Cecil Rhodes

In his youthful writings and political career, Rhodes advocated British imperial expansion based on a belief in the superiority of the British "race" and the idea that more territories should come under its control.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Personally implicated

Beyond individual laws, Rhodes supported separate locations for Africans, voted for coercive penal measures in labour relations and developed a vision of territorial reserves separating Africans and whites. Oriel research concludes that he made several decisions intensifying racial segregation.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Political responsibility

During the 1896–1897 uprisings, company forces and imperial units destroyed villages and crops, confiscated cattle, carried out executions without trial and attacked caves. Oriel research concludes that Rhodes was closely informed, participated in strategic decisions and initially supported a very harsh approach.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Directly implicated

Rhodes participated in preparing an Uitlander uprising and an armed incursion led by Leander Starr Jameson to overthrow the Transvaal government. The raid failed and caused a major scandal, leading to Rhodes's resignation as Cape Prime Minister.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Directly implicated

Rhodes supported the 1893 campaign against Lobengula's kingdom. Company forces, equipped notably with Maxim machine guns, inflicted heavy casualties; after victory, cattle were seized and extensive lands allocated to settlers and expedition participants.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Political responsibility

The Glen Grey Act, promoted by Rhodes's government, reorganised land tenure and local institutions in African areas and created a specific tax intended to push African men towards wage labour on farms and in industry.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Political responsibility

Under Rhodes's government, the 1892 electoral law raised the property threshold and added an educational requirement to the Cape's qualified franchise. Although formally applicable to everyone, it excluded proportionately far more African and coloured voters.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Political responsibility

Rhodes was one of the principal architects of De Beers Consolidated Mines, which absorbed or marginalised numerous competitors and acquired a dominant position in Kimberley diamond production, laying an essential foundation for his wealth and political power.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Directly implicated

The Kimberley mines developed closed compounds for African workers, involving searches, restrictions on movement and racially differentiated discipline to control diamond theft and labour. De Beers, led by Rhodes, was a major participant in this system.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Directly implicated

Rhodes secured a royal charter for the British South Africa Company and used it to send the Pioneer Column north in 1890, establish settlements and distribute land in the territory that would become Southern Rhodesia.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Directly implicated