Cecil Rhodes | Biography, Significance, & Facts

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text-gray-400 d-lg-none" data-icon="toc"></em> <a class="font-serif font-weight-bold text-black link-blue" href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Cecil-Rhodes">Cecil Rhodes</a> </div> <button aria-label="Close" class="js-sections-close-button btn-link btn-sm btn d-lg-none position-absolute top-0 p-10 right-0" > <em class="material-icons font-26" data-icon="close"></em> </button> </div> <div class="section-content pl-10 pr-20 pl-sm-50 pr-sm-60 pl-lg-5 pr-lg-10 pt-10 pt-lg-0 bg-gray-50 clear-catfish-ad"> <div class="toc mb-20"> <div class="font-serif font-14 font-weight-bold mx-15 mb-15 mt-20"> Table of Contents </div> <ul class="list-unstyled my-0" data-level="h1"><li data-target="#ref1"><div class="pl-25"><a class="link-gray-900 w-100" href="/biography/Cecil-Rhodes">Introduction</a></div><div class="ml-40 toc-drawer sub-toc-drawer"></div></li><li data-target="#ref6152"><div class="d-flex align-items-center"><div class="ml-25"></div><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/biography/Cecil-Rhodes#ref6152">Early struggles and financial successes</a></div><div class="ml-40 toc-drawer sub-toc-drawer"></div></li><li data-target="#ref6153"><div class="d-flex align-items-center"><div class="ml-25"></div><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/biography/Cecil-Rhodes/Political-involvement-in-Africa">Political involvement in Africa</a></div><div class="ml-40 toc-drawer sub-toc-drawer"></div></li><li data-target="#ref6154"><div class="d-flex align-items-center"><div class="ml-25"></div><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/biography/Cecil-Rhodes/Policies-as-prime-minister-of-Cape-Colony">Policies as prime minister of Cape Colony</a></div><div class="ml-40 toc-drawer sub-toc-drawer"></div></li><li data-target="#ref6155"><div class="d-flex align-items-center"><div class="ml-25"></div><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/biography/Cecil-Rhodes/Effects-of-the-Jameson-raid-on-Rhodess-career">Effects of the Jameson raid on Rhodes’s career</a></div><div class="ml-40 toc-drawer sub-toc-drawer"></div></li><li data-target="#ref329725"><div class="d-flex align-items-center"><div class="ml-25"></div><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/biography/Cecil-Rhodes/Effects-of-the-Jameson-raid-on-Rhodess-career#ref329725">Legacy</a></div><div class="ml-40 toc-drawer sub-toc-drawer"></div></li></ul> <a class="toc-extra-link link-gray-900" href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Cecil-Rhodes/additional-info">References & Edit History</a> <a class="toc-extra-link link-gray-900" href="/facts/Cecil-Rhodes">Quick Facts & Related Topics</a> </div> <div class="tlr-media-slider pb-10 mb-30"> <a class="section-header link-gray-900 font-serif font-14 font-weight-bold mb-10 mx-10" href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Cecil-Rhodes/images-videos">Images</a> <div class="slider js-slider position-relative d-inline-flex align-items-center mw-100 "> <div class="slider-container js-slider-container overflow-hidden d-flex overflow-hidden text-nowrap ml-15"> <a 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Author of <i>The Story of Modern Greece</i> and others; coauthor of <i>Rhodes.</i></div> </a> <div data-popper-arrow></div> </div> <span class="btn btn-link editor-link p-0 qa-byline-link gtm-byline font-12 byline-contributor text-decoration-underline"> Christopher Montague Woodhouse</span></div> <div class="font-serif font-12 text-gray-700"> <span class="qa-fact-checked-by">Fact-checked by</span> <div class="editor-popover popover p-0"> <a class="d-block p-20 qa-editor-popup font-12" href="/editor/The-Editors-of-Encyclopaedia-Britannica/4419" > <div class="editor-title font-16 font-weight-bold">The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica</div> <div class="editor-description font-12 font-serif mt-5 text-black">Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree. They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors.