Podcast Summary

Podcast: New Books Network

Host: Caleb Zakarin
Guest: William Kelleher Storey
Book: The Colonialist: The Vision of Cecil Rhodes (Oxford UP, 2025)
Date: September 8, 2025

Overview

In this episode, host Caleb Zakrin interviews historian William Kelleher Storey about his new book, The Colonialist: The Vision of Cecil Rhodes. The discussion explores the controversial legacy of Cecil Rhodes—his role as an imperialist in Southern Africa, his foundational influence on the mining industry, his racist ideology, and his enduring impact through initiatives like the Rhodes Scholarship. The conversation situates Rhodes within both his historical moment and points to the present-day controversies surrounding his memory, notably debates over statues and the legacy of colonial infrastructure.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. The Contemporary Relevance of Rhodes ([04:19]-[09:43])

• Storey describes how the modern debate over Rhodes’ legacy, particularly statue protests at the University of Cape Town and Oxford, gave further contemporary weight to the book.
• The “Rhodes Must Fall” movement connected activists in South Africa and England, forcing ongoing debates in academia and national politics about memorializing colonial figures.
  • Quote: “We got the book under contract and then the demonstrations started... I was taking on a project... relevant for academic historians, but possibly also for politics.” — (A, [06:23])

2. Early Life and Family Background ([09:43]-[14:45])

• Rhodes grew up in Bishop’s Stortford, son of the local vicar—a prominent middle-class family with connections to British imperialism.
• His upbringing was religious but he became non-practicing as an adult, remaining close mainly to his brothers.
• Storey notes likely (but unproven) evidence of Rhodes’ homosexuality and how this affected his later decisions, including the creation of the Rhodes Trust.

3. Rhodes’ Arrival and Early Years in South Africa ([14:45]-[17:48])

• As a young man, Rhodes demonstrated physical hardiness and willingness to do manual labor, supervising and joining African workers in diamond mines and on farms.
• Rhodes’ resilience and adventurous spirit were essential traits for survival and later business success in colonial Africa.

4. Education at Oxford ([17:48]-[22:28])

• Attended Oxford as an older, wealthier student, not excelling academically but engaging in rich social life.
• Influenced by contemporary philosophies and considered “well-roundedness” more important than scholarly brilliance—a belief reflected in his criteria for the Rhodes Scholarship.
• Notably, Rhodes was part of an Oxford subculture that included Oscar Wilde, suggesting networks among prominent gay men.
  • Quote: “He went to Oxford with a pocket full of diamonds...” — (A, [18:37])
  • Quote: “He did stipulate... that these scholarships would not just go to academic types.” — (A, [22:28])

5. The Colonial Political Landscape and Rise to Power ([24:43]-[29:20])

• Southern Africa was a patchwork of British colonies, Boer republics, and independent African chiefdoms.
• Rhodes entered politics as a representative of the diamond industry, later rising quickly to become Prime Minister of the Cape Colony.
• Initially pragmatically built coalitions with Afrikaner politicians, despite being a British imperialist, until the failed Jameson Raid damaged these relationships.

6. The Founding of De Beers and Creating a Monopoly ([29:20]-[33:40])

• Environmental, economic, and regulatory challenges in diamond mining prompted consolidation efforts.
• With financial backing from Rothschilds, Rhodes outmaneuvered rivals, securing control over the industry and using De Beers as a vehicle for wider imperialist ambitions.
  • Quote: “What’s the funny thing about the process is... you have to fight really, really hard... but then you’ve got to be partners...” — (A, [31:41])

7. Visionary (if Impractical) Projects: Cape to Cairo Railway ([33:40]-[39:32])

• Rhodes’ vision for a continent-spanning railway symbolized colonial ambitions and technological prowess but was ultimately never completed due to impracticality and immense cost.
• The railway served business interests, aiding settler expansion, and reinforcing extraction rather than broader African development.

8. Founding of Rhodesia and Corporate Colonialism ([39:32]-[47:28])

• Through the British South Africa Company, Rhodes led the violent colonization of what became Zimbabwe and Zambia.
• The company functioned as a private imperial army, using force to seize land, cattle, and resources, devastating local African populations.
• Storey likens Rhodes’ combined business, political, and territorial authority to a modern capitalist (e.g., Jeff Bezos) running his own private country.
  • Quote: “It would be a little bit like... Jeff Bezos not only running Amazon, but also... having his own personal country and being the President of the United States.” — (A, [41:40])
  • Quote: “It’s a pretty grim story...” — (A, [40:14])

9. Racial Ideology and Contemporary Criticism ([47:28]-[53:56])

• Rhodes viewed Africans as inherently inferior, using racist language and justifying policies that dehumanized and displaced native people.

