The Founder: Cecil Rhodes and the Pursuit of Power

by Robert I. Rotberg

Cecil Rhodes was an imposing figure, tall, robust-looking, with a leonine head, a man so charismatic that one contemporary claimed that "belief in Rhodes was a substitute for religion." But he was certainly a man of contradictions. He was a dreamy idealist whose favorite book was The Meditations of Marcus Aurelius and a ruthless businessman whose guiding principle was "every man has his price." He supported invidious racial laws in South Africa, and invented and sponsored the world-renowned Rhodes Scholarships. Though his own education and intellectual talents were unprepossessing, he dominated the British Empire and became one of the leading figures in the English-speaking world, the confidant of Queen Victoria and Kaiser Wilhelm, and a man of vast wealth and world-wide influence.

Based on seventeen years of research, this monumental volume offers the definitive biography of one of the most controversial figures of the nineteenth century. Rhodes was truly larger than life, and this book captures that life in fascinating detail. It offers an astute portrait of Rhodes' childhood and adolescence, informed by insights from modern psychology; it vividly depicts life on a nineteenth-century African cotton farm (Rhodes' first venture) and in mining camps around Kimberley and the Witwatersrand; it traces the surreptitious stock buyouts and mergers that allowed Rhodes to gain control over 90% of the world's diamond production by age thirty-five; it describes his campaigns against African populations that allowed him to establish Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) and Northern Rhodesia (now Zambia); and it discusses the poorly planned, disastrous raid on the Transvaal that destroyed Rhodes' reputation.

A conqueror and colonial monarch, Cecil Rhodes presided arrogantly over the fate of southern Africa. But he also built lasting economic institutions, furthered transportation and communication links, improved agriculture, and fervently believed that he used his wealth and power to advance the best interests of the British Empire and Africa. This biography illuminates a complex and fascinating life, a life both evil and good.

Genres: Biography, History, Africa, Nonfiction, British Literature, Southern Africa, World History

854 pages, Hardcover

First published October 1, 1988

About the author

Robert Irwin Rotberg is an American academic who served as President of the World Peace Foundation (1993–2010). A professor in governance and foreign affairs, he was director of the Program on Intrastate Conflict, Conflict Prevention, and Conflict Resolution at Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government (1999–2010), and has served in administrative positions at Tufts University and Lafayette College.

Reviews

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

I gave this five stars because it was a fascinating book about an incredibly complicated person that could have easily been written in a derogatory or laudatory manner. Instead, what these authors have done is something that is so rare when writing biography or history and that is, they did not judge a figure from the past based on their own modern ideas and conventions. This is such a rare thing in literature, and I was taken aback at how, time and again, these authors continued to hold the line on neither praising too much or glossing over reprehensible actions when other people would have and indeed have, taken a much different path.

Even in some of the psycho-analysis which has been mentioned by other reviewers I found fascinating, even if not wholly applicable to the subject. Some of these lines, I copied down and have committed to memory because they are so insightful into the inner workings of certain personality types.

For Rhodes, his life is an interesting tale of what a person can do when committed to a vision and purpose. Part of that vision was steeped in a 19th Century British worldview, which is of course, today to be considered regrettable. Nonetheless, if you’re able to take modern blinders off, it is a fascinating story of how any of us could fix something in our minds and work at it with dogged tenacity, resulting in success.

[Mark Singer · Rating 5 out of 5]

"The Founder" has been gathering dust in my library since 1991, and I finally read it in the spring of 2012 as source material for a term paper on Cecil Rhodes. Rhodes accomplished a lot on his forty eight years, and the book goes into great detail on his life and character. I would recommend it to anyone interested in Rhodes, South Africa, the British Empire, or just a story of what things someone can accomplish under the right circumstances.
The only caveat I would put out is that the co-author, Miles F. Shore, is a psychiatrist, and there is some psychoanalytic babbling spread through the narrative. Despite that, I still give it five stars.

[Dermot O'Sullivan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have read quite a few biographies on Cecil Rhodes and I regard The Founder as the definitive one. At nearly 700 pages of a small font text (hardback), it is also the longest and most detailed. The author writes well and interestingly has collaborated with a psychiatrist in order to provide deep insights into Rhodes' character. The only complaint is that he tends to dwell too long on analysis which slows the momentum. This is a mighty tome and unless you are really interested in the subject matter I would suggest tackling a slimmer biography first. Otherwise, it is thoroughly recommended.

[Emmanuel-francis · Rating 5 out of 5]

I wept! That is the highest compliment I can pay. A testament to the writer's verve and the potency of a tale like Rhodes'. Finishing this left me feeling like I stood looking up to the colossus of the original Rhodes. What a life; what a man!

The most important lesson: friends are the fulcrum of destiny. They make or break you. Choose wisely. Read this and share it with those you've chosen.

