Cecil John Rhodes, born to an English clergyman in 1853, made his mark in the world as a diamond industrialist, politician, and purveyor of land for the great nation of Britain. Rhodes believed that the Anglo race was superior and sought to widen the colonization of foreign lands, particularly Africa, for the British Empire. He held that "the native is to be treated as a child and denied the franchise. We must adopt a system of despotism in our relations with the barbarians of South Africa". His ultimate goal was expansion of the British domain from the Cape [Peninsula] to Cairo, Egypt. Cecil Rhodes was hailed as a national hero for most of the 20th century in his homeland of England and throughout all of "white Africa". Many of the peoples under his control considered him less than treacherous, all the while Rhodes swindled and stole the richest and most fertile lands for his own personal gain. Not until the end of the last century did the full story of Cecil Rhodes appear and, with the end of apartheid, reparations made to the ancestors of those taken advantage. .
Rhodes traveled to South Africa at the behest of his father at age 17 to improve his otherwise poor health. Thus began his career as a diamond magnate, eventually owning over 90% of the world's diamond trade under the company name DeBeer's. Educated at the prestigious Oxford University, Rhodes" worldview was formed and his conquest as politician and colonialist for the British Empire took shape. Rhodes entered politics in 1881 as a member of the Parliament of Cape Colony, ultimately becoming Prime Minister. His expansionism dream for British rule included present day Zambia and Zimbabwe, known as North and South Rhodesia until 1980. To fulfill this dream, Rhodes created the charter British South Africa Company, a mob-like organization he used as his personal army to bully his way and conquer the African people and their lands.
