Msiri (c. 1830 – December 20, 1891) founded and ruled the Yeke Kingdom (also called the Garanganze or Garenganze kingdom) in south-east Katanga (now in DR Congo ) from about 1856 to 1891. His name is sometimes spelled 'M'Siri' in articles in French. Other variants are "Mziri", "Msidi", and "Mushidi"; and his full name was Mwenda Msiri Ngelengwa Shitambi .
141-567: Msiri was a Nyamwezi from Tabora in modern-day Tanzania and a trader, like his father Kalasa, involved in the copper , ivory and East African slave trade controlled by the Sultan of Zanzibar and his Arab and Swahili agents. The main trade route went to Ujiji on Lake Tanganyika and then to Lake Mweru and Katanga. Msiri realised access to guns was the key to power, and in Katanga, he had copper and ivory resources to trade for them. He formed
282-604: A British Empire in new territories to the north by obtaining mineral concessions from the most powerful indigenous chiefs . Rhodes' competitive advantage over other mineral prospecting companies was his combination of wealth and astute political instincts, also called the "imperial factor," as he often collaborated with the British Government. He befriended its local representatives, the British Commissioners , and through them organized British protectorates over
423-589: A militia and started to conquer his neighbours. He also married into the Luba royal family, starting his practice of using wives as spies. He depended on the east coast trade for his guns and gunpowder, which passed through the territory of his rivals, making supplies expensive and unreliable. Instead he turned to the west coast, sending his nephew Molenga to the Ovimbundu and Portuguese traders around Benguela in Angola , and
564-534: A "domestic group" consisted of the husband, his wife or wives, and any children who still lived with them. Sometimes relatives, such as a mother, younger unmarried brothers or sisters, and their children could be found together. The sexes usually ate separately. In general men did the heavy work, while women did the recurring tasks and much of the everyday agricultural work. Ideally every adult person should be married, and every married woman should have her own household and bring her own household utensils. The husband
705-424: A Garanganze report, he wrote that after shooting Msiri, 'Bodson' cut off his head and shouted "I have killed a tiger! Vive le Roi!". Garanganze oral history says that the body returned to them by Stairs for burial was headless, and that the expedition kept the head. One account says that it cursed and killed everyone who carried it and eventually, this included Stairs himself, who died of malaria six months later on
846-492: A bloody civil war, we colonial statesmen must acquire new lands to settle the surplus population, to provide new markets for the goods produced in the factories and mines. The Empire, as I have always said, is a bread and butter question. If you want to avoid civil war, you must become imperialists". Rhodes wanted to develop a Commonwealth in which all of the British-dominated countries in the empire would be represented in
987-514: A brick manufacturer from Hackney, Middlesex . The family owned significant estates in London's Hackney and Dalston which Cecil would later inherit. The earliest traceable direct ancestor of Cecil Rhodes is James Rhodes ( fl. 1660) of Snape Green, Whitmore, Staffordshire . Cecil's siblings included Frank Rhodes , a British Army officer. Rhodes attended the Bishop's Stortford Grammar School from
1128-603: A brief letter signed by Msiri and witnessed by Swan (and probably drafted by him), that Msiri would accept CFS agents in his territory. It did not mention agreeing to the CFS flag being hoisted nor to recognising Leopold's sovereignty, and its lack of precision was probably designed to keep Leopold at bay, so a few months later the Delcommune Expedition followed up to try to achieve those objectives, but again Msiri refused. Expecting that
1269-514: A chiefdom, and it was not unusual for slaves to acquire positions of great influence and power. Even though slave trading and raiding outside of Unyamwezi was considerable, some people became slaves as a result of debt. Before the 19th century, slavery was tolerated but looked down upon by the Nyamwezi. During the social and economic changes of the 19th century, the attitude changed, and the slave trade increased steadily. The ivory trade greatly increased
1410-566: A collaborative strong coalition of Isike's enemies, paid off. Otherwise, it would have been a strenuous task. It would have taken the Germans longer to defeat Isike's resolve. Only Isike's brother Swetu openly continued to resist in the periphery. When Isike's Itetemia fortress fell in the German's hands, his brother Swetu retreated into the miyombo forest terrain with the remaining faithful ruga-ruga platoons. Swetu launched sporadic guerrilla attacks against
1551-449: A collision course with many in Britain, as well as with British missionaries , who favoured what they saw as the more ethical direct rule from London. Rhodes prevailed because he would pay the cost of administering the territories to the north of South Africa against his future mining profits. The Colonial Office did not have enough funding for this. Rhodes promoted his business interests as in
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#17328765393671692-467: A cornerstone of the modern-day Cape fruit industry. In 1873, Rhodes left his farm field in the care of his business partner, Rudd, and sailed for England to study at university. He was admitted to Oriel College, Oxford , but stayed for only one term in 1874. He returned to South Africa and did not return for his second term at Oxford until 1876. He was greatly influenced by John Ruskin 's inaugural lecture at Oxford , which reinforced his own attachment to
1833-543: A decrease in elephant population, which combined with the increased trade in slaves, led to large changes in the social and economic conditions. Nyamwezi staple food has historically been ugali , a porridge made from hominy and served with meat and vegetables. Beer made from fermented corn, sorghum , or millet was also common. Goats were used for ancestor sacrifices, but the economic value of goats and sheep lay in their meat and skins. By tradition five goats or sheep equated one bull; two bulls were worth one cow. Their year
1974-510: A guild, which only accepted those who could pass the apprenticeship and the tests that were associated with it. Hunting had a wide variety of forms. Guild members often used lethal poison, and when they used it, in a German sergeant's words, "it worked slowly but surely." The guildmembers believed they possessed powerful hunting medicine acquired through rigorous apprenticeships, tracking game in all types of terrain and moving swiftly and silently through thorny underbrush. The elephant hunting led to
2115-498: A husband to claim divorce were failure of the wife to carry out household duties, visiting a doctor without permission, and possible infertility. A wife could divorce if the husband deserted for a period of time without supporting her; if the husband seriously injured her by, for example, breaking a limb, but not simply beating her; the husband's impotence or perversions; or if her husband generally failed to maintain her and her children properly. A husband's adultery would not be one of
2256-457: A justification for the killing of Msiri was required. The Stairs Expedition's reports were used in Europe to emphasise self-defence as the reason for his death, coupled with the claim he was a bloodthirsty tyrant. Moloney's quotation of Bodson's dramatic dying words helped in this respect. The question remains as to whether Msiri was being described as a bloodthirsty tyrant to the same extent before he
