Taken from “The History of South Africa”
Edited by Lord Timothy Breech
Cape Town Publishing, Cape Town, South Africa; Copyright 2018
Used with permission…
…much has been said about Cecil Rhodes. To many he is the founder of South Africa and De Beers, serving as the first prime minister of the former and chairman on the latter. He orchestrated many incidents, annexations and used his incredible influence and money to steer. His victories in the Matabele Wars, the South African War and the Great War are seen by many to make him one of the Empire’s greatest heroes behind the likes of Clive, Wellesley, Nelson and Chamberlain. No doubt, his exploits prompted people to call him “the Colossus” until his death in 1923.
Despite all of these achievements, his flaws were vast. He instituted several reforms that disenfranchised native Africans, a problem that would grip South Africa for the next 30 years. His ego and vainness were unnaturally large and he is the only Prime Minister of South Africa to have a province named after him. He convinced himself he could do no wrong and to many his assumption was correct. He was always scheming and always careful before he advanced, but he inexorably reached for his evermore ambitious goals.
Whatever people may think of Rhodes, one thing is for sure. His achievements are vast. He founded De Beers and Anglo-American plc, which today control over 90% of the world’s diamond supply and 70% of the world’s gold supply respectively. He allowed for millions of disenfranchised Europeans to settle in his territories. His estate was worth over 10,000,000 pounds at his death, and he used every cent of it to make South Africa one of the most powerful countries today, which has helped the British Commonwealth extend its Pax Britannia into the 21st century.
Rhodes was once most famous for saying to another miner in Kimberly back even as far as 1887, "all of these stars... these vast worlds remain out of reach. If I could, I would annex other planets”. Little did he know how true that quote would come to be…
------------
Cape Town, South Africa
January 29, 1895
Leander Starr Jameson was shocked. His plan was flawless; he would march with 500 volunteers into the Transvaal and instigate an uprising. Transvaal would fall and Rhodes would become master of all Africa. The plan seemed too good to be true. Rhodes seemed to be content with the plan; nothing would seem to serve him more than to see Kruger deposed. But now, it seemed he had considered the risk and reward and decided that it wasn’t worth it. That fool, Alfred Beit agreed with him too.
“Cecil, I don’t understand. We could have Kruger deposed and the Transvaal under your control. It would be our greatest victory yet.” Jameson said, now exasperated. “I don’t understand why…”
“Look, I’m afraid Jan Hofmeyr may have begun to catch on to our plan.” Rhodes said quietly. Beit stood sternly, looking at Jameson as to increase the grave seriousness this matter included.
“But how… We made sure this was discussed secretly.” Jameson was suddenly shifty-eyed. This was very serious, indeed. Jan Hofmeyr was Rhodes’s biggest asset into becoming the leader of Cape colony and who, as an Afrikaner would be quite sympathetic to Transvaal and many Cape Afrikaners would join him. Rhodes would be sacked for sure if Hofmeyr found out and made that knowledge public.
“I know, I know. Unfortunately we need to scrap the plan. I propose a different plan, a plan where the money cannot be traced back to us.” Rhodes, although spooked from his close call with Hofmeyr, seemed to keep his mischievousness. The drive to become the personal overlord of Transvaal was too great, but Rhodes was no fool. He was still hatching a plan, and this time he would make it foolproof.
“I’m listening…” Jameson understood that his proposed raid had to be cancelled. Rhodes really wanted Kruger gone, but this temporary slip with Hofmeyr had cautioned him to be more careful. If Jameson wanted the glory of conquering land like in the Matabele Wars repeated, he would have to go along with Rhodes, who was his main financier.
“My plan may take longer but it a truly foolproof way to undermine Kruger’s government and his control over our business.” Rhodes said, as he edged in closer to tell Jameson. Beit, who was standing next to Rhodes, did the same.
“Well?” Jameson inquired annoyingly. With that, Rhodes began to quietly tell him his plans…
----------
An excerpt from “The South African War: Bravery and Unity”
By Dr. John Williams
Cape University Publishing, Cape Town, South Africa; Copyright 1998
Used with permission…
…the road leading up to the South African War was one of posturing and one-upping between two leading figures of their, Cecil Rhodes and Paul Kruger. Once gold was found in the Witwatersrand, the posturing began. Kruger began to tax the mining companies, controlled by Rhodes and his fellow Randlords. Rhodes responded by conquering Matabeleland in the north to find gold, much to the president of Transvaal’s dismay. Kruger, still somewhat unfazed, responded by denying the foreign residents of the Transvaal, or Uitlanders, the right to participate in the election and governmental process. Rhodes responded soon after with the Transvaal Reform Committee, which was an organization made by Randlords whose business was tied to this political situation. Kruger naturally didn’t listen to any of them, declaring them (correctly) simply a pawn of Rhodes’s regime in Cape Town.
