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22 Cecil Rhodes

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History in Our Time
This chapter is in the book History in Our Time
Cecil Rhodes The British Empire may have been won in a fit of absence of mind, but it was certainly not won in a fit of absence of personality. In the heady and hubristic years of the so-called 'New Imperialism', the men who extended the Empire's boundaries, safeguarded its frontiers, administered its dominions, and evoked its spirit were themselves appropriately larger than life. There were conquering pioneers, like Sir George Taubman Goldie in Nigeria and Sir William Mackinnon in East Africa. There were soldiers of fortune, like Kitchener, Roberts and Wolseley. There were law- givers and proconsuls, like Curzon and Cromer, Lugard and Milner. There were the laureates of Empire, like Kipling, Elgar and Lutyens. And there was Cecil John Rhodes. In an age of imperial titans, he was the most titanic imperialist of all: his ambitions and accomplishments were such that the inevitably punning epithet of 'Colossus' seemed if anything an understatement; while his character was so contradictory, and his achievements were so controversial that it has proved no easier to write his definitive biography than it has been to complete the railway he dreamed of building from the Cape to Cairo. This is partly because there were four very different versions of Cecil Rhodes, each of which was individually quite extraordinary, and all of which were collectively almost incredible. The first was the archetypal Victorian weakling - a man so unrobust and so unprepossessing that he would never have been awarded one of his own scholarships. He was a delicate child, of uncertain health and indifferent education. In adult life, his voice remained an uncontrollable falsetto, he suffered a series of heart attacks, he soon aged prematurely into a grey and bloated invalid, and he died too young at forty-eight. But the second Rhodes was, by contrast, a self-made Smilesian hero of epic accomplishments. Born in relatively humble circumstances, he left for South Africa knowing almost nothing
© Yale University Press, New Haven

Cecil Rhodes The British Empire may have been won in a fit of absence of mind, but it was certainly not won in a fit of absence of personality. In the heady and hubristic years of the so-called 'New Imperialism', the men who extended the Empire's boundaries, safeguarded its frontiers, administered its dominions, and evoked its spirit were themselves appropriately larger than life. There were conquering pioneers, like Sir George Taubman Goldie in Nigeria and Sir William Mackinnon in East Africa. There were soldiers of fortune, like Kitchener, Roberts and Wolseley. There were law- givers and proconsuls, like Curzon and Cromer, Lugard and Milner. There were the laureates of Empire, like Kipling, Elgar and Lutyens. And there was Cecil John Rhodes. In an age of imperial titans, he was the most titanic imperialist of all: his ambitions and accomplishments were such that the inevitably punning epithet of 'Colossus' seemed if anything an understatement; while his character was so contradictory, and his achievements were so controversial that it has proved no easier to write his definitive biography than it has been to complete the railway he dreamed of building from the Cape to Cairo. This is partly because there were four very different versions of Cecil Rhodes, each of which was individually quite extraordinary, and all of which were collectively almost incredible. The first was the archetypal Victorian weakling - a man so unrobust and so unprepossessing that he would never have been awarded one of his own scholarships. He was a delicate child, of uncertain health and indifferent education. In adult life, his voice remained an uncontrollable falsetto, he suffered a series of heart attacks, he soon aged prematurely into a grey and bloated invalid, and he died too young at forty-eight. But the second Rhodes was, by contrast, a self-made Smilesian hero of epic accomplishments. Born in relatively humble circumstances, he left for South Africa knowing almost nothing
© Yale University Press, New Haven

Chapters in this book

  1. Frontmatter i
  2. Contents vii
  3. Preface ix
  4. PART ONE: Royals in Toils
  5. 1 Family Monarchy 1
  6. 2 Midas Monarchy 11
  7. 3 Constitutional Monarchy 19
  8. 4 Welfare Monarchy 25
  9. 5 Mrs Jordan 33
  10. 6 Queen Victoria 39
  11. 7 King Edward VIII 48
  12. 8 King George VI 59
  13. 9 The Prince of Wales 68
  14. 10 Diana, Princess of Wales 76
  15. PART TWO: Insight's Insights
  16. 11 Patriotism 89
  17. 12 Privacy 96
  18. 13 Divorce 109
  19. 14 Suicide 119
  20. 15 Victorians 129
  21. 16 Empire 143
  22. 17 Britons 155
  23. 18 Intellectuals 165
  24. 19 Class 174
  25. 20 Morals 188
  26. PART THREE: Persons and Personalities
  27. 21 Florence Nightingale 199
  28. 22 Cecil Rhodes 208
  29. 23 Winston Churchill 216
  30. 24 John Buchan 233
  31. 25 Lord Beaverbrook 243
  32. 26 Harold Macmillan 250
  33. 27 Sir Oswald Mosley 259
  34. 28 Robert Boothby 269
  35. 29 A.J.P. Taylor 279
  36. 30 Margaret Thatcher 288
  37. Acknowledgements 298
  38. Index 300
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https://doi.org/10.12987/9780300157451-023

Chapters in this book

  1. Frontmatter i
  2. Contents vii
  3. Preface ix
  4. PART ONE: Royals in Toils
  5. 1 Family Monarchy 1
  6. 2 Midas Monarchy 11
  7. 3 Constitutional Monarchy 19
  8. 4 Welfare Monarchy 25
  9. 5 Mrs Jordan 33
  10. 6 Queen Victoria 39
  11. 7 King Edward VIII 48
  12. 8 King George VI 59
  13. 9 The Prince of Wales 68
  14. 10 Diana, Princess of Wales 76
  15. PART TWO: Insight's Insights
  16. 11 Patriotism 89
  17. 12 Privacy 96
  18. 13 Divorce 109
  19. 14 Suicide 119
  20. 15 Victorians 129
  21. 16 Empire 143
  22. 17 Britons 155
  23. 18 Intellectuals 165
  24. 19 Class 174
  25. 20 Morals 188
  26. PART THREE: Persons and Personalities
  27. 21 Florence Nightingale 199
  28. 22 Cecil Rhodes 208
  29. 23 Winston Churchill 216
  30. 24 John Buchan 233
  31. 25 Lord Beaverbrook 243
  32. 26 Harold Macmillan 250
  33. 27 Sir Oswald Mosley 259
  34. 28 Robert Boothby 269
  35. 29 A.J.P. Taylor 279
  36. 30 Margaret Thatcher 288
  37. Acknowledgements 298
  38. Index 300
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