</div> </a> <div data-popper-arrow></div> </div> <span class="btn btn-link editor-link p-0 qa-byline-link font-12 "> The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica</span></div> <div class="last-updated font-12 font-serif"> <span class="text-gray-700"> Last Updated: <time datetime="2024-11-22T00:00:00CST" >Nov 22, 2024</time> •</span> <a class="byline-edit-history" href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Cecil-Rhodes/additional-info#history" rel="nofollow">Article History</a> </div></div> </div> <button class="d-flex d-lg-none btn btn-outline-blue border rounded-sm shadow-sm mobile-toc-button gtm-mobile-toc-inline-button d-none d-sm-block js-sections-inline-button module-spacing btn d-lg-none"> <em class="material-icons mr-5 ml-n10 my-n5 md-icon" data-icon="toc"></em> Table of Contents </button> <div class="d-flex d-sm-none flex-row"> <button class="d-flex d-lg-none btn btn-outline-blue border rounded-sm shadow-sm mobile-toc-button gtm-mobile-toc-inline-button js-sections-inline-button module-spacing"> <em class="material-icons mr-5 ml-n10 my-n5 md-icon" data-icon="toc"></em> Table of Contents </button> <button class="ai-ask-button btn border-2 ai-ask-button btn border-2 module-spacing btn-sm js-inline-ai-ask-button btn-outline-red-400 border-red-400 p-10 ml-5"> Ask the Chatbot a Question </button> </div> <div class="js-qf-module qf-module px-40 px-sm-20 py-15 mx-auto module-spacing font-14 bg-gray-50 rounded"> <div class="qf-title font-weight-bold font-14 mb-10 text-center"> Quick Facts</div> <div class="facts-list mt-10"> <div class=""> <div class="js-fact mb-10 line-clamp clamp-3"> <dl> <dt>In full: </dt> <dd>Cecil John Rhodes</dd> </dl> <button class="js-more-btn d-none btn btn-unstyled font-12 bg-gray-50" aria-label="Toggle more/less fact data"> <em class="js-content link-blue">(Show more)</em> </button> </div> </div> <div class=""> <div class="js-fact mb-10 line-clamp clamp-3"> <dl> <dt>Born: </dt> <dd>July 5, 1853, <a href="/place/Bishops-Stortford">Bishop’s Stortford</a>, <a href="/place/Hertfordshire">Hertfordshire</a>, <a href="/place/England">England</a></dd> </dl> <button class="js-more-btn d-none btn btn-unstyled font-12 bg-gray-50" aria-label="Toggle more/less fact data"> <em class="js-content link-blue">(Show more)</em> </button> </div> </div> <div class=""> <div class="js-fact mb-10 line-clamp clamp-3"> <dl> <dt>Died: </dt> <dd>March 26, 1902, Muizenberg, <a href="/place/Cape-Colony">Cape Colony</a> [now in South Africa] (aged 48)</dd> </dl> <button class="js-more-btn d-none btn btn-unstyled font-12 bg-gray-50" aria-label="Toggle more/less fact data"> <em class="js-content link-blue">(Show more)</em> </button> </div> </div> <div class=""> <div class="js-fact mb-10 line-clamp clamp-3"> <dl> <dt>Title / Office: </dt> <dd><a href="/topic/prime-minister">prime minister (1890-1896)</a>, <a href="/place/Cape-Colony">Cape Colony</a></dd> </dl> <button class="js-more-btn d-none btn btn-unstyled font-12 bg-gray-50" aria-label="Toggle more/less fact data"> <em class="js-content link-blue">(Show more)</em> </button> </div> </div> <div class=""> <div class="js-fact mb-10 line-clamp clamp-3"> <dl> <dt>Founder: </dt> <dd><a href="/money/De-Beers-SA">De Beers S.A.</a></dd> <dd><a href="/topic/Rhodes-Scholarship">Rhodes Scholarship</a></dd> </dl> <button class="js-more-btn d-none btn btn-unstyled font-12 bg-gray-50" aria-label="Toggle more/less fact data"> <em class="js-content link-blue">(Show more)</em> </button> </div> <div class="text-center"> <a class="btn btn-sm btn-link p-0" href="/facts/Cecil-Rhodes"> See all related content </a> </div> </div> </div> </div><span class="marker before-article"></span><section data-level="1" id="ref1"><span class="marker PREMOD1 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph"><strong><span id="ref268429"></span>Cecil Rhodes</strong> (born July 5, 1853, <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Bishops-Stortford" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">Bishop’s Stortford</a>, <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Hertfordshire" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">Hertfordshire</a>, England—died March 26, 1902, Muizenberg, <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Cape-Colony" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">Cape Colony</a> [now in South Africa]) was a financier, statesman, and empire builder of British <span id="ref268430"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/history-of-South-Africa" class="md-crosslink ">South Africa</a>. He was <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/prime-minister" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">prime minister</a> of <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Cape-Province" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Cape Colony</a> (1890–96) and organizer of the giant diamond-mining company De Beers <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off eb" data-term="Consolidated" href="https://www.britannica.com/dictionary/Consolidated" data-type="EB">Consolidated</a> Mines, Ltd. (1888). By his will he established the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Rhodes-Scholarship" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Rhodes scholarships</a> at <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/University-of-Oxford" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Oxford</a> (1902).