Cecil Rhodes – was he an
Imperialistic Racist Bigot or a Benevolent Philanthropist?
We have heard recently in the news that students have
demonstrated in Oxford to get a plague and statue of Cecil Rhodes removed from the
premises of Oriel College. It appears
that the organization responsible for this outrageous activity is the Rhodes
Must Fall group.
To its shame, it appears that
Oriel College has agreed to remove the Rhodes plaque from its premises in King
Edward Street – so capitulating to a few politically-correct left-wing bigots
(less than a 100) who participated in the demonstration. The demonstrator’s also handed in a petition,
signed by a mere 250 people, to the governors demanding that the statue be
removed from the main entrance to the college.
Fortunately, the removal of
the statue from Oriel College will prove difficult as it is a Grade 2 listed
building; consequently it will require planning consent from the local
council. Furthermore, the general public
of Oxford will be able to oppose any planning application for the statue’s
removal. Hopefully, many local residents will write letters of objection to the
council that will force the councillors to reject the planning application; so
ensuring that the statue remains in its present location.
Cecil Rhodes attended Oriel
College, Oxford, in 1973, and lodged at No. 6 King Edward Street; therefore
these memorials are appropriately located as a fitting memorial to this great
man who did so much for the British Empire, South Africa and Oxford University.
The Rhodes Must Fall
organization is a protest movement that
began on 9th March 2015, originally directed against a statue at the University of Cape Town (UCT) that
commemorates Cecil Rhodes. The campaign for the statue's removal
received global attention and led to a wider movement to "decolonise" education across South Africa. On 9th
April 2015, following a UCT Council vote the previous night, the statue was
removed and has now been relocated. Rhodes
Must Fall captured national headlines throughout 2015 and sharply
divided public opinion within South Africa between white and black citizens. It also inspired the emergence of allied
student movements at other universities, both within South Africa and elsewhere
throughout the world.
In Oxford the main protagonist for the removal of
these historic monuments is one Ntokozo Qwabe, a founder-member of the Rhodes
Must Fall group who attended the University
of Kwa-Zulu Natal to study law; paradoxically his education was paid for
by the Rhodes Trust. This Trust has now been re-named as the Mandela-Rhodes Trust to appease the
liberal bigots who are embarrassed by their failure to achieve the great things
Rhodes did for their nation – it will probably be re-named again in the future
as the Mandela Trust, so eliminating
Rhodes from their history.
It now seems that the Rhodes Trust is funding Ntokozo’s
further education at Oxford, although it’s not clear what he is studying –
probably another post-graduate law degree.
Talking about “biting the hand that feeds you”, this parasite is taking
advantage of the Rhodes Trust to fund
his own bigoted agenda of spreading racial hated against all white people.
It seems incredible that indigenous British students
at Oxford can demonstrate in support of the hateful Rhodes Must Fall organization. This clearly indicates that these students
have been brainwashed with politically-correct dogma throughout their schools
years, and are now unable to see the truth of the situation, in that their
actions are racist and discriminatory against the indigenous population of the
United Kingdom. Let’s hope that someday
soon these students will see the error of their ways and make amends by
supporting organizations that seek to preserve Britain’s heritage, culture and
ethnicity.
Cecil
Rhodes – his life and achievements
Cecil
Rhodes was born in 1853, at Bishop’s Stortford, England, and the son of a
vicar. He was a sickly child, so due to
his poor health he was sent to Natal to be united with his brother. After failing to grow cotton there, he and his
brother attempted to make their fortune in the Diamond mines. Cecil saw alternative methods for making money
by providing services to the other miners. He quickly realised the potential for riches
by creating a monopoly. At first this
was done with water, but he then applied this principal to acquiring diamond
concessions. His efforts at amalgamating
various companies paid off with an enormous personal fortune and the creation
of the De Beers consolidated Mines Company in 1888 and the creation of
Consolidated Goldfields. Unfortunately
for Rhodes he missed much of the opportunity to create a foothold in the newly
discovered goldfields of the Transvaal. He was certainly a ruthless businessman.
