http://www.politicsweb.co.za/news-and-analysis/cecil-john-rhodes-warts-and-all
Politicsweb 22
December 2015
Cape Times and Natal Mercury 30 December 2015
Cecil John Rhodes – warts and all
Cecil John Rhodes was the sickly, poorly educated and otherwise
unremarkable son of an English parson of meagre means. He knew from an early age that he was doomed
to a short life, dying at 48. Relatively
late in life, he supplemented his poor school education by attending Oxford
University. Like many contemporary Victorian
English academics, politicians, men of the cloth, soldiers, scholars and
capitalists, he became convinced that expanding the British Empire (including
the recovery of the USA) was his global mission, no matter the price: the
English “are the finest race in the world and that the more of the world we
inhabit the better it is for the human race.”
He even advocated forming a secret society to further that mission. His ultimate goal for the Empire was
transforming the colonies into a federation of states under local rule. To that
end, despite his view that my ancestors, the Irish, were a “low class” race, he
supported their cause for Home Rule because it fit his grand plan.
He came to South Africa in 1870 (at age 17) hoping that the
climate might be kinder to his health, living initially off a loan from his
aunt. After a failed farming venture in
Natal, he moved to Kimberley to become involved in the diamond mining boom. Over the next 30 years: he amassed one of the
world’s great fortunes, engineered (with the support of the British government)
the conquest of millions of square kilometres of the continent (creating two
colonies the bore his name), precipitated war to undermine the independence of
the Afrikaaners (leading to the creation of the Union of South Africa), and
laid the political/legal foundations of the Apartheid regime. Africa, he believed was “devoted to barbarism”. So, “it is our duty to take it”. In his endeavours, he was steadfastly
assisted first by his beloved private secretary (and sole beneficiary in one of
his early wills) Neville Pickering (who died in his arms), and then by his lifelong
friend Dr (Sir) Leander Starr Jameson who acted as one of Rhodes’ executors.
Rhodes was: a megalomaniac, imperialist, voracious
capitalist/monopolist, unscrupulous politician/newspaper publisher, misogynist (homosexual?),
white supremacist. Despite his interest in
their languages/cultures, he described black Africans as “despicable specimens
of human beings”, nothing more than “extra employment”. In his own words: “I prefer land to
niggers.” No wonder Hitler described him
as “the only Englishman who truly understood Anglo- Saxon ideals and destiny”. Rhodes bribed, out-manoeuvred or, if
necessary, crushed anyone who opposed him.
For his various nefarious nature and acts, he is generally hated by
Afrikaners and, especially, by black Africans.
In stark contrast to his behaviour in life, when he died in
1902, he bequeathed his estate to benefit the world. His home, Groote Schuur, became the official residence for the
premier of the Cape Colony (and later for prime ministers and presidents of
South Africa). Other of his properties
were designated to become Kirstenbosch National Botanical Gardens and the
University of Cape Town. Thus, he
delivered on his famous quote: “'Pure philanthropy is very well in its
way but philanthropy plus five percent is a good deal better.”
But his arguably most significantly positive act was to
leave US$10 million to create an educational trust. However, rather than to foster the
development of a society of like-minded white supremacist, Anglophile
capitalists, he founded the Rhodes Scholarships Trust to support the first international
education fellowships in the world.
Every year, 89 Rhodes Scholars from 32 countries are supported. The Rhodes Scholarships' aim is to educate
international young leaders (who are committed to public service) at his
beloved Oxford University. According to
his express wishes, successful applicants must exhibit anti-Rhodesean “qualities
of truth, courage, devotion to duty, sympathy for the protection of the weak,
kindliness, unselfishness and fellowship”.
More specifically, Rhodes Scholars were to strive at “promoting cross-cultural understanding and peace
between nations.” By bringing a
culturally diverse group of young people to undergo a common educational
experience, he envisioned that these future leaders of the world would “prevent war and promote the best
interests of humanity”.