2397-469: A likely 100,000 people traveling to and from the coast, Abrahams lists a possible 200,000 using many of the side 'roads', some making the trip as many as 20 times.) Despite the Nyamwezi's outside contacts, Nyamwezi colonies were remarkably resistant to foreign culture. Nyamwezi colonies outside the Unyamwezi long remained culturally distinct. In Unyamwezi itself, differing lifestyles were either absorbed into
2538-520: A near-complete monopoly of the world diamond market. His diamond company De Beers , formed in 1888, retains its prominence into the 21st century. Rhodes entered the Cape Parliament at the age of 27 in 1881, and in 1890, he became prime minister. During his time as prime minister, Rhodes used his political power to expropriate land from black Africans through the Glen Grey Act , while also tripling
2679-407: A population estimated at 60,000–80,000 in 1891. A year after Msiri's death, it was 10,000–20,000. In that part of Africa people disperse into the bush when threatened. For instance, David Livingstone reported twenty years earlier that Mwata Kazembe VII Chinkonkole Kafuti so tyrannised his people that many had moved away, and he could muster scarcely 1000 men. Continuing the contrast with Msiri, when
2820-738: A series of meetings between August and October, he persuaded the Impi to lay down their arms, thus ending the Second Matabele War. In the aftermath of the war in Matabeleland, but whilst the uprising in Mashonaland was being suppressed, Rhodes returned to London to give evidence to the UK House of Commons Select Committee of Enquiry into the Jameson Raid. As Rhodes had incriminating telegrams demonstrating
2961-572: A significantly higher £75 which had a disproportionate effect on the previously growing number of enfranchised black people in the Cape under the Cape Qualified Franchise that had been in force since 1853. By limiting the amount of land which black Africans were legally allowed to hold in the Glen Grey Act of 1894, Rhodes further disenfranchised the black population. To quote Richard Dowden , most would now "find it almost impossible to get back on
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#17328765393673102-643: A single group. The Nyamwezi have close ties with the Sukuma and are believed to have been one ethnic group up until the Nyamwezi started their forrays to the Coast for long distance trade. The Sukuma would refer to the Nyamwezi as the Dakama , meaning 'people of the south', and the Dakama would refer to the Sukuma as 'people of the north'. Their homeland is called Unyamwezi , and they speak
3243-400: A trader there called Coimbra became his supplier. The Luba people to his north-west had controlled the west coast trade, but Msiri took it over and halted their southwards expansion. Msiri now had the power and influence to form alliances as more of an equal with warlords such as Tippu Tip , who controlled the eastern Congo from Lake Tanganyika up to what is now Uganda in the north-east, and
3384-573: A traditional religion, despite conversion attempts by Islam and Christianity. They believe in a powerful god called Likube (High God), Limatunda (Creator), Limi (the Sun) and Liwelolo (the Universe), but ancestor worship is a more frequent daily practice. Offerings of sheep or goats are made to ancestors, and the help of Likube is invoked beforehand. Spirits also play an active role in Nyamwezi religious life, with mfumu , witchdoctors , or diviners, playing
3525-598: A treaty if supplied with gunpowder. According to the Stairs Expedition's doctor Joseph Moloney and third officer Christian de Bonchamps , with negotiations at stalemate, Msiri reacted to an ultimatum and to Stairs flying the CFS flag without his consent, by departing in the night to a fortified village at Munema on the outskirts of Bunkeya. The next day, 20 December 1891, Stairs sent his second-in-command, Belgian Lieutenant Omer Bodson with de Bonchamps and 100 askaris to arrest Msiri. Despite de Bonchamps' concerns about
3666-552: A war zone. By 1890 the Germans advanced further towards Tabora the western part of Tanganyika. It is located in the interior of Nyamwezi land. There, they met stiff resistance from Isike the Unyanyembe hereditary ruler. Isike was the only leader in Nyamweziland who was prepared to defend his country to the last drop of blood. According to European intelligence and correspondence information provided by missionaries and explorers, Isike
3807-416: A wife from the village of each subordinate chief, making the chief think this gave him an advocate at Msiri's court, but the wife was used to spy on the chief instead and to obtain information about his dealings and loyalty. The wife could also be used as a hostage in case of any rebellion by that chief. Msiri also cemented alliances with other powerful trading partners through marriage. His favourite wife
3948-562: A working relationship with him, with a certain amount of mutual respect. Msiri gave Arnot land to build his own hut, a small clinic, a church, and a school. When Arnot returned to London he recruited three more missionaries to go to Msiri in Bunkeya. Arnot's diaries say of living in Bunkeya: ... the quietness and peace that reigns is remarkable. The fear of Msidi is great. He is sharp and severe in his government, though I see or hear of nothing in
4089-509: Is also possible that Msiri had the idea to hold the missionaries hostage in case of any war with the Europeans, in the same way that he held hostage the women of subject tribes. Cecil Rhodes ’ British South Africa Company (BSAC) and Belgian King Leopold II ’s Congo Free State (CFS) both wanted to sign treaties with Msiri to fulfil their colonial ambitions and competed to do so. Some of Msiri's subordinate chiefs and trading competitors took
4230-731: Is at the top of the tree". While attending Oriel College, Rhodes became a Freemason in the Apollo University Lodge . Although initially he did not approve of the organisation, he continued to be a South African Freemason until his death in 1902. The shortcomings of the Freemasons, in his opinion, later caused him to envisage his own secret society with the goal of bringing the entire world under British rule. During his years at Oxford, Rhodes continued to prosper in Kimberley . Before his departure for Oxford, he and C.D. Rudd had moved from
4371-635: Is buried alongside Leander Starr Jameson and 34 British soldiers killed in the Shangani Patrol . Despite occasional efforts to return his body to the United Kingdom, his grave remains there still, "part and parcel of the history of Zimbabwe" and attracts thousands of visitors each year. One of Rhodes's dreams was for a "red line" on the map from the Cape to Cairo (on geo-political maps, British dominions were always denoted in red or pink). Rhodes had been instrumental in securing southern African states for
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4512-402: Is divided into two seasons, wet and dry, with considerable variation depending on time and place. In addition to agriculture, crafts were a part-time occupation and were not hereditary. Regionally traded products of importance were drums, ladles, stools, storage boxes for grain, and snuffboxes of horn. Iron and cloth were very important in regional networks, but the cloth industry in particular
4653-581: Is humiliating to be utterly beaten by these niggers." The British Colonial Office also decided to administer British Central Africa owing to the activism of David Livingstone trying to end the East African Arab-Swahili slave trade . Rhodes paid much of the cost so that the British Central Africa Commissioner Sir Harry Johnston , and his successor Alfred Sharpe , would assist with security for Rhodes in
4794-438: Is of Swahili origin, and translates as "people of the moon" or "people of the west", the latter being more meaningful to the context. Historically, there have been five ethnic groups, all of which referring to themselves as Wanyamwezi to outsiders: Kimbu , Konongo , Nyamwezi, Sukuma , and Sumbwa , who were never united. All groups normally merged have broadly similar cultures, but it is an oversimplification to view them as