What truly raised the tone and accelerated the road to conflict between Kruger and Rhodes was the Uitlander uprising of 1895. 200 white British gold miners armed with rifles tried to raid a police station used by the Boers to keep track of these white miners. They were quickly surrounded and over 100 of them were killed on the spot without the government’s order. The international outrage was supreme, but Kruger tried to point to Rhodes. Rhodes denied involvement and Kruger could find no evidence to the contrary.
The outrage that came with the 1895 uprising allowed Rhodes to purchase the rights to the Niassa Company. This company controlled the south coast of Mozambique, including Delgola Bay, which Kruger was using to bypass British shipping and by extension, tariffs. Rhodes added it to his territories of Rhodesia and renamed the city in the bay Port Chamberlain, after the colonial secretary of his day. It is known as that still today. Kruger and the Boer Republics were now completely surrounded. Kruger continued to try and gain the upper hand by stopping all gold from leaving the Transvaal. Kruger wanted to force Rhodes to call off his little game by denying him the very thing he was seeking. Conversely, this rash action worked against Kruger. First it angered the Uitlanders even more, making his control of the nation decline. Since almost all nations were on the Gold Standard at the time, it precipitated a huge economic dip, known as the Panic of 1896 almost immediately. This prompted more international hatred and local problems for Kruger.
Now with everything being done to posture and get ahead of each other in a cat-and-mouse way; a conflict was now beaconing. A conflict which would redefine South Africa…
------------
February 8th, 1896
Mafeking, South Africa
The fort appeared out of the haze of midday. It was quite a hot summer and the current situation only seemed to sizzle the already steaming atmosphere. The walls loomed ominously ahead as the train bound for it. Inside the railcars, the conditions were no cooler. The entire battalion of troops was sweltering as they sat and wait to arrive at their destination.
“It is a damn hot day. I mean Jesus!” Private Francis O’Brien yelled to his fellow troops over the clamor of the tracks as the train moved on with treacherous speed. This statement was met with a tired groan of agreement from most of the railcar.
“You’ve got that right.” Another Man said from across a few tables. “I haven’t been this warm since my post in Egypt or my post in Guyana.” He nodded as several men looked quite respectively at the man. He must’ve been in the Army for quite some time to have served in those far reaching areas of the World. Most of the men, including O’Brien were fairly new recruits from across the Empire.
“Damn it soldiers! For God sakes, Griping about your situation will help not one bit! I’ve come from somewhere even warmer. Khartoum and there we have to deal with the damn Mahdists!” The commander of O’Brien’s regiment, Colonel Herbert Kitchener walked in obviously irritated by the attitude on the Train Car. “The enemy we face here stands against the might of the British Empire and you sit here complaining about the weather! I’ll tell you, the vicious men across the border are not. They are preparing for war. We must do the same. England expects it.” He smiled as the cold room, created by his presence, warmed to the little joke. “I’m no Horatio Nelson but this war will be like none that the British army will have fought in a very long time and we must be ready for that. Our entire Army is focused here, ready for conflict. You must be ready as they are.” After speaking, Colonel Kitchener stepped off the car and at once a large sigh of relief emanated from the mass of soldiers.
“Wow, that Kitchener is quite the leader. I guess his reputation precedes him and he is certainly prepared for something.” O’Brien said to a fellow soldier as conversation and sound resumed within the street car.
“I could find no better hands to put our trust into. He is one of Britain’s most accomplished officers. But I don’t think we will ever go to war with them. This will all settle down soon.” The soldier responded, seeming reassured. O’Brien was not. They were here for a reason and it would be a big surprise if they were to return without some kind of confrontation.
“I can’t wait to get off this train and into that nice barracks!” Another soldier said. He was younger looking, with a hat and big grin on his face. He had an Aussie accent and was quite tan, leading O’Brien to assume. “I’ve heard that these quarters are amazing and there aren’t any duties at all. It’s a far cry from my post in Bombay. That was a work intensive setting!” This was met with a bit of a chuckle.
