WI: Cecil Rhodes dies young

Lets say Cecil Rhodes dies sometime during his youth, either before or soon after his first arrival in Africa. How may the world be different without his influence from OTL, such as Britian's general imperial goals in Africa for example?
 
Lets say Cecil Rhodes dies sometime during his youth, either before or soon after his first arrival in Africa. How may the world be different without his influence from OTL, such as Britian's general imperial goals in Africa for example?

Well, it would be relatively easy for that to happen. Rhodes was sickly as a youngster, and he was sent to South Africa for his health. So, simply kill him off on the outward bound journey or before he even sets foot on the ship.

As to British imperialism in Africa for instance, besides the annexation of the Boer Republics and what is now Zimbabwe for their mineral wealth, I can't really see anyone else having the vision of a British corridor from Cape Town to Cairo.
 
the obvious: Portugal's pink map wank gets a major boost. Basically the entire southern Africa situation changes dramatically.


the maybe not so obvious: I believe Rhodes was one of the big drivers of DeBeers, so maybe without him, you could actually afford a diamond for your gal's finger.

He was big in the Jameson raid, and it sparked Kaiser Bill 2's incendiary letter. So maybe you have better German/English relations.

Without the Boer Wars to befuddle Britain, maybe they don't re-org their military, leading to problems down the road in a little dust-up called the Great War.

Without the Boer Wars to occupy Britain, maybe the Venezuala Crisis dusts up bigger (OTL Britain basically backed off and let the US puff up their chest because Britain was busy elsewhere).
 
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