Data Bases • Custom Term Papers • Free Term Papers • Free Research Papers • Free Essays • Free Book Reports • Plagiarism? Links • Top 100 Term Paper Sites • Top 25 Essay Sites • Top 50 Essay Sites • Search 97,000 Papers @ DirectEssays.com • Search 101,000 Papers @ ExampleEssays.com • Search 90,000 Papers @ MegaEssays.com Free Essays • Term Paper Sites • Chuck III's Free Essays • Free College Essays • TermPaperSites.com • My Term Papers • Get Free Essays • Essay World • Planet Papers	Search Lots of Essays Back to Subjects - History Other cecil rhodes cecil rhodes Cecil Rhodes (1853-1902) was the main factor in determining the economic and political structure of today’s Zimbabwe (modern day Rhodesia). In the late 19th century, Cecil Rhodes, along with a multitude of armed white settlers, invaded the country of present-day Zimbabwe. All resistance was crushed and the British South African Company was created; this later became the basis for colonization of the entire country. Once Cecil gained control of the diamond and gold industry, he soon gained political power and eventually became the political leader of the area. He soon after disregarded African rights to the land and developed a mandatory labor in the mines that he created. Soon after, Rhodes controlled 90% of the world’s diamond production under De Beers Consolidated Mines, Ltd. The political dictatorship that Cecil Rhodes initiated at the time was to continue; Rhodes’ political system dominated present-day Zimbabwe under British rulers until 1980 when it finally gained independence. Rhodes started an 80-year rule by corrupt and greedy entrepreneurs who’s only goals were that of personal net worth and complete political dominance. -Cecil Rhodes was a very wealthy man because he had a monopoly of the world’s diamond production; he also controlled many gold mines, which contributed to his wealth -Rhodes took the area that he sought to control by force and forced the local people to work in the mines that he controlled. -Present-day Zimbabwe was a prosperous, self-governed area ever since the 12th century until the arrival of such settlers as Rhodes. -How did the local people finally break free of the long British rule? -Have local conditions changed for the better since the country’s independence in 1980? -What is the current economic status of the country; how has British rule (initiated by Rhodes in the late 19th century) influenced the economic stability of the country? -Is the political system still corrupt even though it is no longer British-controlled? -The Internet: Every time that I do a research paper, the most significant part of the research that I do comes from the Internet. The Internet provides the largest sea of information that anybody could ever dream of, with thousands and thousands of sites dedicated to the research topic that I have chosen. I would recommend the Internet to anyone as being his or her first stop in doing a research paper of this kind. -Library (Longmont Public Library): There are many different books that I can check out at the library in Longmont. This library provides an excellent source of information because it is both close, and I know for a fact that it has an entire section dedicated to African history because I have been there many times before. I plan to utilize this information source for my three needed book sources. -People over the age of 30 from Zimbabwe: The people that have 30 or more years of age from Zimbabwe may remember what it was like for them under British rule. Since Zimbabwe only gained its independence in 1980, this could be a great source of information. However, it may be unlikely that I call someone from Zimbabwe and speak to him or her directly. Most of the sites that I have visited already seem to have been written by Africans, so you might say that it is like I have been talking to them because I’m listening to their opinions. Cecil Rhodes, the fifth son of the vicar of Bishop’s Stortford, was a man with a mission. Rhodes stated his life out as a farmer with a passion for tree planting and agricultural improvement. Rhodes’ father sent his other sons to prestigious colleges or the army, but Rhodes stayed at home because of a respiratory weakness that he had. Rhodes was educated at the local grammar school and then set off for South Africa to work on a cotton farm with his brother Herbert. The two brothers toiled away for a year at the cotton farm, but didn’t 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 was not until 1890, however, when he became the Prime Minister of Cape Colony. For the following five years, Rhodes proved to be a successful Prime Minister in Britain’s eyes. The African people saw things a little differently. Rhodes passed an act in 1892 called the ‘Ballot Act’ which limited the native vote by enacting financial and educational qualifications. This act was the first of many initiatives started by Rhodes to keep the South African natives “pacified”. The height of Rhodes’ achievement was in 1893 when a short war broke out when Lobengula, king of the Matabele, tried and failed to regain control of Mashonaland. Rhodes however was growing a little impatient with his goals to take over Africa because he could see that his health was failing. Rhodes’ career was about to take a turn for the worst. He initially had a plan to take the area that he did not control by force, but he had no support to do so. This plan was therefore called off, but one of his reckless administrators by the name of Leander Starr Jameson decided to continue with the plan. Leander proceeded to invade Transvaal on his own on his infamous raid on December 29th, 1895. The raid was a complete disaster, and as a result, Rhodes took full responsibility and was forced to resign all of his political and Charter company offices in Cape Colony. Jameson and his compatriots were later sent to prison. When Rhodes lost control of the Cape Colony region, the area became disenfranchised. The Dutch and British had more disputes than ever and Rhodesia and Bechuanaland were taken over by the imperial government. The only thing that was left was the Charter, in which Rhodes spent the rest of his life involved with. Unfortunately for Rhodes, the last years of his life were filled with personal, economical, and political disappointments. However, this view was to change after his death in 1902 after his will was read in April. His reputation immediately grew to new heights. Public opinion of Rhodes grew immensely after the enactment of the Rhodes scholarship. The Rhodes scholarship was initiated in 1903 that insured that Rhodes’ legacy would continue for a long time to come. His will contained four principals that candidates for the scholarship should uphold: 1) Literary and scholastic attainments; 2) Fondness for and success in sports; 3) Truth, courage, devotion to duty, sympathy for and protection of the weak, kindness, unselfishness and fellowship; 4) Moral force of character and instincts to lead, and to take an interest in one's Fellow beings. These four characteristics ensured that Rhodes-like leaders dominate the world political parties. For example, many U.S. presidents have been Rhodes graduates of Oxford; many other British and German political figures are also Rhodes graduates. In this manner, Cecil Rhodes will always have an impact on the world political systems. Now, present day Zimbabwe seems to be in good health, especially compared to its neighboring countries. Pre-1980, Zimbabwe was ruled by the white minority that sought all of Zimbabwe’s wealth to themselves. After independence from Britain, Mugabe has instituted a form of government that is democratic in nature, for when he was elected, he had unanimous support from the people. Mugabe has been the one and only ruler of Post-1980 Zimbabwe, and the country is doing nicely. Zimbabwe is a perfect model for economically developing third world countries. Zimbabwe is an independent and self-sufficient. Zimbabwe has plenty of fertile lands on which to grow crops, and the area, much like other African countries, is full of mineral wealth. Rhodes’ racist, imperialistic form of government seems to have almost disappeared from the political scene in Zimbabwe. Bibliography: Works Cited: Internet: www.bcpl.net/~dbroida/cole2.html syllabus.syr.edu/AAS/hgcampbe/aas341/w3-1.htm 193.123.31.186/Rhodes.html gbgm-umc.org/africa/Zimbabwe/zprofile.html Books: Newlon, Clarke Southern Africa: The Critical Land Dodd, Mead & Company, New York © 1978 Farwell, Byron The Great Anglo-Boer War Harper & Row Publishers, New York © 1976 Morris, Donald R. The Washing of the Spears: The Rise and Fall of the Zulu Nation Simon & Schuster Inc. © 1965 Nelson, Harold D. Zimbabwe: A Country Study U.S. Government Printing Office © 1983 Word Count: 1624
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