Many Britons of the nineteenth century, especially younger sons, used wit, luck, charm, and brutality to seek their fortunes in India and Africa. But tales of fortune-seeking often ignore the resultant suffering on the part of indigenous peoples. Cecil Rhodes exemplifies this paradox. Founder of the De Beers Mining Company, Rhodes amassed storied wealth and power that allowed him to support a coup in Cape Colony and dominate the diamond trade. An unapologetic imperialist and a racist, he also established the Rhodes scholarship program, which enables college graduates from eighteen former British colonies to spend two years at Oxford; among American Rhodes scholars are former NBA star and senator Bill Bradley, diplomat Strobe Talbot, and former president Bill Clinton. It is ironic that the scholarship program is the best-known legacy of this man, who helped lay the foundation for South Africa's former brutal policy of apartheid.
- Diamonds are nothing more than pure carbon, put under great pressure over a great deal of time. By the time he was thirty-five, Cecil Rhodes created a company, De Beers, that controlled 95% of the world's diamond supply, and that carefully kept prices high and cultivated the cachet of diamonds. Try to critically examine the website below to understand why modern culture is so enamored of these gems at
http://www.diamondsonweb.com/?keyword=certified+diamonds=Google
- Examine a timeline and brief article about Cecil Rhodes at
http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/sceptred_isle/page/169.shtml?question=169
- Despite founding the Rhodes scholarships, Cecil Rhodes was no humanitarian. Scrutinize recent working conditions for De Beers miners at
http://www.sparkle.plus.com/kleinzee-A.html
- An article on Rhodes's life, with a short account of the Jameson Raid of 1896, which attempted to overthrow the Kruger government of the Cape Colony, may be found at
http://www.bartleby.com/65/rh/Rhodes-C.html
