Rhodes, Cecil John

Rhodes, Cecil John (1853-1902), South African statesman, b. Bishop's Stortford, Hertfordshire, England.

At the age of seventeen, Cecil Rhodes went to live in South Africa. He was ill and his parents thought the warm weather there would be good for him.

At first he and his elder brother, Herbert, grew cotton. Then diamonds were discovered at Kimberley and the brothers travelled there to seek their fortune.

Cecil Rhodes arrived in a mule cart with a bucket, a spade and a Greek dictionary. He formed a company and soon it owned the diamond fields and Cecil Rhodes was rich.

Later gold was found in the Transvaal and he added to his fortune there.

In 1890, he became Prime Minister of Cape Colony.

He had obtained permission from tribal chiefs to dig for minerals in areas to the north. In 1895 these were formed into a new colony called Rhodesia, named after Rhodes.

At this time, the Transvaal was governed by the Boers, and Englishmen complained of the way they were treated there. A friend of Rhodes, Dr. Leander Starr Jameson, led 500 mounted troops into the Transvaal. They were defeated and afterwards Rhodes was blamed for this raid. He resigned as Prime Minister.

In the Boer War of 1899-1902, Rhodes helped to defend Kimberley under siege by the Boers. He died, aged forty-nine, muttering, 'So little done, so much to do.'

See The Founder: Cecil Rhodes and the Pursuit of Power ~ Robert I. Rotberg