</p><span class="marker MOD1 mod-inline"></span></section> <span class="marker h2"></span><section data-level="1" id="ref6152"><h2 class="h1">Early struggles and financial successes</h2> <span class="marker PREMOD2 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">Rhodes was the son of the vicar of Bishop’s Stortford, and the family’s roots were in the countryside, where Cecil Rhodes always felt at home: tree planting and agricultural improvement were among his lifelong passions, though his earliest ambition was to be a barrister or a clergyman. His father was prosperous enough to send one son to <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Eton-College" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">Eton College</a>, another to <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Winchester-College" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">Winchester College</a>, and three into the army. Cecil, however, was kept at home because of a weakness of the lungs and was educated at the local <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/grammar-school-British-education" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">grammar school</a>. Poor health also debarred him from the professional career he planned. Instead of going to the university, he was sent to South Africa in 1870 to work on a cotton farm, where his brother Herbert was already established.</p><span class="marker MOD2 mod-inline"></span> <span class="marker PREMOD3 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">The farm in Natal was not a success. On his arrival Rhodes found that his brother had already left for the diamond fields of <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Griqualand-West" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Griqualand West</a>. Although Herbert returned to the farm, and the two brothers continued stubbornly trying to grow cotton for a year, the “diamond fever” eventually overcame them. In 1871 they moved to <span id="ref268431"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Kimberley-South-Africa" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Kimberley</a>, the centre of mining, where life was even harder than in Natal. Herbert was restless and stayed only until 1873, but Cecil’s characteristic determination kept him at Kimberley off and on for years.</p><span class="marker MOD3 mod-inline"></span> <span class="marker PREMOD4 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">For eight years, until he took a belated degree in 1881, he divided his life between Kimberley and <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Oxford-England" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">Oxford</a>. Both societies found him odd, though he did his best to conform outwardly to the conventions. At Oxford his <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="eccentric" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/eccentric" data-type="MW">eccentric</a> habits, falsetto giggle, rambling monologues, and unusual background intrigued the younger students around him. So did his philosophy of an almost mystical <span id="ref268432"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/imperialism" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">imperialism</a>.</p><span class="marker MOD4 mod-inline"></span> <span class="marker PREMOD5 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">He gradually advanced from being a speculative digger to the status of a man of substance with ambitious ideas on the future of the diamond industry. His first partnerships were with young men as impoverished as himself, such as C.D. Rudd, with whom he formed <span id="ref268433"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/money/De-Beers-SA" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">De Beers Mining Company</a> (1880)—so called after the De Beers mining claims, many of which he had acquired. Eventually success brought new friends and also rivals. Alfred Beit, a German who knew the diamond market intimately, was his most-valued friend. With Beit’s help, Rhodes expanded his claims until all the De Beers mines were under his control. In 1887 he set about <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off eb" data-term="acquiring" href="https://www.britannica.com/dictionary/acquiring" data-type="EB">acquiring</a> the <span id="ref1221337"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Kimberley-Central-Diamond-Mining-Company" class="md-crosslink ">Kimberley Central Diamond Mining Company</a>, which was mainly controlled by <span