Race

feature: #blackhistorymonth — cecil rhodes was just as bad as the other psychopath

February 2, 2016

Cecil Rhodes, founder of De Beers Diamonds in South Africa, a celebrated imperialist and businessman, for whom the worlds most celebrated and prestigious scholarship, The Rhodes Scholarship, is named after, killed millions of blacks during and as the subsequent result of his reign of imperialistic terror on the continent. “Rhodes connived his way to wealth in a lawless frontier culture, then used that fortune to fund a private invasion of East Africa. He bought newspapers in order to shape and control public opinion. He brokered secret deals, issued bribes and used gangs of mercenaries to butcher his opponents, seizing close to a million square miles of territory from its inhabitant…” writes The Reunion Black Family in this essay.

With family already living in South Africa, operating a cotton plantation in Natal, Rhodes and his brother quickly became increasingly interested in the exploitation of surrounding diamond and gold deposits. “By 1891, he had amalgamated the De Beers mines under his control, giving him dominion over 90 per cent of the world’s diamond output. He had also secured two other important positions; Prime Minister of the British Cape Colony.” But control over the division of land and resources and institutional abuse of black Africans is only where Rhodes’ legacy of ultra-violence begins. To learn more, read the full essay on The Reunion Black Family


By Erin White*, AFROPUNK contributor

*Erin White is AFROPUNK’s editorial and social media assistant. You can follow her on Tumblr or friend her on Facebook. Have a pitch or an inquiry? Shoot her an email at erin@afropunk.com.

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