Cecil Rhodes and the Expansion of British Empire in Africa

Cecil Rhodes and the Expansion of British Empire in Africa

Introduction

Cecil John Rhodes was a businessperson, politician and mining magnate, based in South Africa and born in Britain in 1853. He founded the De Beers Company, which handled 60 percent of the diamond stock of the world. He was an enthusiastic and fervent believer of colonism and colonized the state Rhodesia. He was a short-term factor in British empires impact in Africa however; his impact was vast and prominent regardless of some authors and historians may say otherwise. South Africa unlike the rest of the country populated sparsely the time when the invasion of Europeans took place and they arrived. They had come not to settle down but to be able to resupply the ships they used during their long voyage to Southern Asia from Europe. When the very first settlement of the Europeans created, they came across very little opposition. It took the Africans many generations of strength and power to be able to oppose and have their voices heard (Parsons, 1993).

            Economic Influence, its Help in Expanding the British Empire

Cecil Rhodes talent as a successful businessperson and as a politician was able to get complete control over the trade of diamonds in the year 1889. His impact on the colonization of the British in Africa was short term; between 1870 to the year 1900. His two companies by the end of the two decades of him being in power, De Beers and Mines and Gold filed in the South of Africa were already dominating the export and local market.

He was a prominent personality in Africa's colonization. Eventually called the scramble for Africa (Partition of Africa) it was due to him and his unprecedented skills that Africa's map took shape in the 21st century. His revenue secured enough to gain support to fulfill his dream of the creation of a British Empire on the northern side of Transvaal after a deal made and partnership created with the London Diamond Syndicate.

The most active period of Rhodes expansion in Africa covered the rise of his mining business, securing of the states in Africa through treaties (Zambesia) being appointed at the Cape Colony as the Prime minister and the Matabele wars and raid in Jameson.

It is agreed that the impact of Cecil Rhodes could not have been this huge without the assistance and the support financially provided by the Rothschild Bank. Sources have underlined that without the part played by Cecil Rhodes the chances of the British colonization being inevitable are high and without a doubt would have regardless of his part occurred as Africa was rich and had resources that could stabilize Britain which was unstable due to the economic depression (Ferguson, 2000).

On the other hand, majority agrees that Rhodes had the largest impact compared to any single figure during the period known as scramble for Africa, which was the process of invading, colonizing and annexing the African territory, which Rhodes ...