Which British entrepreneur cofounded the De Beers Mining Company and used his power to increase British control of African territory?

Answer 1

Cecil John Rhodes (1853-1902). He came to the diamond fields Kimberley in 1875 to join his brother Frank, where he met Barney Barnato. He later invested heavily in Witwatersrand gold as well as agriculture in the Cape. He was Prime Minister of the Cape Colony in the 1890s, masterminded the 1895-6 Jameson Raid which discredited him and was the sworn enemy of the Boer people. He rushed to his diamond city Kimberley in October 1899 so he could be beseiged in it as a symbol of hope. He left his palatial home Grootte Schuur (the Great Granary) as the official residence for all future Prime Ministers and died in a small thatched cottage in Muizenberg months only before the Anglo Boer War was finally ended.

Many streets are named for him, as well as a Eastern Cape Town, now a ski resort, a university in Grahamstown, and one of the largest food processing companies in SA. He was also honoured in the name of two new colonies, respectively Northern and Southern Rhodesia. Through is gospel belief of turning all of Africa British and expanding British influence, he is also called the 'Empire Builder'.