4935-502: Is said to technically own his wife's hut, fields, and most of the household's food, but a wise husband usually listened to the wife's advice. There was little ranking between co-wives, although seniority in terms of who was first married was at times recognized. Jealously and sorcery were common, much depending on how well co-wives got along. Unlike the Wagogo , divorce was common, a large majority of persons experiencing al least one divorce by
5076-493: The Kimberley Mine to invest in the more costly claims of what was known as old De Beers ( Vooruitzicht ). It was named after Johannes Nicolaas de Beer and his brother, Diederik Arnoldus, who occupied the farm. After purchasing the land in 1839 from David Danser, a Koranna chief in the area, David Stephanus Fourie, forebear of Claudine Fourie-Grosvenor, had allowed the de Beers and various other Afrikaner families to cultivate
5217-778: The Limpopo River to the great lakes of Central Africa. He obtained further concessions and treaties north of the Zambezi , such as those in Barotseland (the Lochner Concession with King Lewanika in 1890, which was similar to the Rudd Concession); and in the Lake Mweru area ( Alfred Sharpe 's 1890 Kazembe concession). Rhodes also sent Sharpe to get a concession over mineral-rich Katanga , but met his match in ruthlessness: when Sharpe
5358-501: The Luapula River . In 1886 Arnot arrived and was the first white person to settle in Katanga. After three years he went back to Britain to recruit more missionaries, including Charles Swan and Dan Crawford . Thus, the first missionaries in Katanga did not decide to go there at their own initiative. Msiri's strategy worked: the missionaries' advice prevented him being taken in by the first British and Belgian expeditions (see below). It
5499-512: The Shona . Because gold deposits weren't as plentiful as they had hoped, many of the white settlers who accompanied the BSAC to Mashonaland became farmers rather than miners. White settlers and their locally-employed Native Police engaged in widespread indiscriminate rape of Ndebele women in the early 1890s. The Ndebele and the Shona —the two main, but rival, peoples—took advantage of the absence of most of
5640-638: The Umkomazi valley in Natal. The land was unsuitable for cotton, and the venture failed. In October 1871, 18-year-old Rhodes and his 26-year-old brother Herbert left the colony for the diamond fields of Kimberley in Northern Cape Province. Financed by N M Rothschild & Sons , Rhodes succeeded over the next 17 years in buying up all the smaller diamond mining operations in the Kimberley area. His monopoly of
5781-595: The nexus of Tabora to the Lake district beyond. Conflicts between chiefs and Arab traders lasted through the last half of the 19th century. Chiefs such as Isike and Mirambo, no longer being purely ritual, had found that the arrival of firearms enabled them to create standing armies and a new state organization. It was firearms and trade that transformed the region, for trade generated the wealth needed to obtain firearms. Chiefs were normally ritual figures who had no very rigid rules of succession. They lived very restricted lives, with
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5922-624: The "most despicable specimens of human beings" should be inhabited by Anglo-Saxons. However others have disputed these views. For example, historian Raymond C. Mensing notes that Rhodes has the reputation as the most flamboyant exemplar of the British imperial spirit, and always believed that British institutions were the best. Mensing argues that Rhodes quietly developed a more nuanced concept of imperial federation in Africa, and that his mature views were more balanced and realistic. According to Mensing, "Rhodes
6063-399: The 16th century, and originally living in a mosaic of small and independent chiefdoms slowly carved out by ruling dynasties. According to a Catholic missionary , these may have numbered over 150, each with its own councilors, elders, and court slaves. In the 19th century, they were already recognized as large slave-owners and were famous for their herds. While cattle were important, their care
6204-525: The 17th century. The earliest evidence comes from the Galahansa , and confirms their presence there in the late 17th century. They were once fishermen and nomadic farmers due to the poor quality of soil in the area. Their travels made them professional traders. By 1800 they were taking caravans to the coast to trade in Katanga copper, wax, salt, ivory, and slaves . Arab and Indian slave and ivory traders reached
6345-564: The Arab community of Tabora. When Mnywasele inherited the throne of Unyanyembe in 1858, the Arabs helped him expel his rival Mkasiwa , who went into exile in Ulyankhulu. When Mnywasele later tried to increase his control over the Unyanyembe trading community, those allied with Mkasiwa, which led to a greater conflict between Unyanyembe and Ulyankhulu in 1860. The result of the conflict was that Mkasiwa gained
6486-595: The BSAC (with power of attorney to take decisions without reference back to the Board in London) until June 1896, defying Chamberlain's calls to resign, and he gave instructions that no mercy be shown in putting down the rebellion, telling officers that "Your instructions are" he told a major, to "do the most harm you can to the natives around you." He ordered a police officer to "kill all you can", even those Ndebele who begged for mercy and threw down their arms. Shortly after learning of
6627-421: The BSAC to meet up with and reinforce Sharpe's mission in Bunkeya, but its route was blocked by a smallpox epidemic and it could not continue. Arnot was still in Britain but Charles Swan and Dan Crawford were present. Msiri and his officials could not read English and Sharpe described the agreement favourably, but Arnot had advised Msiri to have any treaties translated, and Swan now gave the same advice. For this
6768-422: The BSAC would try again with Thomson, Leopold resolved to take stronger action with his third expedition of 1891. On December 14, 1891 the armed Stairs Expedition of the CFS arrived in Bunkeya with 400 troops and porters, led by Canadian mercenary, Captain W. G. Stairs , ordered by Leopold to raise the CFS flag and claim Katanga by force if necessary. Negotiations commenced and Msiri indicated he might agree to
6909-490: The BSAC's north-eastern territories. Johnston shared Rhodes's expansionist views, but he and his successors were not as pro-settler as Rhodes, and disagreed on dealings with Africans. The BSAC had its own police force, the British South Africa Police , which was used to control Matabeleland and Mashonaland , in present-day Zimbabwe . The company had hoped to start a "new Rand " from the ancient gold mines of
7050-633: The BSAP for the Jameson Raid in January 1896; they separately rebelled against the coming of the European settlers, and the BSAC defeated them in the Second Matabele War . Rhodes went to Matabeleland after his resignation as Cape Colony Premier, and appointed himself Colonel in his own column of irregular troops moving from Salisbury to Bulawayo to relieve the siege of whites there. He remained Managing Director of
7191-741: The Boer government, Rhodes supported the Jameson Raid , an unsuccessful attempt to create an uprising in the Transvaal that had the tacit approval of Secretary of State for the Colonies Joseph Chamberlain . The raid was a catastrophic failure. It forced Cecil Rhodes to resign as Prime Minister of the Cape Colony, sent his oldest brother Col. Frank Rhodes to jail in Transvaal convicted of high treason and nearly sentenced to death, and contributed to
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#17328765393677332-651: The British Parliament . Rhodes explicitly stipulated in his will that all races should be eligible for the scholarships. It is said that he wanted to develop an American elite of philosopher-kings who would have the United States rejoin the British Empire. As Rhodes also respected and admired the Germans and their Kaiser , he allowed German students to be included in the Rhodes scholarships. He believed that eventually