Rhodes used
much of his personal fortune in the field of politics. Despite earlier support for Irish Home Rule,
Rhodes quickly became a spokesman and activist for imperial expansion. His most famous ambition was to create a
railway along a continuous pink strip of land from the Cape Colony to Cairo. He used his political skills and money to
become the Prime Minister of the Cape Colony in 1890 and espouse his imperial
ambitions on a much grander scale. He
lobbied hard for the annexation of Bechuanaland and later, when he was becoming
disappointed at the lack of political will at the Colonial Office, he even
formed his own company to claim land in the interior of Africa. The British South Africa Company achieved a
Royal Charter in 1889 and proceeded to negotiate its way into the lands of the
Mashona, Matabele and beyond. Later, his
ambition would be his political and economic undoing when his associate, a Dr.
Jameson, attempted to invade Transvaal in order to support an abortive coup. The political fall out from this adventure
forced Cecil to resign his premiership of the Cape Colony.
Cecil
Rhodes never lost his passion for his imperial dreams and spent much time
planning and organising the colonies that were to bear his name; Northern and
Southern Rhodesia. When the Africans in
these colonies rose up in rebellion to his company's rule, he personally
conducted successful negotiations to the satisfaction of Matabele tribal
leaders. During the Boer war, he helped
to organise and fund the defences of Kimberley in the siege.
Rhodes was
a very complex and contradictory individual. His true feelings and ideology have never
fully been understood by historians and biographers. What is clear is that Rhodes was a very personable
leader who had the ability to inspire others and attract attention to his
causes and ideas. On the flipside, he
was a ruthless businessman who could often be accused of being little more than
a bully. His treatment of Africans was
equally contradictory, as he often talked about them in a highly derogatory
manner and virtually pioneered the 'Apartheid' system of separating the Africans
working in his mines from the outside world. Yet, he also seems to have taken
an uncommon interest in their cultures and language and had a respect and
understanding for Africans that would have seemed remarkably liberal for his
era.
Rhodes left a will that was to create one of the most successful
educational endowments of all time; the Rhodes
Trust and the Rhodes Scholarships.
These were open to any of the Teutonic
peoples; Britons, Germans and Americans, and had the express purpose of
enabling the academic elites of these countries to mingle and understand one
another better in an attempt to create an Anglo-Saxon empire across the world. Even in his death, Rhodes' dreams were bigger
and more comprehensive than most other peoples'.
With so
many slurs and lies said about Cecil Rhodes; what is the truth?
What follows are a variety of remarks made by numerous
African and anti-Rhodes writers that have been extracted from articles
published on various pro-African/anti-white websites. After each comment is a statement that
explains the true situation, which in most cases completely overturns any
negative accusations made against the British involvement in Africa.
A certain Rasta Livewire commented on
his website that “For more than three
centuries after European settlers arrived in South Africa in 1652, the
so-called white rulers viewed the so-called blacks only as labourers and denied
them proper schooling.”
It must be
remembered that public education for some children in the UK didn’t really
start until the passing of the School
Grants Act 1855; up until that time what public schooling did exist was
mostly carried out by charitable church schools (Sunday Schools). Furthermore, it wasn’t until the passing of
the Board of Education Act 1899 that
made for free education of all children up to the age of 14. So in reality, the common working man was
treated no differently than the native African over that period. During this period many blacks received a
basic education due to the work of the many Christian missionary schools in the
tribal villages.
It is often mentioned that Cecil
Rhodes made a fortune off stolen African land, skills and labour. His modus operandi was cynical crass inhumane
exploitation of Africans. “Nine-tenths of them will have to spend their
lives in manual labour, and the sooner that is brought home to them, the better,”
Rhodes said in 1893.
This
sounds similar to what happened to the common English people during the Norman
Conquest! At the time of the European
occupation of South Africa in 1652, the Negro population was estimated to be
less than 1 million, and by 1850 the European population was greater than that
of the Negro, and South Africa was largely uninhabited wilderness. There was no need to steal land from the
natives, as uninhabited, fertile and uncultivated land was available in
abundance; so anybody who was prepared to work the land rightly claimed
ownership. The African Negro possessed
few skills that could be exploited. It
is true that Cecil Rhodes used the local Negro as labourers, and they were paid
for their services; their wages would certainly have been comparable to an
English labourer, and this was the period when slavery was illegal throughout
the British Empire. As for the Rhode’s
statement that the Negro is only fit for manual labour; well, this is basically
true due to their extremely low intelligence - with an average IQ of 70.
