that he called Mount Hampden. However, the column halted about 15 kilometres (9.3 mi) before that at a naturally flat and marshy meadow bounded by a steep rocky hill; (today's Harare Kopje) on 12 September (later celebrated as

6975-597: The river in time. Lobengula died from smallpox on January 22 or 23 1894. Meanwhile, the Ndebele warriors gradually succumbed to the company's superior firepower. Soon after the king's death, the Ndebele izinDuna submitted to the British South Africa Company. Charges were later made in the British House of Commons against the company, accusing them of having provoked the Ndebele in order to secure their territory. However, after enquiry

7068-730: The strategic interest of Britain: preventing the Portuguese , the Germans or the Boers from moving into south-central Africa. Rhodes's companies and agents cemented these advantages by obtaining many mining concessions, as exemplified by the Rudd and Lochner Concessions. Rhodes 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 Smith Moffat , son of

7161-437: The strengthening of international movements against racism, such as Rhodes Must Fall , Rhodes' legacy is a matter of debate to this day. Critics cite his confiscation of land from the black indigenous population of the Cape Colony , and false claims that southern African archeological sites such as Great Zimbabwe were built by European civilisations. Rhodes was born in 1853 in Bishop's Stortford , Hertfordshire, England,

7254-459: The suitably aged young men and women and killed everyone else.) However, the local British South Africa Company administration felt that they had to intervene to avoid losing the confidence of the local people who complained that they were not being given any support against the raid. As a result, the Company officials demanded from the raiders that they leave immediately. The Ndebele refused and in

7347-403: The technical problem of clearing out the water that was flooding the mines became serious. Rhodes and Rudd obtained the contract for pumping water out of the three main mines. After Rhodes returned from his first term at Oxford, he lived with Robert Dundas Graham, who later became a mining partner with Rudd and Rhodes. On 13 March 1888, Rhodes and Rudd launched De Beers Consolidated Mines after

7440-455: The time the Matabele withdrew, they had suffered around 1,500 fatalities; the BSAP, on the other hand, had lost only four men. A week later, on 1 November, 2,000 Matabele riflemen and 4,000 warriors attacked Forbes at Bembesi , about 50 kilometres (30 mi) north-east of Bulawayo, but again they were no match for the crushing firepower of the major's Maxims: about 2,500 more Matabele were killed. Lobengula fled Bulawayo as soon as he heard

7533-455: The wealth requirement for voting under the Franchise and Ballot Act , effectively barring black people from taking part in elections. After overseeing the formation of Rhodesia during the early 1890s, he was forced to resign in 1896 after the disastrous Jameson Raid , an unauthorised attack on Paul Kruger 's South African Republic (or Transvaal). Rhodes's career never recovered; his heart

7626-519: The white settlers. However, in 1893, a chief in the Victoria district named Gomara refused tribute, asserting that he was now under the protection of the laws of the settlers. In order to save face, Lobengula was impelled to send a raiding party of several thousand warriors to bring his vassal to heel. The raiding party destroyed several villages and murdered many of the inhabitants. (In this they were more restrained than usual as they generally abducted

7719-578: The world's diamond supply was sealed in 1890 through a strategic partnership with the London-based Diamond Syndicate. They agreed to control world supply to maintain high prices. 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 . Rudd later became his partner in the De Beers Mining Company and

7812-425: Was an English mining magnate and politician in southern Africa who served as Prime Minister of the Cape Colony from 1890 to 1896. He and his British South Africa Company founded the southern African territory of Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe and Zambia ), which the company named after him in 1895. He also devoted much effort to realising his vision of a Cape to Cairo Railway through British territory. Rhodes set up

7905-511: Was destined to greatness. In what he described as "a draft of some of my ideas" written in 1877 while a student at Oxford, Rhodes said of the English, "I contend that we are the first race in the world, and that the more of the world we inhabit the better it is for the human race. I contend that every acre added to our territory means the birth of more of the English race who otherwise would not be brought into existence." Rhodes bemoaned that there

7998-480: Was little land left to conquer and said "to think of these stars that you see overhead at night, these vast worlds which we can never reach. I would annex the planets if I could; I often think of that. It makes me sad to see them so clear and yet so far". Furthermore Rhodes saw imperialism as a way to alleviate domestic social problems - "In order to save the 40,000,000 inhabitants of the United Kingdom from

8091-505: Was not a biological or maximal racist . Despite his support for what became the basis for the apartheid system, he is best seen as a cultural or minimal racist ". In a 2016 opinion piece for The Times , Oxford University professor Nigel Biggar argued that although Rhodes was a committed imperialist , the charges of racism against him are unfounded. In a 2021 article, Biggar further argued that: First Matabele War The British South Africa Company had no more than 750 troops in

8184-492: Was rebuffed by its ruler Msiri , King Leopold II of Belgium obtained a concession over Msiri's dead body for his Congo Free State . Rhodes also wanted Bechuanaland Protectorate incorporated in the BSAC charter. But three Tswana kings, including Khama III , travelled to Britain and won over British public opinion for it to remain governed by the British Colonial Office in London. Rhodes commented: "It

8277-415: Was that black people needed to be driven off their land to "stimulate them to labour" and to change their habits. "It must be brought home to them", Rhodes said, "that in future nine-tenths of them will have to spend their lives in manual labour, and the sooner that is brought home to them the better." In 1892, Rhodes's Franchise and Ballot Act raised the property requirements from a relatively low £25 to

8370-480: Was to be buried in Matopos Hills (now Matobo Hills). After his death in the Cape in 1902, his body was transported by train to Bulawayo . His burial was attended by Ndebele chiefs, now paid agents of the BSAC administration, who asked that the firing party should not discharge their rifles as this would disturb the spirits. Then, for the first time, they gave a white man the Matabele royal salute, Bayete. Rhodes

8463-614: 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 Sprigg ministry had precipitated the revolt by applying its policy of disarming all native Africans to those of the Basotho nation, who resisted. In 1890, Rhodes became Prime Minister of the Cape Colony. He introduced various Acts of Parliament to push black people from their lands and make way for industrial development. Rhodes's view

8556-672: Was weak and there were fears that he might be consumptive (have tuberculosis), a disease of which several of the family showed symptoms. His father decided to send him abroad for what were believed the good effects of a sea voyage and a better climate in South Africa. When he arrived in Africa, Rhodes lived on money lent by his aunt Sophia. After a brief stay with the Surveyor-General of Natal , P.C. Sutherland , in Pietermaritzburg , Rhodes took an interest in agriculture. He joined his brother Herbert on his cotton farm in

8649-493: Was weak, and after years of ill health he died in 1902. He was buried in what is now Zimbabwe; his grave has been a controversial site. In his last will, he provided for the establishment of the international Rhodes Scholarship at University of Oxford , the oldest graduate scholarship in the world. Every year it grants 102 full postgraduate scholarships. It has benefited prime ministers of Malta, Australia, and Canada, United States President Bill Clinton , and many others. With

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