7473-671: The British government and the public had been allowed to think, the Rudd Concession was not vested in the British South Africa Company , but in a short-lived ancillary concern of Rhodes, Rudd and a few others called the Central Search Association , which was quietly formed in London in 1889. This entity renamed itself the United Concessions Company in 1890, and soon after sold the Rudd Concession to
7614-475: The Cape Colony from 1890 to 1896. He and his British South Africa Company founded the southern African territory of Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe and Zambia ), which the company named after him in 1895. He also devoted much effort to realising his vision of a Cape to Cairo Railway through British territory. Rhodes set up the Rhodes Scholarship , which is funded by his estate. The son of a vicar , Rhodes
7755-522: The Cape Qualified Franchise]," with Rhodes arguing that "the native is to be treated as a child and denied the franchise. We must adopt a system of despotism, such as works in India, in our relations with the barbarism of South Africa". Rhodes advocated the governance of indigenous Africans living in the Cape Colony "in a state of barbarism and communal tenure" as "a subject race. I do not go so far as
7896-569: The Cape. With the earlier incorporation of Griqualand West into the Cape Colony under the Molteno Ministry in 1877, the area had obtained six seats in the Cape House of Assembly . Rhodes chose the rural and predominately Boer constituency of Barkly West , which would remain loyal to Rhodes until his death. When Rhodes became a member of the Cape Parliament , the chief goal of the assembly
8037-580: The Chartered Company for 1,000,000 shares. When Colonial Office functionaries discovered this chicanery in 1891, they advised Secretary of State for the Colonies Viscount Knutsford to consider revoking the concession, but no action was taken. Armed with the Rudd Concession, in 1889 Rhodes obtained a charter from the British Government for his British South Africa Company (BSAC) to rule, police, and make new treaties and concessions from
8178-476: The Compagnie du Katanga) and an Anglo-Belgian agreement was signed in 1894. The slave trade from south-east Katanga to Lake Tanganyika declined, though in the Congo Free State slavery as practiced by King Leopold II's agents did not end until after the country was taken over by the Belgian state in 1908. Some of the Garanganze people returned to Bunkeya and continued the Garanganze chieftaincy which, despite internal exile for some years, continues to this day, using
8319-408: The Empire. He and others felt the best way to "unify the possessions, facilitate governance, enable the military to move quickly to hot spots or conduct war, help settlement, and foster trade" would be to build the "Cape to Cairo Railway". This enterprise was not without its problems. France had a conflicting strategy in the late 1890s to link its colonies from west to east across the continent and
8460-411: The German invaders for about two years. However, Swetu's guerrilla tactics were not as organized as Mkwawa's. The German's military effort focused on Mkwawa after the conquest of Unyamwezi. Unyamwezi was "pacified" by the Germans in 1893; only Chief Isike around Tabora giving any serious opposition. The Germans adopted a form of indirect rule in the region with chiefs becoming the administrative agents of
8601-484: The German's army personnel in size, they also volunteered all vital intelligence that could undermine Isike's defence strategies. In 1891 the Germans learnt a bitter lesson when they lost half their troops in Kalenga. Their military was annihilated when they attacked the Hehe ruler Mkwawa—Isike's son-in-law and a staunch ally. The Germans knew the two leaders conspired keeping in close contact and sharing intelligence in their bid to wade off foreign invasion. Prior to 1893,
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#17328765393678742-442: The Germans finally imposed peace, the population did not immediately disperse, but slowly, over a fifty-year period, the modern pattern of scattered settlements emerged. German colonialists controlling Tanzania from the late 19th century (calling it German East Africa ), found the Nyamwezi heavily involved in trade relations with the Arabs and the island of Zanzibar , dominating as traders and porters since 1850. (While Iliffe lists
8883-427: The Germans launched two major unsuccessful attacks as attempt to defeat Isike and followed with intermittent multiple skirmishes. The Germans third ferocious offensive was decisive big blow. The German military; was able to break into Isike's stronghold. Realising imminent defeat, instead of surrendering to be captured alive by the victors Isike took his life in a suicide. He ignited the remaining gunpowder kegs stocked in
9024-480: The Germans were removed from Tabora during World War I , the British took over in 1919 and ruled until the Tanzanian independence of 1961. To combat sleeping sickness , many people were moved into new villages free from the disease. Historically, villages were normally not kinship units and people found their relatives spread over wide areas. Spouses generally came from outside the Tembes and sons commonly moved away from their father's homestead. The core members of
9165-453: The Niger Oil Company. During the 1880s, Cape vineyards had been devastated by a phylloxera epidemic. The diseased vineyards were dug up and replanted, and farmers were looking for alternatives to wine. In 1892, Rhodes financed The Pioneer Fruit Growing Company at Nooitgedacht , a venture created by Harry Pickstone, an Englishman who had experience with fruit-growing in California. The shipping magnate Percy Molteno had just undertaken
9306-404: The Nyamwezi by 1825. They also started to acquire guns, and establish regular armies, with intra-tribal wars and some conflicts with Arabs on the coast throughout the 19th century. They could be considered an acquisitive society, often accused of thinking of nothing but how to earn money. The Nyamwezi had long been a settled agricultural and cattle-owning people, arriving on the western plateau in
9447-421: The Nyamwezi leader Mirambo who controlled the land route between Lake Tanganyika and the coast, and he sought to emulate them. Msiri achieved what other tribes and the Portuguese had tried without as much success, which was to trade across the continent, with both coasts. By the time of David Livingstone's visit to Mwata Kazembe VIII in 1867, Msiri had taken control of most of the Mwata's territory and trade on
9588-412: The Portuguese produced the " Pink Map ", representing their claims to sovereignty in Africa. Ultimately, Belgium and Germany proved to be the main obstacles to the British objective until the United Kingdom conquered and seized Tanganyika from the Germans as a League of Nations mandate in World War I . Rhodes wanted to expand the British Empire because he believed that the Anglo-Saxon race
9729-448: The Stairs Expedition's doctor, wrote up his account on his return to London in 1892. Influenced by the writings of men such as Livingstone, public opinion in Britain began to clamor for reforms which benefited the indigenous subjects of the British Empire. Moloney noted that Msiri had his "apologists" in London. King Leopold had to legitimise his Congo Free State 's claim to Katanga under the Berlin Conference's Principle of Effectivity , so
9870-526: The United Kingdom (including Ireland), the US, and Germany together would dominate the world and ensure perpetual peace. Rhodes's views on race have been debated; he supported the rights of indigenous Africans to vote, but critics have labelled him as an "architect of apartheid " and a " white supremacist ", particularly since 2015. According to Magubane, Rhodes was "unhappy that in many Cape Constituencies, Africans could be decisive if more of them exercised this right to vote under current law [referring to
