h his brother Herbert. The two brothers toiled away for a year at the cotton farm, but didnt seem to achieve much success. Diamond mining seemed like the viable alternative at the time, and so the two brothers gave in to diamond fever, as it was popularly called at the time. The two brothers made the move to Kimberley, which was the center of mining at the time, in 1871. Rhodes and his brother stayed at Kimberley for two years, developing mining ability. Two years seemed to be enough time for Herbert, and so Rhodes brother left Kimberley. After he had developed a small fortune from mining, Rhodes wanted to study at Oxford. He spent the next decade, or so, dividing his time between his career in mining and his studies at Oxford. When he finished his studies at oxford, he spent the majority of his time in South Africa, building his mining empire. His two major companies were De Beers Consolidated Mines, Ltd. and Gold Fields of South Africa Company. However, Rhodes goals were not purely economical, his ultimate plan was to expand northward. He often said that his end goal was to paint as much of Africa red as possible. Rhodes wanted to unite Africa under the British flag, building a railway from Cairo to Cape-town. Evidence of his ultimate plan can be seen surprisingly early in his life when he wrote his Confession of Faith in 1877 when he was just 24 years of age. This is a quote directly from this document, I contend that we are the finest race in the world [the British] and that the more of the world we inhabit the better it is for the human race. Looking at quotes such as this one seems to paint the picture that Rhodes was a racist, patriotic man. Many believe this to be true, and that point is backed up when you take a look at his political involvement in South Africa. Rhodes became involved in politics in 1881, during this time he formed alliances and trusts between many local political figures and gained favor among the people. It w...
