Editing Cecil Rhodes (section)

== Politics in South Africa ==
[[File:Cecil john rhodes00.jpg|thumb|right|upright|Cecil Rhodes (Sketch by [[Mortimer Menpes]])]]
{{More citations needed section|date=September 2014}}
In 1880, Rhodes prepared to enter public life at the Cape. With the earlier incorporation of [[Griqualand West]] into the [[British Cape Colony|Cape Colony]] under the [[John Charles Molteno|Molteno Ministry]] in 1877, the area had obtained six seats in the [[Parliament of the Cape of Good Hope|Cape House of Assembly]]. Rhodes chose the rural and predominately [[Boer]] constituency of [[Barkly West]], which would remain loyal to Rhodes until his death.<ref>{{Cite encyclopedia|url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Cecil-Rhodes|title=Cecil Rhodes {{!}} Prime Minister of Cape Colony|encyclopedia=Encyclopedia Britannica|access-date=20 July 2017|language=en}}</ref>

When Rhodes became a member of the [[Cape Parliament]], the chief goal of the assembly was to help decide the future of [[Basutoland]].<ref name="sahistory.org.za" /> The ministry of Sir [[Gordon Sprigg]] was trying to restore order after the 1880 rebellion known as the [[Gun War]]. The Sprigg ministry had precipitated the revolt by applying its policy of disarming all native Africans to those of the [[Basotho]] nation, who resisted.

In 1890, Rhodes became Prime Minister of the Cape Colony. He introduced various Acts of Parliament to push black people from their lands and make way for industrial development. Rhodes's view was that black people needed to be driven off their land to "stimulate them to labour" and to change their habits.{{sfn|Martin|2009|p=}} "It must be brought home to them", Rhodes said, "that in future nine-tenths of them will have to spend their lives in manual labour, and the sooner that is brought home to them the better."{{sfn|Martin|2009|p=}}

In 1892, Rhodes's [[Franchise and Ballot Act]] raised the property requirements from a relatively low £25 to a significantly higher £75 which had a disproportionate effect on the previously growing number of enfranchised black people in the Cape under the [[Cape Qualified Franchise]] that had been in force since 1853.<ref name=":1">[http://myfundi.co.za/e/History_of_South_Africa_Timeline_%281485-1975%29 History of South Africa Timeline (1485–1975)]  {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110913230535/http://myfundi.co.za/e/History_of_South_Africa_Timeline_%281485-1975%29 |date=13 September 2011 }}</ref> By limiting the amount of land which black Africans were legally allowed to hold in the [[Glen Grey Act]] of 1894, Rhodes further disenfranchised the black population. To quote [[Richard Dowden]], most would now "find it almost impossible to get back on the list because of the legal limit on the amount of land they could hold".<ref name=":0">{{cite news
|title=Apartheid: made in Britain: Richard Dowden explains how Churchill, Rhodes and Smuts caused black South Africans to lose their rights
|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/apartheid-made-in-britain-richard-dowden-explains-how-churchill-rhodes-and-smuts-caused-black-south-1370856.html
|first=Richard
|last=Dowden
|author-link=Richard Dowden
|work=The Independent
|location=London
|date=17 April 1994
|access-date=15 January 2016}}</ref> In addition, Rhodes was an early architect of the [[Natives Land Act, 1913]], which would limit the areas of the country where black Africans were allowed to settle to less than 10%.<ref name="coloniallegacymustfallnothisstatue" /> At the time, Rhodes would argue that "the native is to be treated as a child and denied the franchise. We must adopt a system of despotism, such as works in [[British Raj|India]], in our relations with the barbarism of South Africa."{{sfn|Magubane|1996|p=108}}

Rhodes also introduced educational reform to the area. His policies were instrumental in the development of [[British Empire|British imperial]] policies in South Africa, such as the [[Hut tax]].<!-- Explain effects on indigenous people -->[[File:Rhodes home QE1 137.jpg|thumb|[[Groote Schuur]] in 1899, Rhode's home in Cape Town at the time.]]Rhodes did not, however, have direct political power over the independent Boer Republic of the [[Transvaal Republic|Transvaal]].{{citation needed|date=September 2014}}<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.sahistory.org.za/topic/south-africa-and-build-1899|title=South Africa before and in the build up to 1899|date=8 November 2011|website=South African History Online|language=en|access-date=26 May 2019}}</ref> He often disagreed with the Transvaal government's policies, which he considered unsupportive of mine-owners' interests. In 1895, believing he could use his influence to overthrow the Boer government,<ref name="sahistory.org.za" /> Rhodes supported the [[Jameson Raid]], an unsuccessful attempt to create an uprising in the Transvaal that had the tacit approval of [[Secretary of State for the Colonies]] [[Joseph Chamberlain]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-32131829|title=Why is Cecil Rhodes such a controversial figure?|last=Parkinson|first=Justin|date=1 April 2015|work=BBC News|access-date=20 July 2017|language=en-GB}}</ref> The raid was a catastrophic failure. It forced Cecil Rhodes to resign as Prime Minister of the Cape Colony, sent his oldest brother Col. [[Frank Rhodes (British Army officer)|Frank Rhodes]] to jail in Transvaal convicted of [[high treason]] and nearly sentenced to death, and contributed to the outbreak of the [[Second Boer War]].

In 1899, Rhodes was sued by a man named Burrows for falsely representing the purpose of the raid and thereby convincing him to participate in the raid. Burrows was severely wounded and had to have his leg amputated. His suit for £3,000 in damages was successful.<ref>''Burrows v. Rhodes and Jameson,'' [1899] 1 Q B 816 [http://samilitaryhistory.org/vol134lc.html], South Africa Military History</ref>