罗德兹(1853～1902年)

Rhodes, Cecil (John)

英国南非金融家、政治人物和帝国创业人。罗德兹在英国乡下长大，1871年送往南非帮助他兄弟做生意，在那里对钻石藏矿产生了兴趣。他组成了德比尔斯联合矿业公司（1888），直至1891年，他的公司拥有世界钻石生产的90%。他试图向北方扩展，梦想修建一条从卡普到开罗的铁路，便说服英国在贝专纳建立了保护国（1884），和布林总统克鲁格发生冲突。他从罗本古拉那儿获得采矿特许权（1889），但後来在军事上打败了他（1893）。在他的煽动下，英国特许成立英国南非公司（1889），罗德兹任主管。他将公司的控制权延伸到两个北方的省份，最终它们以他的名字命名，称为南罗德西亚（现在的津巴布韦）和北罗得西亚（现在的赞比亚）。他对矿藏富饶的德兰士瓦省的兴趣使他阴谋策划推翻克鲁格（1895），但这个想法被詹姆森破灭了，罗德兹被迫引退，只担任卡普殖民地的总理和英国南非公司的领袖。他最後的生涯计画满是和拉济维乌（Radziwill）公主有关而引起的失望和丑闻。他的遗嘱将他的大部分财产用来建立罗德兹奖学金。

English version：

1853～1902年

Rhodes, Cecil (John)

Financier, statesman, and empire builder of British South Africa. Rhodes grew up in the English countryside, and in 1871 was sent to assist his brother in business in South Africa, where he became interested in diamond mining. He founded De Beers Consolidated Mines (1888), and by 1891 his company was mining 90% of the world's diamonds. Seeking expansion to the north and dreaming of building a Cape-to-Cairo railway, he persuaded Britain to establish a protectorate over Bechuanaland (1884), clashing with Boer president Paul Kruger. He obtained digging concessions from Lobengula (1889), but later overran him militarily (1893). At his instigation Britain chartered the British South Africa Co. (1889) and put Rhodes in charge. He extended the company's control to two northern provinces, which were eventually named after him as Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) and Northern Rhodesia (now Zambia). His interest in the mineral-rich Transvaal led to his plotting to overthrow Kruger (1895), but the attempt was botched by Leander Starr Jameson and Rhodes was forced to resign as prime minister of Cape Colony and head of the British South Africa Co. His last years were marked by disappointment and scandal brought about by the scheming of Princess Radziwill. His will bequeathed most of his fortune to establishing the Rhodes scholarships.