“Soon, hopefully” O’Brian responded. He leaned his head out of the window and looked towards the town. “Look, Mafeking looks to be about six or seven kilometers out and we’ll there in about five minutes.” O’Brien said, looking at the clock. He hoped that soldier was right as the Train continued onto their destination.
-------
November 1895
Pretoria, Transvaal
President Paul Kruger sat and looked out at the green landscape from his porch. He was looking towards the source of all his problems. It was, according to him the cesspool of violence and debauchery formerly known as Johannesburg. What was once a perfectly nice city was now poisoned with greed, drunkenness and the threat of English domination. He put his hands on his belly as he sat back. He had honestly done everything he could and he still managed to offend what his European allies, his last and best hope. He had even visited Europe ten years before and befriended the Kaiser and the Czar. They both even sympathized with his story and his people. But so much can change in such a short time. Kruger hated change, and peace by victory seemed so within reach. Now only a short time later, war seemed completely inevitable, but that was where Kruger drew the line. Kruger stood up, fuming. If they wanted war, he would not hold back. But he would make them hurt.
Britain was threatening him right now. British troops were watching from across the border, waiting for him and his people. So was Petrus Joubert. His incessant opposition frustrated him and his sympathy for the Uitlanders sickened him. He was too soft, too indecisive and slow. The President of the Transvaal had to lead, not fail, and Joubert was not the man for it. He had run against Kruger several times and soon, he feared he would lose his support base to that treasonous sympathizer. He already had to rig the ballot the last two elections and he will have to commit more fraud to stay in power. But it was imperative he stay in power, otherwise, he thought, Transvaal would be in ruins. The political situation as well as the foreign situation gave Kruger a terrible headache and he had no one to go to. Leander Jameson, the doctor used to help him with his headaches; even he was now an imperialist bastard in Cecil Rhodes’ caring hands. Nothing stood between Kruger, Rhodes and War between them except the question of who begins the conflict. Kruger certainly would like the defensive position, but striking an uppercut on that smug Cecil Rhodes and his cabal of Randlords would be immensely gratifying. Kruger would have to make a choice; one which would determine the nature of the conflict and therefore the outcome. A Decision, if made incorrectly could bring about a great victory or a crushing defeat. Kruger, after a long period of thought knew what he had to do….
Edited by Lord Timothy Breech
Cape Town Publishing, Cape Town, South Africa; Copyright 2018
Used with permission…
…much has been said about Cecil Rhodes. To many he is the founder of South Africa and De Beers, serving as the first prime minister of the former and chairman on the latter. He orchestrated many incidents, annexations and used his incredible influence and money to steer. His victories in the Matabele Wars, the South African War and the Great War are seen by many to make him one of the Empire’s greatest heroes behind the likes of Clive, Wellesley, Nelson and Chamberlain. No doubt, his exploits prompted people to call him “the Colossus” until his death in 1923.
Despite all of these achievements, his flaws were vast. He instituted several reforms that disenfranchised native Africans, a problem that would grip South Africa for the next 30 years. His ego and vainness were unnaturally large and he is the only Prime Minister of South Africa to have a province named after him. He convinced himself he could do no wrong and to many his assumption was correct. He was always scheming and always careful before he advanced, but he inexorably reached for his evermore ambitious goals.
Whatever people may think of Rhodes, one thing is for sure. His achievements are vast. He founded De Beers and Anglo-American plc, which today control over 90% of the world’s diamond supply and 70% of the world’s gold supply respectively. He allowed for millions of disenfranchised Europeans to settle in his territories. His estate was worth over 10,000,000 pounds at his death, and he used every cent of it to make South Africa one of the most powerful countries today, which has helped the British Commonwealth extend its Pax Britannia into the 21st century.
Rhodes was once most famous for saying to another miner in Kimberly back even as far as 1887, "all of these stars... these vast worlds remain out of reach. If I could, I would annex other planets”. Little did he know how true that quote would come to be…
------------
Cape Town, South Africa
January 29, 1895
Leander Starr Jameson was shocked. His plan was flawless; he would march with 500 volunteers into the Transvaal and instigate an uprising. Transvaal would fall and Rhodes would become master of all Africa. The plan seemed too good to be true. Rhodes seemed to be content with the plan; nothing would seem to serve him more than to see Kruger deposed. But now, it seemed he had considered the risk and reward and decided that it wasn’t worth it. That fool, Alfred Beit agreed with him too.