10011-495: The additional reinforcement including the local ruga-ruga deserters who were lured with handsome rewards to work for the Germans as mercenaries. Lieutenant Tom von Prince Military was equipped with better weapons. He also forged a coalition of the willing deserters, the skilled and experienced Arab militia with the support of princess Nyanso (Isike's rival cousin), and Ruga-ruga from other complying Nyamwezi rulers. The Ruga-ruga mercenaries and Arab militia puppets not only strengthened
10152-474: The age of nine, but, as a sickly, asthmatic adolescent, he was taken out of grammar school in 1869 and, according to Basil Williams , "continued his studies under his father's eye ..." At age seven, he was recorded in the 1861 census as boarding with his aunt, Sophia Peacock, at a boarding house in Jersey , where the climate was perceived to provide a respite for those with conditions such as asthma . His health
10293-422: The amalgamation of a number of individual claims. With £200,000 of capital, the company, of which Rhodes was secretary, owned the largest interest in the mine (£200,000 in 1880 = £22.5m in 2020 = $ 28.5m USD). Rhodes was named the chairman of De Beers at the company's founding in 1888. De Beers was established with funding from N.M. Rothschild & Sons in 1887. In 1880, Rhodes prepared to enter public life at
10434-523: The armoury where he barricaded himself with willing relatives and wives. He did not want to live an undignified miserable life under foreign occupiers. Before Isike's defeat in 1891 Nyanso was installed as the German's allied ruler of Unyanyembe. Isike's death in 1893 cemented German's victory against him. This occurrence sealed the fate of the Nyamwezi dominance of the central caravan trade route. The Germans freely exalted their authority in Unyamwezi lands and subsequently Tanganyika. The German strategy to form
10575-559: The assassination of the Ndebele spiritual leader, Mlimo, by the American scout Frederick Russell Burnham , and after participating in the cavalry charge at one of the last pitched battles of this phase of the war, Rhodes' associate Johan Colenbrander arranged for a meeting with the remaining Ndebele chiefs. Rhodes and a few colleagues walked unarmed into the Ndebele stronghold in Matobo Hills . In
10716-501: The assassins sent by Msiri and Tippu Tib advanced on his boma , Chinkonkole Kafuti's people did not warn him, but let him be taken by surprise. Of the contemporary written accounts of Msiri, all were by or based on accounts of people in the pay of either Leopold or the BSAC , the only exception being Arnot and his missionary colleagues, the closest there were to neutral observers. Arnot referred to Msiri as "a thorough gentleman," and established
10857-653: The barbarism of South Africa." Rhodes also introduced educational reform to the area. His policies were instrumental in the development of British imperial policies in South Africa, such as the Hut tax . Rhodes did not, however, have direct political power over the independent Boer Republic of the Transvaal . He often disagreed with the Transvaal government's policies, which he considered unsupportive of mine-owners' interests. In 1895, believing he could use his influence to overthrow
10998-596: The board of the BSAC in 1898. He remained an MP in the Cape Parliament and a Privy Councillor. By the end of 1894, the territories over which the BSAC had concessions or treaties, collectively called "Zambesia" after the Zambezi River flowing through the middle, comprised an area of 1,143,000 km between the Limpopo River and Lake Tanganyika . In May 1895, its name was officially changed to "Rhodesia", reflecting Rhodes's popularity among settlers who had been using
11139-456: The cause of British imperialism . Among his Oxford associates were James Rochfort Maguire , later a fellow of All Souls College and a director of the British South Africa Company , and Charles Metcalfe. Due to his university career, Rhodes admired the Oxford tutorial system. Eventually, he was inspired to develop his scholarship scheme: "Wherever you turn your eye—except in science—an Oxford man
11280-491: The central government, receiving account books as a formal mark of recognition. Over time, the chiefs were expected to keep order and collect taxes. Where earlier officers welcomed their collaboration, later officers became suspicious of it, even deliberately dismantling a chiefdom. As late as 1906, Karl Weule, a German ethnolonogist had the following to say; "Even European caravans had their porters expect to receive food and drink from native villages they passed through" After
11421-449: The coast with ivory around 1800, and coastal traders soon followed this up by finally entering Unyamwezi and reaching Ujiji by 1831. A kind of California Gold Rush took place for the ivory of the Congo's Manjema to the west of Lake Tanganyika . With their deep involvement in commerce, the Nyamwezi welcomed traders. The most hospitable chiefdom was Unyanyembe, where Arab traders established
11562-726: The complicity and foreknowledge of the Raid by Joseph Chamberlain, the Colonial Secretary, he and his solicitor were able to blackmail Chamberlain into retaining the BSAC Charter, leaving the Company in charge of administering the territory north of the Limpopo even as it became a Crown colony . Rhodes returned to Mashonaland, further overseeing the suppression of the uprising there into 1897. The scandal attached to his name did not prevent him rejoining
11703-499: The danger, Bodson went into Munema with a dozen men and confronted Msiri in front of about 300 of his warriors. Msiri said nothing but in anger started to draw the sword which had been a gift from Stairs. Bodson drew his revolver and shot Msiri three times, killing him. A fight erupted, and Bodson was shot and mortally wounded by one of Msiri's men, dying later. The oral history of the Garanganze people contains some contradictions about
11844-731: The establishment of German East Africa in the 19th century, Moravian Church missionaries arrived in the Lake Malawi region of Tanganyika . Today, the Moravian Church In Western Tanzania (MCWT) has about 80,000 Nyamwezi adherents and many continue to evangelize among the Sukuma people. About 926,000 Nyamwezi speak a language of the Bantu family , classified as the Sukuma–Nyamwezi group of Bantu. The Nyamwezi are predominantly subsistence farmers and cattle herders. Most follow
11985-491: The existing order, similar to the Ngoni becoming just another chiefdom, or became isolated like the Arabs of Tabora. But for all their poor relationships with the coast and their conservatism, being able to travel was considered a valuable and manly attribute. Many trade routes crossed Unyamwezi, and the Nyamwezi had access to ivory and slaves, stretching from the coast to the inland, as far as Congo . The western Nyamwezi arrived at
12126-492: The fifth son of the Reverend Francis William Rhodes (1807–1878) and his wife, Louisa Peacock. Francis was a Church of England clergyman who served as perpetual curate of Brentwood, Essex (1834–1843), and then as vicar of nearby Bishop's Stortford (1849–1876), where he was well known for never having preached a sermon longer than ten minutes. Francis was the eldest son of William Rhodes (1774–1855),
12267-476: The first successful refrigerated export to Europe. In 1896, after consulting with Molteno, Rhodes began to pay more attention to export fruit farming and bought farms in Groot Drakenstein, Wellington and Stellenbosch. A year later, he bought Rhone and Boschendal and commissioned Sir Herbert Baker to build him a cottage there. The successful operation soon expanded into Rhodes Fruit Farms , and formed
