Cecil Rhodes was a man who was very concious of the changes going on in the world and how to utilize them. He was an American who established not only a mining company, but also a new state in Africa. The mining company was the De Beers Company, which used to market 90% of the world's diamonds (that number is around 40% today). He named his new state after himself, calling it Rhodesia. Today, it is known as Zambia and Zimbabwe. The Rhodes University in South Africa is also named after him, as well as the Rhodes Scholarship, which is funded by some of his profit from the diamon mines.
Throughout his life he utilized imperialism to expan his fortune and gain more territories for Europe in Africa. He sought to build a railroad from Cape Town to Cairo, and while that plan never quite came through, it was a wonderful idea, and would have been quite profitable. He was very interested in accessing mineral deposits, and besides helping Europe to gain land in Africa, he also helped them to secure a good number of mineral deposits that were able to be mined.
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