“Cecil, I don’t understand. We could have Kruger deposed and the Transvaal under your control. It would be our greatest victory yet.” Jameson said, now exasperated. “I don’t understand why…”
“Look, I’m afraid Jan Hofmeyr may have begun to catch on to our plan.” Rhodes said quietly. Beit stood sternly, looking at Jameson as to increase the grave seriousness this matter included.
“But how… We made sure this was discussed secretly.” Jameson was suddenly shifty-eyed. This was very serious, indeed. Jan Hofmeyr was Rhodes’s biggest asset into becoming the leader of Cape colony and who, as an Afrikaner would be quite sympathetic to Transvaal and many Cape Afrikaners would join him. Rhodes would be sacked for sure if Hofmeyr found out and made that knowledge public.
“I know, I know. Unfortunately we need to scrap the plan. I propose a different plan, a plan where the money cannot be traced back to us.” Rhodes, although spooked from his close call with Hofmeyr, seemed to keep his mischievousness. The drive to become the personal overlord of Transvaal was too great, but Rhodes was no fool. He was still hatching a plan, and this time he would make it foolproof.
“I’m listening…” Jameson understood that his proposed raid had to be cancelled. Rhodes really wanted Kruger gone, but this temporary slip with Hofmeyr had cautioned him to be more careful. If Jameson wanted the glory of conquering land like in the Matabele Wars repeated, he would have to go along with Rhodes, who was his main financier.
“My plan may take longer but it a truly foolproof way to undermine Kruger’s government and his control over our business.” Rhodes said, as he edged in closer to tell Jameson. Beit, who was standing next to Rhodes, did the same.
“Well?” Jameson inquired annoyingly. With that, Rhodes began to quietly tell him his plans…
----------
An excerpt from “The South African War: Bravery and Unity”
By Dr. John Williams
Cape University Publishing, Cape Town, South Africa; Copyright 1998
Used with permission…
…the road leading up to the South African War was one of posturing and one-upping between two leading figures of their, Cecil Rhodes and Paul Kruger. Once gold was found in the Witwatersrand, the posturing began. Kruger began to tax the mining companies, controlled by Rhodes and his fellow Randlords. Rhodes responded by conquering Matabeleland in the north to find gold, much to the president of Transvaal’s dismay. Kruger, still somewhat unfazed, responded by denying the foreign residents of the Transvaal, or Uitlanders, the right to participate in the election and governmental process. Rhodes responded soon after with the Transvaal Reform Committee, which was an organization made by Randlords whose business was tied to this political situation. Kruger naturally didn’t listen to any of them, declaring them (correctly) simply a pawn of Rhodes’s regime in Cape Town.
What truly raised the tone and accelerated the road to conflict between Kruger and Rhodes was the Uitlander uprising of 1895. 200 white British gold miners armed with rifles tried to raid a police station used by the Boers to keep track of these white miners. They were quickly surrounded and over 100 of them were killed on the spot without the government’s order. The international outrage was supreme, but Kruger tried to point to Rhodes. Rhodes denied involvement and Kruger could find no evidence to the contrary.
The outrage that came with the 1895 uprising allowed Rhodes to purchase the rights to the Niassa Company. This company controlled the south coast of Mozambique, including Delgola Bay, which Kruger was using to bypass British shipping and by extension, tariffs. Rhodes added it to his territories of Rhodesia and renamed the city in the bay Port Chamberlain, after the colonial secretary of his day. It is known as that still today. Kruger and the Boer Republics were now completely surrounded. Kruger continued to try and gain the upper hand by stopping all gold from leaving the Transvaal. Kruger wanted to force Rhodes to call off his little game by denying him the very thing he was seeking. Conversely, this rash action worked against Kruger. First it angered the Uitlanders even more, making his control of the nation decline. Since almost all nations were on the Gold Standard at the time, it precipitated a huge economic dip, known as the Panic of 1896 almost immediately. This prompted more international hatred and local problems for Kruger.
Now with everything being done to posture and get ahead of each other in a cat-and-mouse way; a conflict was now beaconing. A conflict which would redefine South Africa…
------------
February 8th, 1896
Mafeking, South Africa
The fort appeared out of the haze of midday. It was quite a hot summer and the current situation only seemed to sizzle the already steaming atmosphere. The walls loomed ominously ahead as the train bound for it. Inside the railcars, the conditions were no cooler. The entire battalion of troops was sweltering as they sat and wait to arrive at their destination.