12408-457: The grounds. It was customary for the younger brother of her former husband to inherit a widow (a kind of "widows and orphans" security system), although it was not done against her will. Among some, inheritance of a widow by her husband's sister's son was particularly favored. It had always been part or the Nyamwezi system for the chief to receive tribute, bring success and prosperity to the people, and play an active role in ceremonies. All land
12549-610: The house of Leopold II, or with whom? Up to this day, we don't know." The expedition's askaris massacred many of Msiri's people that day at Munema, and the population dispersed. On condition he sign CFS treaties, Stairs installed Msiri's adopted son as chief in his place but of a much reduced area, and restored the Wasanga chieftainships which Msiri had overthrown 30 years before. The Stairs Expedition left after seven weeks when another CFS expedition (the Bia Expedition ) arrived from north. It
12690-483: The incident. In one story, Msiri speared Bodson to death and was shot by other members of the expedition. In an article published in Paris in 1892, de Bonchamps revealed that having carried Msiri's body back to their camp, the expedition cut off his head and hoisted it on a pole as a 'barbaric lesson' to the Garanganze. Moloney's book is silent on the subject. Dan Crawford was at a Belgian outpost 40 km away and, relying on
12831-406: The invaders. The German's first attempt to pacify Isike failed dismally in 1890. Their small army and weak military equipment was not up to the task. Isike stuck to his tactic of barricading himself in his fortress. The German authority appointed Lieutenant Tom von Prince specifically to challenge and crash Isike's resistance by any means necessary. This time the Germans were better prepared with
12972-587: The land. The region extended from the Modder River via the Vet River up to the Vaal River . In 1874 and 1875, the diamond fields were in the grip of depression, but Rhodes and Rudd were among those who stayed to consolidate their interests. They believed that diamonds would be numerous in the hard blue ground that had been exposed after the softer, yellow layer near the surface had been worked out. During this time,
13113-540: The language Kinyamwezi , but many also speak Swahili or English . Ancient Indian texts refer to the Nyamwezi, or 'the men of the moon', a term still in use to identify the Nyamwezi people in Tanzania. It was only in the 19th century that the name could be found in European literature; the term might include almost anyone from the western plateau. Travel taught them that others called them Nyamwezi, and almost all men accepted
13254-517: The largest number, sometimes well over a thousand, for as porters became more and more important, and since many men were traveling, labor for cultivation became increasingly scarce and slaves were needed more and more. Slaves remaining in the local area seem to have had a life easier and more secure than those sent to the coast. Domestic slaves often lived and ate with their owners, were allowed to work on their own, and could possess their own slaves and livestock; loyal slaves could even be given part of
13395-551: The list because of the legal limit on the amount of land they could hold". In addition, Rhodes was an early architect of the Natives Land Act, 1913 , which would limit the areas of the country where black Africans were allowed to settle to less than 10%. At the time, Rhodes would argue that "the native is to be treated as a child and denied the franchise. We must adopt a system of despotism, such as works in India , in our relations with
13536-447: The member for Victoria West, who would not give the black man a vote. ... If the whites maintain their position as the supreme race, the day may come when we shall be thankful that we have the natives with us in their proper position." He once stated "I prefer land to niggers" and referred to the 'Anglo-Saxon race' as "the best, most human, most honourable race the world possesses". He thought that those lands which were occupied by
13677-593: The mineral concession areas via separate but related treaties. In this way he obtained both legality and security for mining operations. He could then attract more investors. Imperial expansion and capital investment went hand in hand. The imperial factor was a double-edged sword: Rhodes did not want the bureaucrats of the Colonial Office in London to interfere in the Empire in Africa. He wanted British settlers and local politicians and governors to run it. This put him on
13818-516: The mining companies could do anything necessary to their operations. When Lobengula discovered later the true effects of the concession, he tried to renounce it, but the British Government ignored him. During the company's early days, Rhodes and his associates set themselves up to make millions (hundreds of millions in current pounds) over the coming years through what has been described as a " suppressio veri ... which must be regarded as one of Rhodes's least creditable actions". Contrary to what
13959-437: The missionaries were later the subject of resentment and anger on behalf of the BSAC, because when the treaty's real contents were revealed to Msiri, enraged, he sent Sharpe away empty-handed. Sharpe was sure Msiri would not sign away his sovereignty to any other power, and he advised Johnston to wait until he was 'out of the way'. On 18 April 1891 Leopold sent an expedition of about 350 men led by Paul Le Marinel . He obtained
14100-521: The missionary Robert Moffat , who was trusted by Lobengula, to persuade the latter to sign a treaty of friendship with Britain, and to look favourably on Rhodes's proposals. His associate Charles Rudd, together with Francis Thompson and Rochfort Maguire, assured Lobengula that no more than ten white men would mine in Matabeleland. This limitation was left out of the document, known as the Rudd Concession , which Lobengula signed. Furthermore, it stated that
14241-486: The most significant duties being carried out by headmen. They were strangled when they became seriously ill (as probably happened to Mirambo while dying of cancer ), for the well being of the state and its continuation was identified with chief and his subordinate administrators. A hierarchy of territorial offices came into being. There were sub-chiefs, assistant chiefs, headmen elders, ritual officials, etc., as each dynasty seized power from another. Greater Nyamwezi had become
14382-497: The name 'Mwami Mwenda' after Msiri's first name, ruling a population of about 20,000. According to one European source: There can be little doubt, judging from various contemporary accounts, that his rule was arbitrary, vindictive, cruel, and despotic. He was a warlord who enslaved his neighbours and whose capital was surrounded by palisades on which hung the skulls of his enemies. Msiri was said to punish his enemies and other miscreants by mutilation (cutting off ears), burial up to
14523-407: The name given to them by the coastal people indicating that the Nyamwezi came from the west. A century later, their land is still called "Greater Unyamwezi", about 35,000 square miles (91,000 km ) of rolling land at an elevation of about 4,000 feet (1,200 m). According to oral tradition , the Nyamwezi are thought to have settled in west central Tanzania (their present location) some time in
14664-513: The name informally since 1891. The designation Southern Rhodesia was officially adopted in 1898 for the part south of the Zambezi, which later became Zimbabwe; and the designations North-Western and North-Eastern Rhodesia were used from 1895 for the territory which later became Northern Rhodesia , then Zambia . He built a house for himself in 1897 in Bulawayo. Rhodes decreed in his will that he
14805-617: The neck and being left to starve, or being shut up in a hut to be eaten by a pack of starving dogs. Execution by beheading was certainly carried out, as witnessed by the heads placed on poles. Ironically the Stairs expedition meted out the same treatment to Msiri himself (and Leopold's regime in the Congo Free State hung heads and bodies of villagers on fences as a warning to others of what happened to those who did not fulfil their rubber quota). Msiri's capital Bunkeya and surrounding villages had
