Cecil Rhodes the Colossus of Africa - Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair?

[Dure]

I got the idea for this during the Malta thread.

Suppose Cecil Rhodes had not died until a few years after WWI ended, after the war the German colonies are no longer an impediment to the route of the Cape to Cario railway. What if Rhodes had been able to convince the Colonial and Imperial authorities to fund the construction of the Cape to Cario railway and it had been completed in 1936 (say) as a standard guage dual track railway (the southern African section being re-guaged).

What would have been the impact on:-

1) Global politics,
2) British military strategy in WWII,
3) Black-white relations in Southern Africa and,
4) The post-colonial independence movements in black Africa?

 

[Alexandru H.]

Seriously it was a stupid idea both in 1900 and 1930. Can't see the Empire paying for an useless piece of propaganda...

 

[Dure]

Alexandru H.,

I have not really thought about the relative merits of the idea. What I do know is that it was not built in OTL. I am interested in what would have happened if it were built, because it would change things. I think it is a great POD if for no other reasons than the Boer culture with all its 'interesting' racial ideas is now able to spread into the interior, but so too are Western ideas of the state and freedom. It also has lots of impact on WWII, it gets much easier to supply the Eastern Med. and potentially India.

Incidentally, modern economists think it is a really good idea along with the trans-Africa highways and there is a good chance China might stump up some of the investment.

 

[Alexandru H.]

It wasn't a good idea because it was far easier and cheaper to use the maritime capabilities of the British Empire to transport goods and men. Frankly, a guy that wanted to go from Cairo to Cape Town would have taken a boat rather than the train.

Trans-continental railroads were a product of 19th century and pretty much died out after the invention of airplane. But while for the US or Russia such an idea made sense (harder to use sea-transport), Africa was defined by its relationship with colonial sea-powers. Even today I can't see its use...

 

[Boto von Ageduch]

Dure,

I think "convince to fund" is the major part of your challenge posting.
The most important question seems to be what consequences this would
have on other items of British treasury spendings ...

Of course, you are right that relationship between greater regions in Africa
might change, different settling movements might be created.
Such differences may be promising to work out, but they are rather sublte
in nature, very silent, and take a long time to create significant effects.


P.S.: I guess you put this thread into the "Before 1900" forum because
the PoD is Cecil reconsidering his diet in 1895? ;-)

 

[Dure]

I put it in pre-1900 before I checked up on my facts I thought he died in 1898 but it took him another 4 years to croak. I am happy if someone moves the thread.

 

[Boto von Ageduch]

II am happy if someone moves the thread.

It's certainly not a major issue, I just find it funny to nitpick at times
(as most of posters here, I guess).
I really admire how the cut at 1900 creates virtually an equilibrium of postings ...
good for the databases!



As to your point:
Does the gauge really matter so much?
On a transcontinental voyage, it does not matter so much if it takes another
four hours to remount the wagons.
Or is that technology much more recent?