[A YOGAM · Rating 4 out of 5]

In 25 Kapiteln entfaltet Robert Rotbergs monumentale Biografie (besser: Psychobiografie) „The Founder. Cecil Rhodes and the Pursuit of Power“ eine psychologische Landkarte von Cecil Rhodes. Die Kapitel zeichnen einen unerbittlichen Weg von der Kindheit im Pfarrhaus ("Life in the Vicarage") über die ersten Erfolge in den Diamantenfeldern ("Digging, Sifting") bis hin zur skrupellosen Konsolidierung von Macht und Reichtum ("Pursuing Position and Fortune"). Rotberg und Shore folgen Rhodes' "predatory instincts" (wie ein Kapitel heißt) nicht nur auf dem Schlachtfeld, sondern bis in die verborgenen Winkel seiner Psyche ("Sex Enters into Great Matters"), und malen so das Porträt eines Mannes, der rastlos getrieben war, die Welt seinem Willen zu unterwerfen.
Das Buch ist unweigerlich auch die unrühmliche Geschichte der Gründung von De Beers. Kapitel wie "Dominion over Diamonds and Gold" legen die Blaupause für einen Raubtierkapitalismus offen, der auf "Zynismus und Verschwörung" ("Cynicism and Conspiracy") baute. Rotberg und Shore zeigen, wie Rhodes nicht nur ein Land, sondern einen globalen Markt monopolisierte. Die minutiöse Darstellung der Verschmelzung von Geschäft ("The Money Game") und Politik ("The First Premiership") enthüllt den Ursprung eines Kartells, dessen Erbe die Welt noch heute in Form von Marktmanipulation und Konfliktrohstoffen beschäftigt.
Angesichts dieser rücksichtslosen Machtaneignung muss das berühmte Rhodes-Stipendium als das erscheinen, was es ist: ein genialer Akt der Verschleierung. Überträgt man die Logik der Geldwäsche auf die Geschichte, wird die Stiftung des Stipendiums zur perfekten Platzierung des blutigen Vermögens in einer ehrwürdigen Institution wie Oxford. Es folgt die Integration: Das Geld, nun reingewaschen als philanthropisches Erbe, kauft Rhodes' Namen einen Platz in der Geschichte – nicht als Ausbeuter, sondern als vermeintlicher Wohltäter. Das Stipendium nutzt die Profite der Ausbeutung, um eine globale Elite nach dem Ebenbild des Gründers zu formen und dessen rassistische Ideologie ("A Dominant Race Among a Native Race") global zu zementieren.
Rotberg und Shore dokumentieren akribisch die Hybris des "Founders", der – getrieben von seiner komplexen psychologischen Verfassung – glaubte, sein Wille sei Gesetz. Doch die Kapitel über den "Jameson Raid" und die Aufstände ("The Risings") zeigen das unvermeidliche Resultat dieser Politik. Während Karl Marx von den Proletariern sprach, waren es die kolonisierten Völker Rhodesiens, die Ndebele und Shona, die im Angesicht von Rhodes’ Imperialismus tatsächlich nichts zu verlieren hatten als ihre Ketten.
„The Founder. Cecil Rhodes and the Pursuit of Power“ ist somit nicht nur die Biografie eines Mannes, sondern die anatomisch präzise Rekonstruktion einer imperialen Katastrophe – eines Systems, das den Keim seines gewaltsamen Endes bereits in sich trug. Rotbergs Buch bleibt eine Mahnung, wie eng Macht, Gier und Selbsttäuschung miteinander verwoben sind.

[Patrick Barrins · Rating 4 out of 5]

This Book Certainly Educated me on this man. He clearly was a racist who was allowed to run riot in Southern and Central AFRICA. Exploiting the natives in his greed for Diamonds and so called quest to Christianise the Local Populations. . All this on behalf of the British Empire. Although he did bring some improvements on the overall Countries infrastructure.
His obsession for Power ultimately corrupted Him.

[Duncan M Simpson · Rating 3 out of 5]

A solid biography. If you want to know more about Rhodes in view of the many controversies about him, this is a good place to start though it is big, covering all aspects of his life from his youth through the diamond mining exploits, his political life in the Cape and the invasion and wars in Central Africa.

[Ethan · Rating 3 out of 5]

A man possessing every grace seduced by the Golden Calf. The deceiver in that beautiful wilderness offered him the wealth of the world in gold and diamonds. Mammon became his ally and his new religion was conquest, glory and dominion for the Anglo-Saxon race, that this could perfect the world. Ambition beyond prosperity and privilege, into auspicious destiny, a vision of a world under the English peace, shepherded by its noblest tribe.

GOD has chosen the weak, and He condemns all the conceits of the world.

GOD keep us from the old way, of Caesar and Alexander, and join us to our King, Your Son, Jesus Christ and His Salvation. Amen.

Thank you.