It is said the Cecil Rhodes was a
racist and an imperialist who increased the Empire in Africa by enslaving the
indigenous Africans.
Rhodes was not a racist. He was certainly an imperialist but only
because he believed in the modernity and progress that the British Empire of
his time represented. The expansion of
the British Empire into Africa did not enslave any Africans, in fact it
actually liberated many tribes from subjugation by other more powerful tribes –
the subjugation of the Xhosa tribe by the Zulus for example. It must also be remembered that it was the
British who abolished the international slave trade, and used the Royal Navy to
police the high-sea for Islamic slave‑traders who frequently raided South
Africa for slaves who would be transported back to various Arab nations where
they could be sold.
As Prime Minister of Cape Colony, Cecil
Rhodes is often accused of waging racist wars against the various African
tribes to enforce British rule over them.
Contrary to what these people say there was
very little need for the British to wage war on the African tribes; apart from
one incident with the Zulus, all other disputes were settled by negotiation in
a civilised non-racial manner – mostly to the benefit of the African
Tribes. However, there was indeed one
conflict in which the British behaved in an abominable and racist manner
against a certain group of people. This
was to be the greatest atrocity ever carried out in the name of the British
Empire, and the victims were not Negros but white farmers – the Boers.
In the 1970s some historians, with
left-wing allegiances, wrote books and gave lectures in which they stated that Cecil
Rhodes was indeed a racist, and the architect of apartheid in South
Africa. He, also, implies that Rhodes
failed to provide adequate housing in the main unban areas for the Negro
labourers and their families.
Apartheid did not exist in South Africa during
Cecil Rhodes’ lifetime. However, human
nature being as it is means that people tend to associate with their own kind;
therefore, in contemporary Britain with its huge immigrant population an overwhelming
majority of Moslems and Negros choose to live in ghettos with their own
people. Indigenous people stuck in these
ghettos feel threatened and isolated, and quite naturally want to move away to
be with people of their own race, culture and heritage. It is not racist to wish for these
things. Clearly, the white South
Africans realised that the Negro was incompatible with their way of life. Consequently, they built townships where the
Negros could live and follow their own culture and traditions free from
interference from the white man – what a very compassionate and ethical thing
to do! As for Cecil Rhodes’ government
not providing adequate housing for their Negro workers; well if one compares
the abject poverty in which the labouring classes lived in the UK during that
period, then it is clear that by comparison the Negro worker was treated quite
well.
It’s lazy journalism
for modern-day writers to criticise the treatment of the Africans during
Rhodes’ tenure of office. A truer
picture emerges when one considers how the poor were treated in Britain over
the same period. It is wrong to apply
today’s morally decadent standards on events that happened over 100 years
ago; when Christian values prevailed (and contrary to what the politically-correct
establish may say) native peoples were treated with the utmost respect!
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What
did Rhodes and the British Empire do for the native people of Africa?
All one seems to hear nowadays is about the
so-called atrocities that the British Empire inflicted onto the native
populations; but our school-children learn nothing of the benefits bestowed on
these native folk by the British colonialists. The benefits that the local
tribes gained from the European settlers were numerous, and what follows are
some examples:
An Organised Structured and
Civilized Society
Before
the Europeans arrived in South Africa the local natives were a primitive tribal
people with no government structure or written laws - they hadn’t even
developed a written script for communicating with each other. It wasn’t until the Europeans arrived that an
orderly democratic structure was put in place to govern the country and make
laws. It is often stated that the local
natives were denied any parliamentary representation; but one must remember
that most working class men in the UK were also denied the vote until 1918, and
women until 1928. In the early days of
colonisation the natives were left alone to govern themselves with no
interference from the white settlers. As
new towns developed the local natives moved closer to them to seek employment
as labourers, as that is all they were suitable for, as they had no skills,
couldn’t speak English and were totally illiterate – clearly, it would be years
before these people became sufficiently educated to participate in a democratic
society. This was apparent to the
European settlers, so naturally they retained the governance of the nation
within their own ethnic group. What the
natives now have is a highly functional political and social system inherited
from the British with Cecil Rhodes at its helm – for that, they should be grateful.