14946-531: The opportunity of the arrival of new powers in the region to start rebellions against his authority. In November 1890 Alfred Sharpe arrived in Bunkeya from Nyasaland on behalf of the BSAC and the British Commissioner in Central Africa/Nyasaland, Sir Harry Johnston , with a mineral rights concession and a British protectorate treaty for signature. The explorer Joseph Thomson was sent by
15087-485: The outbreak of the Second Boer War . In 1899, Rhodes was sued by a man named Burrows for falsely representing the purpose of the raid and thereby convincing him to participate in the raid. Burrows was severely wounded and had to have his leg amputated. His suit for £3,000 in damages was successful. Rhodes used his wealth and that of his business partner Alfred Beit and other investors to pursue his dream of creating
15228-520: The power workings of the three sides of the triangle sustained his authority. In anticipation of foreign invasions Isike constructed a fortress around the Nyanyembe royal courts in Itetemia. It was a purpose built defence stronghold to keep invaders at bay. Built with thick walls built with stones and mud mortar, strengthened with fire. The walls were approximately three feet in width and ten feet in height. At
15369-477: The return journey, and it was alleged he had with him Msiri's head in a can of kerosene. The history of Msiri's successors says that the head was buried under a hill of stones in Zambia, but it also says Msiri's successor 'caught and killed all the Europeans on the expedition'. In 1998 Congolese artist Tshibumba Kanda-Matulu said: In all truth, we don't know where this head went. Is it in Europe, in some Museum, in
15510-446: The role of counselor and medical practitioner. Bulogi ( witchcraft ) is a powerful force in Nyamwezi culture. The Baswezi society recruits people possessed by the Swezi spirit. Many Nyamwezi converted to Sunni Islam during the 19th century and Islam even influenced the fashion of those that didn't convert. During the same century, other Nyamwezi converted to Protestant Christianity via
15651-512: The slave trade, although it had long been important in intra- and inter-regional trade. As with cattle, slaves were also needed and wanted for their prestige value, for men could gain influence and social connections, they could even make marriage payments with them. The slave was seldom used just to carry ivory. Ivory porters should be viewed as free and voluntary labor, although it is true that they were at times financially abused by their chiefs, but later these people were defeated by Arabs. With
15792-706: The strategic interest of Britain: preventing the Portuguese , the Germans or the Boers from moving into south-central Africa. Rhodes's companies and agents cemented these advantages by obtaining many mining concessions, as exemplified by the Rudd and Lochner Concessions. Rhodes had already tried and failed to get a mining concession from Lobengula , King of the Ndebele of Matabeleland . In 1888 he tried again. He sent John Smith Moffat , son of
15933-437: The strengthening of international movements against racism, such as Rhodes Must Fall , Rhodes' legacy is a matter of debate to this day. Critics cite his confiscation of land from the black indigenous population of the Cape Colony , and false claims that southern African archeological sites such as Great Zimbabwe were built by European civilisations. Rhodes was born in 1853 in Bishop's Stortford , Hertfordshire, England,
16074-403: The technical problem of clearing out the water that was flooding the mines became serious. Rhodes and Rudd obtained the contract for pumping water out of the three main mines. After Rhodes returned from his first term at Oxford, he lived with Robert Dundas Graham, who later became a mining partner with Rudd and Rhodes. On 13 March 1888, Rhodes and Rudd launched De Beers Consolidated Mines after
16215-570: The throne of Unyanyembe. In 1871 Unyanyembe was involved in another war, this time against Urambo, which at this time was ruled by the slaver and ivory trader known as Mirambo . 1873 the Urambo forces blockaded the ivory trade from Tabora resulting in the price of ivory rising globally. The war lasted until Mirambo's death in 1884. In the 19th century, settlements were described as typically large, compact, and fortified for defense with strong wooden stockades, often in high inaccessible rocky places. When
16356-433: The time they were fifty years of age, which included the return of bridewealth minus the number and sex of the children born. Divorce was most often accomplished by the separation of either party. Chiefdom courts found certain reasons to automatically justify divorce: a woman's desertion, being struck by a wife, the wife's adultery , sexual refusal of the wife, and having an abortion, were all adequate reasons. Grounds for
16497-578: The top of the walls holes were curved strategically designed for ruga-ruga snipers to place weapons in defence of the fortress base. Unlike Isike's contemporaries Mirambo and Nyungu-ya-Mawe (Isike's cousin) who participated in the forefront of the battles lines leading their vicious ruga-ruga armies Isike chose to control his ruga-ruga forces from his command centre inside the fortress. He never complied with German demands or invitation to attend supposedly peace talks. Instead, he sent envoys only. He refused to come out of his fortress to personally negotiate with
16638-450: The trade routes between the Atlantic and Indian Oceans took ruthlessness and arms (and over his neighbours, Msiri had what would be called in the west ‘superior military technology ’). But it also took a strategic eye, and the guile and persuasion required to form alliances with hundreds of other tribes, rulers and traders. He did this through his wives, who numbered more than 500. He took
16779-437: The way of torture or cruelty ... executions are common, but death is inflicted at once ... [the cases] have been those of actual crime.... A political quotations website offers these as the last words of Omer Bodson: I don't mind dying now that I've killed Msiri. Thank God my death will not be in vain. I've delivered Africa from one of her most detestable tyrants. — Omer Bodson, dying words to Military Doctor Moloney. Moloney,
16920-450: The wealth requirement for voting under the Franchise and Ballot Act , effectively barring black people from taking part in elections. After overseeing the formation of Rhodesia during the early 1890s, he was forced to resign in 1896 after the disastrous Jameson Raid , an unauthorised attack on Paul Kruger 's South African Republic (or Transvaal). Rhodes's career never recovered; his heart
17061-422: The west bank of the Luapula River . Tippu Tip wanted revenge on Kazembe for killing six of his men, and he formed an alliance with Msiri to attack and kill Mwata Kazembe in 1870, and Msiri subsequently influenced the appointment of his successors. Msiri's control of south-east Katanga and its copper resources was consolidated. In a region and age dominated by armed traders, Msiri was very successful. His control of
17202-617: The work of the Moravian Church established in the region. Even with conversion, both the Christian and especially the Muslim Nyamwezi retained much of their traditional customs and beliefs. Cecil Rhodes Cecil John Rhodes ( / ˈ s ɛ s əl ˈ r oʊ d z / SES -əl ROHDZ ; 5 July 1853 – 26 March 1902) was an English mining magnate and politician in southern Africa who served as Prime Minister of
17343-556: The world's diamond supply was sealed in 1890 through a strategic partnership with the London-based Diamond Syndicate. They agreed to control world supply to maintain high prices. Rhodes supervised the working of his brother's claim and speculated on his behalf. Among his associates in the early days were John X. Merriman and Charles Rudd . Rudd later became his partner in the De Beers Mining Company and