• Storey cautions that while racism was widespread in Victorian England, contemporary critics—including clergy and politicians—condemned Rhodes as extreme even by the standards of his time.

  • Quote: “He did not view African people as fully human beings like white people were.” — (A, [48:50])
  • Quote: “...there were many Victorians who found Rhodes’s views to be objectionable.” — (A, [50:58])

• Mark Twain and others offered outspoken criticism:

  • Quote: “People made impassioned statements about what Rhodes was doing in Africa and called him out for it. And I didn’t really feel like I had to be very judgy as a historian so much as I just needed to let his contemporaries speak out against him.” — (A, [53:11])

10. Death and Legacy ([53:56]-[61:49])

• Rhodes died at 48 from heart disease. His declining years were marked by ill health and reduced political activity.

• Key legacy: Institutionalization of segregation, legislative and infrastructural development built on exploitation, and the shaping of socioeconomic geography in Southern Africa.

• His aesthetic legacy survives via the buildings designed by Herbert Baker, his architect.

• The persistent inequality in African infrastructure, and ongoing debates about decolonization are part of Rhodes' shadow.

  • Quote: “The argument the book makes is... Rhodes is one of the principal architects of segregation in South Africa.” — (A, [55:23])
  • Quote: “The infrastructure is designed to get the resources out of the ground to make white businessmen like Rhodes rich and to keep black African people in designated places and spaces...” — (A, [58:55])

• Storey closes by acknowledging that while the political landscape has changed, the structural legacies of colonialism persist, as symbolized by both monuments and the ownership patterns of companies like De Beers.

  • Quote: “The legacies of infrastructure being developed in a colonial situation are quite apparent.” — (A, [61:18])

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Rhodes’ Complex Legacy:
  “In other words, I wound up with a book that could be used in more contemporary contexts and not just in scholarly contexts.” (A, [09:23])

• On the Creation of Rhodesia:
  “It’s a pretty grim story and it’s narrated in two chapters of the book.” (A, [40:14])
  “Roads’s settlers claimed that Andebele and Shona people in Zimbabwe did not technically own the land, even though everybody knew that, you know, customarily they had been here for a very long time.” (A, [44:07])

• On Winning Critics Even in Rhodes’ Own Time:
  “There were many Victorians who found Rhodes’s views to be objectionable. He was resisted by people in the clergy, by faculty at Oxford, by numerous politicians...” (A, [50:58])

• On the Uniqueness of Rhodes' Power:
  “It would be a little bit like... Jeff Bezos not only running Amazon, but also... having his own personal country and being the President of the United States...” (A, [41:40])

• On the Enduring Impact:
  “The infrastructure is designed to get the resources out of the ground to make white businessmen like Rhodes rich and to keep black African people in designated places and spaces where they would be segregated off and treated as second class citizens in their own country.” (A, [58:55])

Timestamps for Important Segments

• [04:19] – Modern statue protests and the “Rhodes Must Fall” movement
• [10:04] – Rhodes’ upbringing and family background
• [14:57] – Rhodes’ ruggedness and early years in South Africa
• [17:58] – Oxford years, social life, and philosophy
• [22:28] – Rhodes Scholarship vision and US connections
• [25:18] – Political ascent and the patchwork colonies
• [29:52] – The creation of De Beers and its monopoly
• [34:13] – The Cape to Cairo railway project
• [40:13] – The founding of Rhodesia and company-colonialism
• [47:59] – Rhodes’ racial ideology and European views
• [53:56] – Rhodes’ decline, death, and legacy
• [61:49] – Enduring legacies of colonial infrastructure

Conclusion

This episode provides a nuanced and critical portrait of Cecil Rhodes: a man who was at once a visionary capitalist and a principal architect of institutional racism and colonial exploitation. Storey’s research highlights both familiar and neglected facets of Rhodes’ impact—from statues and mining monopolies to the dual legacies of educational philanthropy and infrastructural apartheid. Storey also underscores Rhodes' controversial place in both his own era and ours, emphasizing the contemporary struggle to reckon with colonial monuments and enduring inequalities.

For a comprehensive understanding of Rhodes, Storey’s book offers detail and perspective—much of which remains deeply relevant as societies continue to grapple with the legacies of imperialism.