“It is a damn hot day. I mean Jesus!” Private Francis O’Brien yelled to his fellow troops over the clamor of the tracks as the train moved on with treacherous speed. This statement was met with a tired groan of agreement from most of the railcar.
“You’ve got that right.” Another Man said from across a few tables. “I haven’t been this warm since my post in Egypt or my post in Guyana.” He nodded as several men looked quite respectively at the man. He must’ve been in the Army for quite some time to have served in those far reaching areas of the World. Most of the men, including O’Brien were fairly new recruits from across the Empire.
“Damn it soldiers! For God sakes, Griping about your situation will help not one bit! I’ve come from somewhere even warmer. Khartoum and there we have to deal with the damn Mahdists!” The commander of O’Brien’s regiment, Colonel Herbert Kitchener walked in obviously irritated by the attitude on the Train Car. “The enemy we face here stands against the might of the British Empire and you sit here complaining about the weather! I’ll tell you, the vicious men across the border are not. They are preparing for war. We must do the same. England expects it.” He smiled as the cold room, created by his presence, warmed to the little joke. “I’m no Horatio Nelson but this war will be like none that the British army will have fought in a very long time and we must be ready for that. Our entire Army is focused here, ready for conflict. You must be ready as they are.” After speaking, Colonel Kitchener stepped off the car and at once a large sigh of relief emanated from the mass of soldiers.
“Wow, that Kitchener is quite the leader. I guess his reputation precedes him and he is certainly prepared for something.” O’Brien said to a fellow soldier as conversation and sound resumed within the street car.
“I could find no better hands to put our trust into. He is one of Britain’s most accomplished officers. But I don’t think we will ever go to war with them. This will all settle down soon.” The soldier responded, seeming reassured. O’Brien was not. They were here for a reason and it would be a big surprise if they were to return without some kind of confrontation.
“I can’t wait to get off this train and into that nice barracks!” Another soldier said. He was younger looking, with a hat and big grin on his face. He had an Aussie accent and was quite tan, leading O’Brien to assume. “I’ve heard that these quarters are amazing and there aren’t any duties at all. It’s a far cry from my post in Bombay. That was a work intensive setting!” This was met with a bit of a chuckle.
“Soon, hopefully” O’Brian responded. He leaned his head out of the window and looked towards the town. “Look, Mafeking looks to be about six or seven kilometers out and we’ll there in about five minutes.” O’Brien said, looking at the clock. He hoped that soldier was right as the Train continued onto their destination.
-------
November 1895
Pretoria, Transvaal
President Paul Kruger sat and looked out at the green landscape from his porch. He was looking towards the source of all his problems. It was, according to him the cesspool of violence and debauchery formerly known as Johannesburg. What was once a perfectly nice city was now poisoned with greed, drunkenness and the threat of English domination. He put his hands on his belly as he sat back. He had honestly done everything he could and he still managed to offend what his European allies, his last and best hope. He had even visited Europe ten years before and befriended the Kaiser and the Czar. They both even sympathized with his story and his people. But so much can change in such a short time. Kruger hated change, and peace by victory seemed so within reach. Now only a short time later, war seemed completely inevitable, but that was where Kruger drew the line. Kruger stood up, fuming. If they wanted war, he would not hold back. But he would make them hurt.
Britain was threatening him right now. British troops were watching from across the border, waiting for him and his people. So was Petrus Joubert. His incessant opposition frustrated him and his sympathy for the Uitlanders sickened him. He was too soft, too indecisive and slow. The President of the Transvaal had to lead, not fail, and Joubert was not the man for it. He had run against Kruger several times and soon, he feared he would lose his support base to that treasonous sympathizer. He already had to rig the ballot the last two elections and he will have to commit more fraud to stay in power. But it was imperative he stay in power, otherwise, he thought, Transvaal would be in ruins. The political situation as well as the foreign situation gave Kruger a terrible headache and he had no one to go to. Leander Jameson, the doctor used to help him with his headaches; even he was now an imperialist bastard in Cecil Rhodes’ caring hands. Nothing stood between Kruger, Rhodes and War between them except the question of who begins the conflict. Kruger certainly would like the defensive position, but striking an uppercut on that smug Cecil Rhodes and his cabal of Randlords would be immensely gratifying. Kruger would have to make a choice; one which would determine the nature of the conflict and therefore the outcome. A Decision, if made incorrectly could bring about a great victory or a crushing defeat. Kruger, after a long period of thought knew what he had to do….
