Rhodes And His Banker: Empire, Wealth And The Coming Of Union

Title: Rhodes And His Banker
Subtitle: Empire, Wealth And The Coming Of Union
Author: Richard Steyn
Publisher: Jonathan Ball Publishers
Johannesburg, South Africa 2024
ISBN 9781776193882 / ISBN 978-1-77-619388-2
Softcover, 15 x 23 cm, 300 pages, several b/w images, text in English

About: Rhodes And His Banker: Empire, Wealth And The Coming Of Union

Cecil John Rhodes (1853-1902) and his Banker is an account of the remarkable friendship between a larger-than-life historical figure and the modest, unassuming banker Sir Lewis Michell (1842–1928), both of whom were personally involved in all the major political and financial developments in Southern Africa during the closing decades of the 19th century. The financial institution that brought diamond and gold magnate Cecil John Rhodes and Sir Lewis Michell together – the Standard Bank – was at the heart of the country's rapid transformation from an agricultural backwater to an industrial powerhouse thanks to the discovery of diamonds and gold. Richard Steyn intertwines the stories of Rhodes and Michell, chronicling the growth of the Standard Bank under Lewis Michell's careful stewardship and the seemingly irresistible rise of Rhodes, rapacious entrepreneur and empire-builder.

He situates Cecil Rhodes and Lewis Michell at the high noon of the British Empire, a time when the benefits of British rule seemed self-evident to its ruling elite. Lewis Michell became Rhodes's trusted confidant and published the first posthumous biography of 'the Colossus'. The banker's position gave him a unique insight into the character and motives of this most controversial and self-driven of British imperialists. Lewis Michel also did everything he could to fulfil Cecil Rhodes's ambition for a united South Africa and played a key role in setting up the Rhodes Scholarships, perhaps the most enduring legacy of Rhodes's career.

Richard Steyn is the author of several bestselling books, including Churchill & Smuts: The Friendship and Louis Botha: A Man Apart. He edited the Natal Witness in Pietermaritzburg from 1975 to 1990, was a Nieman Fellow at Harvard University and editor in chief of The Star from 1990 to 1995. He served as Standard Bank’s Director of Corporate Affairs and Communications from 1996 to 2001, before returning to writing, book reviewing and publishing.

Content: Rhodes And His Banker: Empire, Wealth And The Coming Of Union

Preface
Prologue
PART I
On the Sheep's Back
Early Days
Fortune Seekers
The Young Idealist
Glints of Gold
Into Boer Country
Rhodes's Ambitions
Tough Times
Payable Gold
Fight for Control
Rhodes and Michell Meet
The Chartered Company
PART II
Into 'Charterland'
Rhodes and the Bond
Minting Gold
Jameson Takes Over
Making Preparations
The Jameson Raid
Difficult Years
Whitewash
Build-up to War
Banking in Wartime
Rhodes under Siege
Death of Rhodes
PART III
Changing Course
Going Home
Coming Back
The National Convention
In Poor Health
Old Friends Pass On
The Great War
Last Days
Afterword
Notes
Bibliography
Image Credits
Acknowledgements
Index