Editing Cecil Rhodes (section)

== Death ==
[[File:Cecil Rhodes Funeral.png|thumb|upright=1.2|left|Funeral procession of Rhodes in [[Adderley Street]], [[Cape Town]], on 3 April 1902]]
Although Rhodes remained a leading figure in the politics of southern Africa, especially during the Second Boer War, he was dogged by ill health throughout his relatively short life.

He was sent to Natal aged 16 because it was believed the climate might help problems with his heart. On returning to England in 1872, his health again deteriorated with heart and lung problems, to the extent that his doctor, Sir [[Morell Mackenzie]], believed he would survive only six months. He returned to Kimberley where his health improved. From age 40 his heart condition returned with increasing severity until his death from heart failure in 1902, aged 48, at his seaside cottage in [[Muizenberg]].{{sfn|The Times|27 March 1902}}

The government arranged an epic journey by train from the Cape to Rhodesia, with the [[funeral train]] stopping at every station to allow mourners to pay their respects. It was reported that at Kimberley, "practically the entire population marched in procession past the funeral car".<ref>"Mr. Rhodes's Bequests", [[New-York Tribune]], 6 April 1902, p. 4</ref> He was finally laid to rest at his request at [[Malindidzimu]], a hilltop located approximately {{convert|35|km|mi}} south of [[Bulawayo]], in what was then [[Rhodesia]].{{sfn|Wilson|2016|p=848}} The site was of supreme importance to [[Indigenous religion in Zimbabwe|Shona traditional religion]] as the shrine of [[Mwari]], with this action interpreted as a gesture of colonial triumph and conquest over indigenous Africans.<ref>{{Citation |last=Murove |first=Munyaradzi Felix |title=Ethical Politics in the Context of African Traditional Religion |date=2020 |work=African Politics and Ethics: Exploring New Dimensions |pages=31–51 |editor-last=Murove |editor-first=Munyaradzi Felix |url=https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-030-54185-9_3 |access-date=2024-12-20 |place=Cham |publisher=Springer International Publishing |language=en |doi=10.1007/978-3-030-54185-9_3 |isbn=978-3-030-54185-9}}</ref> Today, his gravesite is part of [[Matobo National Park]], [[Zimbabwe]].