Even more
surprisingly, he
specified that the scholarships be awarded without regard to race or
religion. This is undeniably a deliverable
on his most uncharacteristic quotation: "I could never accept
the position that we should disqualify a human being on account of his
colour." Finally, he instructed his
Trustees to adapt his plans for the scholarships to “respond effectively to
changing circumstances”.
To date, there have been 7 688 Rhodes Scholars representing a broad spectrum of human ‘race’, gender and
sexual orientation. Some of the most
noteworthy Scholars are:
Alain L. Locke (1907) First black scholar - gay writer, philosopher, educator - "Dean” of the Harlem Renaissance.
Jan H. Hofmeyr (1910) South African educationalist and
liberal politician who anticipated an end to racial discrimination
Edwin Hubble (1910) Astronomer of Hubble Telescope fame
Norman W. Manley (1914) First
Premier of Jamaica, one of Jamaica’s seven National Heroes
John Marshall Harlan (1920) U.S. Supreme Court Justice
Howard Walter Florey (1921) Nobel prize winner in physiology
for discovering penicillin
John Carew Eccles (1925) 1963 Nobel Prize winner in neurophysiology
William Fulbright (1925) US senator and originator of the
Fulbright Fellowship programme. To date, more than 325
000 individuals from 155 countries have received Fulbright Grants, including
winners of 53 Nobel Prizes and
78 Pulitzer Prizes.
Carl Albert (1931) Speaker of U.S. House of
Representatives
Dean Rusk (1931) U.S. Secretary of State
Bram Fischer (1931) Anti-apartheid activist and lawyer
Jack De Wet (1935) Theoretical physicist, greatest of the
University of Cape Town’s Deans of Science
Sir Richard Luyt (1935) Soldier, statesman, Vice Chancellor –
University of Cape Town
Byron White (1938) U.S. Supreme Court Justice
William Jay Smith (1947) US poet laureate
Bob Hawke (1953) Prime Minister of Australia
Kris Kristofferson (1958) US singer, song writer, actor
David Woods (1963) Vice Chancellor Rhodes University
Wasim Sajjad (1964) President of Pakistan
Bill Bradley (1965) Hall of Fame basketball star, U.S.
Senator and presidential candidate
General Wesley Clark (1966) Commander of NATO forces
Bill Clinton (1968) 42nd President of the United States
Edwin Cameron (1976) South African Supreme Court
Justice, gay rights and HIV/AIDS activist
Max Price (1980) Vice-Chancellor, University of Cape Town -
his daughter is a current Rhodes Scholar.
David Kirk (1985) All Black Rugby Captain
Naomi
Wolf (1985) Author of the international best seller The Beauty Myth
Neel Mukherjee (1992) Booker Award
nominee
Maxine Williams (1992) Global Head of Biodiversity Network
Silicon Valley
Siddhartha Mukherjee (1993) 2011 Pulitzer
Prize Winner non-fiction
Annette Salmeen (1997) American gold medallist 1996 Olympic Games
Roxanne Joyal (2001) and Marc Kielburger (2000) Founded the Free the Children International Charity
Eusebius McKaiser (2003) South African public intellectual
Cheikh
M'bengue (2006) Caribbean studies expert
Yusuf Randera-Rees (2007) Founded Awethu Project in South Africa - aims to incubate 500 entrepreneurs from under-resourced background
Kingwa Kamencu (2009) Presidental candidate,
Kenya
In 2003, to promote non-racial leadership development for
Africa, the Rhodes Trust joined in the creation of The Mandela
Rhodes Foundation. It provides scholarships for African students,
chosen on criteria very similar to those for the Rhodes Scholarships, to
undertake postgraduate study in South Africa.
According to Mandela:
“We see The
Mandela Rhodes Foundation as a significant initiative within that broader
framework of South Africans taking responsibility for the transformation of
their society, so grievously skewed by a history of colonialism and apartheid.
We shall once more take hands across historical divides that others may
deem unbridgeable.”
In the end, had there been no Rhodes, one thing is
certain. Today’s world would be
profoundly different.
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