The Rhodes Colossus

For other uses, seeColossus of Rhodes (disambiguation).

The Rhodes Colossusis aneditorial cartoonillustrated by English cartoonistEdward Linley Sambourneand published byPunchmagazine in 1892. The cartoon depicts British business magnateCecil Rhodesas a giant straddling overAfricaholding atelegraph linegrounded at the northern and southern ends of the continent, a reference to his desire to build a "Cape to Cairo"rail and telegraph line connecting most of theBritish colonies in Africa.It is avisual punof theColossus of Rhodes,one of theSeven Wonders of the Ancient World.

The Rhodes Colossus
Cecil Rhodesstriding from Cairo to Cape Town
Artist	Edward Linley Sambourne,Punch
Year	1892
Subject	Cecil Rhodes

TheColossus of Rhodes,imagined in a 16th-century engraving byMartin Heemskerck,part of his series of theSeven Wonders of the World

History

The Rhodes Colossuswas drawn by English cartoonistEdward Linley Sambourne,and first appeared inPunchmagazine in 1892. It was widely reprinted,and has since become a standard illustration in history texts.

The cartoon was published in the 10 December 1892 edition ofPunch,accompanied by a recent excerpt fromThe Timesabout a Rhodes plan to extend anelectrical telegraphline fromCape TowntoCairo.The excerpt fromThe Timesreads:

Mr. Rhodes announced that it was his intention, either with the help of his friends or by himself, to continue the telegraph northwards, across theZambesi,throughNyassaland,and alongLake Tanganyikato Uganda. Nor is this all.... This colossalMonte Cristomeans to cross the Soudan... and to complete the overland telegraph line from Cape Town to Cairo; that is, from England to the whole of her possessions or colonies, or 'spheres of influence' in Africa.

The cartoon and excerpt were followed by a piece of satirical verse byEdwin J. Milliken,on the character and ambitions of Rhodes.Satirical verses and stories often accompanied cartoons inPunchmagazine.In the verse, Rhodes is described as a "Director and Statesman in one" and a "Seven-League-Booted Colossus" that stands "O'er Africa striding from dark end to end, to forward black emancipation." He is also described as a "shrewd trader" and a "diplomat full of finesse and sharp schemes with a touch of the piousCrusader".

The Rhodes as Colossus pun used in this artwork was a well-known joke that originated in South Africa and thatPunchhad used before, as well as many others.

Iconography

Sambourne illustrated thisvisual punto depict Cecil Rhodes as theancient Greekstatue theColossus of Rhodes,one of theSeven Wonders of the Ancient World,following the traditional (and architecturally unlikely) depiction of the Colossus with wide-set legs across Rhodes harbour (above).

Rhodes measures with the telegraphic line the distance from Cape Town (at his right foot) in South Africa to Cairo (at his left foot) in Egypt, illustrating his broader "Cape to Cairo" concept for further colonial expansion in Africa. In his right hand Rhodes holds apith helmetwith arifleslung around his right shoulder.

Rhodes stands in a powerful, open armed stance. This has been seen by scholars an indication of his power and influence during theEuropean colonisation of Africa.His giant size indicates his larger than life aspirations and desire for further influence in the continent.

Influence

An American cartoon published in 1898, titledColossus of the Pacific;depictingUS imperialisminAsiaafter the American victory in theSpanish–American War,and making a deliberate reference to Sambourne's cartoon

The cartoon quickly became widely referenced in historical texts as an illustrated representation of theScramble for Africa,and theNew Imperialismera as a whole. The original context of a proposed telegraph line is rarely mentioned in such reproductions, which take the "Cape to Cairo" concept more generally.

InAdam Hochschild'sKing Leopold's Ghost: A Story of Greed, Terror, and Heroism, in Colonial Africa,Rhodes is introduced as the "future South African politician anddiamond magnate"who claimed he" would annex the planets "if he could.The South African cartoonistJonathan Shapiroparodied the cartoon in a 2009 work by placingChinese premierWen Jiabaoin place of Rhodes holding upNkosazana Dlamini-Zuma,the-thenMinister of International Relations and Cooperation(as amarionette) while theDalai Lamalooks on from Asia.The cartoon satirizedSino-African relationsin general, and recentChina–South Africa relationsin particular, after the Dalai Lama was denied a visa to attend an international peace conference inJohannesburg,a move that was perceived to be the result of Chinese diplomatic pressure.

In 2013, political cartoonistMartin Rowsonreferenced Sambourne's cartoon in asatiricalillustration published on 1 February inThe GuardianonBritish Prime MinisterDavid Cameron's policies regardingAlgeriaand theFrench interventioninMali.

Legacy

The cartoon has become one of the most frequently used images to represent the era of New Imperialism and the European colonisation of Africa. Rhodes' legacy in modern-daySouth Africahas been described by scholar Patrick Bond as "one of the world's most lucrative, and destructive",referencing the numerous fraudulent and misleading treaties he signed with variousAfrican peopleswhich ceded portions of their territory to him.

See also

• Rhodes Must Fall

Further reading

• Punch,10 December 1892,fromProject Gutenberg
• Sven Lindqvist, Joan Tate, and Sarah Death.The Dead Do Not Die.New York: The New Press, 2014.ISBN9781595589897.