17484-419: Was a shortage of land in an area to be inherited, a headman could insist upon other holdings. Water was free to all. The Nyamwezi were highly religious with ntemi as their ritual, religious, leader and priest. Elephant hunters have historically been one of the most prestigious occupations among the Nyamwezi, since the elephant hunters could get very rich from ivory trade. The elephant hunters were organised in
17625-423: Was ailing in 1857 because of severe competition from India, and over the next sixty years almost disappeared. Ironwork came from localized settlements whose products were then traded over wide areas: bows, arrows, spears, the payment of fines, and the extremely valuable hoes for bridewealth were all produced with considerable ritual by the smiths. Slavery was important and chiefs and other government officials owned
17766-419: Was attentive on matters of state governance. A man of few words. In communication with people he listened more than talking. Isike was prudent in his dealings with all foreigners. His centrist view endeavoured to strike the middle way to balance the triangular relationship in the caravan trade. The triangular power relations between 1. local rulers, 2. Arab-Indians and 3. Europeans. His awareness and knowledge of
17907-421: Was born at Netteswell House , Bishop's Stortford , Hertfordshire . A sickly child, he was sent to South Africa by his family when he was 17 years old in the hope that the climate might improve his health. He entered the diamond trade at Kimberley in 1871, when he was 18, and with funding from Rothschild & Co , began to systematically buy out and consolidate diamond mines. Over the next two decades he gained
18048-506: Was destined to greatness. In what he described as "a draft of some of my ideas" written in 1877 while a student at Oxford, Rhodes said of the English, "I contend that we are the first race in the world, and that the more of the world we inhabit the better it is for the human race. I contend that every acre added to our territory means the birth of more of the English race who otherwise would not be brought into existence." Rhodes bemoaned that there
18189-462: Was killed, when his signature to a treaty was being assiduously courted by the imperial powers. Nyamwezi people The Nyamwezi , or Wanyamwezi , are one of the Bantu groups of East Africa . They are the second-largest ethnic group in Tanzania . The Nyamwezi people's ancestral homeland is in parts of Tabora Region , Singida Region , Shinyanga Region and Katavi Region . The term Nyamwezi
18330-473: Was little land left to conquer and said "to think of these stars that you see overhead at night, these vast worlds which we can never reach. I would annex the planets if I could; I often think of that. It makes me sad to see them so clear and yet so far". Furthermore Rhodes saw imperialism as a way to alleviate domestic social problems - "In order to save the 40,000,000 inhabitants of the United Kingdom from
18471-400: Was not part of tribal life. The Nyamwezi often hired professional herdsmen, the immigrant Tutsi , to care for their cattle herds. In the early 1800s, there were a number of Nyamwezi kingdoms, such as Unyanyembe , Ulyankhulu and Urambo . Unyanyembe was perhaps the most powerful, since it controlled the trading city of Tabora , and had close connections with the Arabs of Zanzibar , through
18612-499: Was on top the German list of serious opponents of the Europeans. With the coming of the Germans Isike was going to be alone—his Arab allies caved in, they abandoned the long relationship they had from the time of Isike's father Mkasiwa. The Arabs recognised and acknowledged the European military power they sided with them in the war against Isike. Isike was a committed ruler who dedicated his life to longevity of his Nyanyembe state. He
18753-482: Was rebuffed by its ruler Msiri , King Leopold II of Belgium obtained a concession over Msiri's dead body for his Congo Free State . Rhodes also wanted Bechuanaland Protectorate incorporated in the BSAC charter. But three Tswana kings, including Khama III , travelled to Britain and won over British public opinion for it to remain governed by the British Colonial Office in London. Rhodes commented: "It
18894-455: Was said to be Maria de Fonseca , sister of his Portuguese-Angolan trading partner Coimbra. Msiri married one of his own daughters to Tippu Tip . In 1884, wishing to gain some advice on how to deal with the approaching European colonial powers , he invited a Scottish missionary , Frederick Stanley Arnot , who he had heard was in Angola, to come to his capital at Bunkeya , 180 km west of
19035-407: Was said to have belonged to the chief and he had the right to expel witches and undesirables; abuse was checked by the general need to maintain a large population; and while no one had the right to sell land in a chiefdom, the people had considerable security in their rights to the land. Permission to clear land was not needed, but care was taken so as not to conflict with others in the area. If there
19176-415: Was that black people needed to be driven off their land to "stimulate them to labour" and to change their habits. "It must be brought home to them", Rhodes said, "that in future nine-tenths of them will have to spend their lives in manual labour, and the sooner that is brought home to them the better." In 1892, Rhodes's Franchise and Ballot Act raised the property requirements from a relatively low £25 to
19317-524: Was to be buried in Matopos Hills (now Matobo Hills). After his death in the Cape in 1902, his body was transported by train to Bulawayo . His burial was attended by Ndebele chiefs, now paid agents of the BSAC administration, who asked that the firing party should not discharge their rifles as this would disturb the spirits. Then, for the first time, they gave a white man the Matabele royal salute, Bayete. Rhodes
19458-604: Was to help decide the future of Basutoland . The ministry of Sir Gordon Sprigg was trying to restore order after the 1880 rebellion known as the Gun War . The Sprigg ministry had precipitated the revolt by applying its policy of disarming all native Africans to those of the Basotho nation, who resisted. In 1890, Rhodes became Prime Minister of the Cape Colony. He introduced various Acts of Parliament to push black people from their lands and make way for industrial development. Rhodes's view
19599-461: Was too small to maintain effective control, and moved to eastern Katanga. Left without any CFS troops to keep the peace, disorder and instability occupied the vacuum left by Msiri for some time as the chiefs fought among themselves, and Dan Crawford moved to Lake Mweru and set up a mission to which many Garanganze moved to escape the strife. The British accepted the Congo Free State's possession of Katanga (the administration of which Leopold vested in
19740-656: Was weak and there were fears that he might be consumptive (have tuberculosis), a disease of which several of the family showed symptoms. His father decided to send him abroad for what were believed the good effects of a sea voyage and a better climate in South Africa. When he arrived in Africa, Rhodes lived on money lent by his aunt Sophia. After a brief stay with the Surveyor-General of Natal , P.C. Sutherland , in Pietermaritzburg , Rhodes took an interest in agriculture. He joined his brother Herbert on his cotton farm in
19881-493: Was weak, and after years of ill health he died in 1902. He was buried in what is now Zimbabwe; his grave has been a controversial site. In his last will, he provided for the establishment of the international Rhodes Scholarship at University of Oxford , the oldest graduate scholarship in the world. Every year it grants 102 full postgraduate scholarships. It has benefited prime ministers of Malta, Australia, and Canada, United States President Bill Clinton , and many others. With
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