id="ref268434"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/money/Barney-Barnato" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Barney Barnato</a>. A furious competition to buy up shares ended in Rhodes’s favour in 1888, and Barnato agreed to merge his company with Rhodes’s company, forming De Beers Consolidated Mines, Ltd. However, several minor shareholders in Barnato’s company were not in favour of the planned amalgamation and tried to halt the merger in court, which found in favour of the shareholders. To work around the ruling, Barnato and Rhodes, who by then controlled most of the shares in Kimberley Central, liquidated the company. De Beers Consolidated Mines, Ltd., then purchased Kimberley’s <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off eb" data-term="assets" href="https://www.britannica.com/dictionary/assets" data-type="EB">assets</a> for more than £5 million ($25 million), which was paid out, in part, to the aggrieved shareholders.</p><div class="module-spacing"> </div><div class="one-good-fact-module"> </div><span class="marker MOD5 mod-inline"></span> <span class="marker PREMOD6 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">Other lesser mines also fell under Rhodes’s control, until by 1891 De Beers Consolidated Mines, Ltd., owned 90 percent of the world’s production of diamonds. He also acquired a large stake in the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Transvaal" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">Transvaal</a> gold mines, which had been discovered in 1885, and formed the <span id="ref268435"></span>Gold Fields of South Africa Company in 1887. Both Rhodes’s major companies had terms in their articles of association allowing them to finance schemes of northward expansion.</p><span class="marker MOD6 mod-inline"></span></section> <span class="marker end-of-content"></span><span class="marker after-article"></span></div> <div id="chatbot-root"></div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="ai-dialog-placeholder"></div> </div> </div> <aside class="col-md-da-320"></aside> </div> </div> </div> </div> </article></div> </div></div> </div> </main> <div id="md-footer"></div> <noscript><iframe src="//www.googletagmanager.com/ns.html?id=GTM-5W6NC8" height="0" width="0" style="display:none;visibility:hidden"></iframe></noscript> <script type="text/javascript" id="_informizely_script_tag"> var IzWidget = IzWidget || {}; (function (d) { var scriptElement = d.createElement('script'); scriptElement.type = 'text/javascript'; scriptElement.async = true; scriptElement.src = "https://insitez.blob.core.windows.net/site/f780f33e-a610-4ac2-af81-3eb184037547.js"; var node = d.getElementById('_informizely_script_tag'); node.parentNode.insertBefore(scriptElement, node); } )(document); </script>  <script> window.ap3c = window.ap3c || {}; var ap3c = window.ap3c; ap3c.cmd = ap3c.cmd || []; ap3c.cmd.push(function() { ap3c.init('ZO4siT4cLwnykPnzZWJtd3Byb2Q', 'https://engage.email.britannica.com/'); ap3c.track({v: 0}); }); ap3c.activity = function(act) { ap3c.act = (ap3c.act || []); ap3c.act.push(act); }; var s, t; s = document.createElement('script'); s.type = 'text/javascript'; s.src = "https://engage.email.britannica.com/app.js"; t = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; t.parentNode.insertBefore(s, t); </script> <script class="marketing-page-info" type="application/json"> {"pageType":"Topic","templateName":"DESKTOP","pageNumber":1,"pagesTotal":4,"pageId":501604,"pageLength":694,"initialLoad":true,"lastPageOfScroll":false} </script> <script class="marketing-content-info" type="application/json"> [] </script> <script src="https://cdn.britannica.com/mendel-resources/3-131/js/libs/jquery-3.5.0.min.js?v=3.131.7"></script> <script type="text/javascript" data-type="Init Mendel Code Splitting"> (function() { $.ajax({ dataType: 'script', cache: true, url: 'https://cdn.britannica.com/mendel-resources/3-131/dist/topic-page.js?v=3.131.7' }); })(); </script> <script class="analytics-metadata" type="application/json"> {"leg":"C","adLeg":"C","userType":"ANONYMOUS","pageType":"Topic","pageSubtype":null,"articleTemplateType":"BIO_PAGINATED","gisted":false,"pageNumber":1,"hasSummarizeButton":false,"hasAskButton":true} </script> <script type="text/javascript"> EBStat={accountId:-1,hostnameOverride:'webstats.eb.com',domain:'www.britannica.com', json:''}; </script> <script type="text/javascript"> ( function() { $.ajax( { dataType: 'script', cache: true, url: '//www.britannica.com/webstats/mendelstats.js?v=1' } ) .done( function() { try {writeStat(null,EBStat);} catch(err){} } ); })(); </script> <div id="bc-fixed-dialogue"></div> </body> </html>

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Cecil Rhodes | Biography, Significance, & Facts | Britannica