Industrial and
Agricultural Advancement
Before
the Europeans arrived in South Africa the local natives had no understanding of
science or engineering. They were still
basically a hunter-gather society, and what agriculture they did have was very
rudimentary at a level similar to what would have been seen in the Fertile
Crescent some 12,000 years ago. It
wasn’t until the Europeans arrived that technologically advanced machinery and
highly productive agriculture techniques were witnessed by the local natives;
they copied these practices, so allowing their populations to rise rapidly as
food production increased. The gold and diamond mines provided opportunities
for the natives to get well paid labouring jobs so increasing their standard of
living as they, and their families moved into settlements close to the
mines. This enabled the more intelligent
Negro who mastered the English language and understood the mining technology
and practices to gain promotion, so improving their standard of living and
status within their community. Looking
at the adjacent picture of mine workers it is hard to distinguish between the
labourers and the skilled miners – hardly a master/slave situation – they all
look as if they’re being exploited by big business concerns. What the natives now have is highly
functional agriculture and industries inherited from the British with Cecil
Rhodes at its helm – for that, they
should be grateful.
Civilised Communities
and Metropolitan Infrastructure
Before the Europeans arrived in South
Africa the local natives had no understanding of an organized and structured
society. Living in primitive tribal villages
they had no sanitation and water was probably extracted from a nearby stream,
hygiene was none existent. The women
would have spent most of their lives in the tribal village with maybe an
occasional visit to the next settlement.
The coming of the Europeans changed all that: for they built a network of
roads that connected all the towns together; railways were constructed to
transport people and goods throughout the country; sewers and piped water
systems were built to improve the hygiene of the towns; eventually these would
be extended to incorporate the native settlements. As electrical generation and distribution
systems became established these too were eventually connected to the native
settlements, so improving their standard of living. Postal services and telephone systems were
later introduced that would eventually be extended to cater for the native population. What
the natives now have are highly functional townships inherited from the British
with Cecil Rhodes at its helm – for
that, they should be grateful.
Education and Healthcare
Before the Europeans arrived in South
Africa the local natives had no form of writing as they hadn’t invented a
suitable alphabet, so they were a totally uneducated race of people. Furthermore, apart from a few herbal recipes
they had no medicines or means of treating physical injuries. The coming of the European settlers changed
all that such that: to get any job other than a manual labourer the native had
to have a basic understanding of the English language together with basic numeracy;
the native workers were given basic medical treatment for minor injuries so
that they were able to perform their work tasks effectively and efficiently. Before
1953, many black people attended schools set up by religious organisations; following
the Bantu Education Act state schools provided schooling for
all native children to the same quality that white children received. Free healthcare for the natives was
implemented in 1942 with the initial establishment of 44 community health
centres within tribal lands, these were progressively increased as resources
and facilities became available. What
the natives now have is free educational and healthcare systems inherited from
the British with Cecil Rhodes at its helm – for that, they should be grateful.
How
should Cecil Rhodes be remembered, and what should be done with those people
who denigrate his name?
Although Cecil Rhodes was an imperialist and thought that expanding the
British Empire would benefit the whole world, he certainly wasn’t a despot; nor
did he enslave the local natives – he saw them as a source of cheap labour,
just like the white working class. His
business acumen made him an extremely wealthy man, although some of his
business practices are open to question – just like any other businessman of
the era, Rockerfeller, Henry Ford, Getty etc.
What cannot be denied is that European settlement into South Africa
together with the development of the gold and diamond mines brought much wealth
into the area which immensely benefitted the local natives; and Rhodes was
instrumental in this. It is essential
that our school children (both indigenous and ethnic) are taught about the good
things that the British Empire brought to the world, in particular the benefits
that native peoples gained from being a part of it.
As for those left-wing bigots who call for the removal of all Rhodes’
memorials; then these people should be arrested and charged for racial
harassment, or whatever Hate Crime
charge is applicable.
It must be remembered that modern Africa owes everything to the white
man for converting their countries from primitive feudal tribes into highly
developed civilizations, with high-tech communication systems, transportation
networks, efficient agriculture to mention only a few things. What have Africans given the world, apart
from HIV and AIDS?