Cecil Rhodes Research Paper

799 Words4 Pages

Born in Stortford, England in 1853, Cecil Rhodes was one of nine sons born to the parish priest (notablebiographies.com). Although his brothers all went away to boarding school, Cecil had to stay behind and attend local school due to health related issues. When he was just 16 years old, Cecil was sent away to work on a cotton farm in South Africa. On the cotton farm, he worked with his brother Herbert in a very harsh environment. It didn’t take long for them both to realize there was more to life than picking cotton. By 1871, “diamond fever” took over this area of England. Both brothers entered an even harsher environment when they traveled and settled near the Kimberley diamond field in South Africa.

In the 1870s, Cecil was working in an open-pit mine. He was a work …show more content…

From 1890 to 1896, Rhodes was the prime minister of Cape Colony (Understanding Western Society, 748). His primary objective was to impose British rule on the Dutch settlers of South Africa and acquire as much land as he could past their northern borders. While prime minister, he purchased a property named Groote Schuur. He renovated the house in Dutch colonial style so that it could be passed on to future South African leaders as their official residence. There he lavishly entertained Dutch and British inhabitants of the Cape Colony and eminent visitors of all nationalities (brittanica.com).

When Rhodes close friend Leander Jameson instigated an invasion into Matabeleland in 1893, serious trouble broke out (brittanica.com). With reckless abandon, Jameson decided to overtake the Transvaal on his own with his troops. Jameson was captured in 1895 by the Johannesburg rebels and sent to prison. As a result, Rhodes had to resign his premiership in January 1896 (notablebiographies.com). Rhodes was growing frustrated by the turn of events and he visibly began to show his

Open Document