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''The Rhodes Colossus'' is an editorial cartoon illustrated by English cartoonist Edward Linley Sambourne and published by ''Punch (magazine), Punch'' magazine in 1892. It alludes to the Scramble for Africa during the New Imperialism period, in which the European powers, beginning in 1884, expanded their Colonisation of Africa, colonial expansion in Africa by dividing the continent up amongst themselves.
The image depicts British business magnate Cecil Rhodes as a giant standing over the continent holding a telegraphic line, a reference to his desire to build a "Cecil Rhodes#"Cape to Cairo Red Line", Cape to Cairo" rail and telegraph line and connect most of the British Empire, British colonies in Africa. It is a visual pun based on the Colossus of Rhodes, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.
Constructing the Colossus: the Origins of Linley Sambourne’s Greatest Punch Cartoon
€™, ''International Journal of Comic Art'', Volume 14, No.2, Fall 2012, pp.120–142. The cartoon was published in the 10 December 1892 edition of ''Punch'', accompanied by a recent excerpt from ''The Times'' about a Rhodes plan to extend an electrical telegraph line from Cape Town to Cairo. The excerpt from ''The Times'' reads:
/ref> 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 pious Crusades, Crusader". The Rhodes as Colossus pun used in this artwork was a well-known joke that originated in South Africa and that ''Punch'' had used before, as well as many others.
The cartoon quickly became widely referenced in historical texts as an illustrated representation of the Scramble for Africa, and the New Imperialism era 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.
In Adam Hochschild's ''King Leopold's Ghost, King Leopold’s Ghost: A Story of Greed, Terror, and Heroism, in Colonial Africa'', Rhodes is introduced as the "future South African politician and diamond magnate" who claimed he "would annex the planets" if he could. The South African cartoonist Jonathan Shapiro parodied the cartoon in a 2009 work by placing Premier of the People's Republic of China, Chinese premier Wen Jiabao in place of Rhodes holding up Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, the-then Minister of International Relations and Cooperation (as a marionette) while the 14th Dalai Lama, Dalai Lama looks on from Asia. The cartoon satirized Sino-African relations in general, and recent China–South Africa relations in particular, after the Dalai Lama was denied a visa to attend an international peace conference in Johannesburg, a move that was perceived to be the result of Chinese diplomatic pressure.
In 2013, political cartoonist Martin Rowson referenced Sambourne's cartoon in an Satire, satirical illustration published on 1 February in ''The Guardian'' on Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, British Prime Minister David Cameron's policies regarding Algeria and the Operation Serval, French intervention in Mali.
''Punch'', 10 December 1892
from Project Gutenberg * Sven Lindqvist, Joan Tate, and Sarah Death. ''The Dead Do Not Die''. New York: The New Press, 2014. . {{DEFAULTSORT:Rhodes Colossus Editorial cartoons Works about New Imperialism British colonisation in Africa British Empire 1892 works Cultural depictions of Cecil Rhodes Works originally published in Punch (magazine) 1882 in Africa Colossus of Rhodes
''The Rhodes Colossus'' is an editorial cartoon illustrated by English cartoonist Edward Linley Sambourne and published by ''Punch (magazine), Punch'' magazine in 1892. It alludes to the Scramble for Africa during the New Imperialism period, in which the European powers, beginning in 1884, expanded their Colonisation of Africa, colonial expansion in Africa by dividing the continent up amongst themselves.
The image depicts British business magnate Cecil Rhodes as a giant standing over the continent holding a telegraphic line, a reference to his desire to build a "Cecil Rhodes#"Cape to Cairo Red Line", Cape to Cairo" rail and telegraph line and connect most of the British Empire, British colonies in Africa. It is a visual pun based on the Colossus of Rhodes, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.
History
''The Rhodes Colossus'' was drawn by English cartoonist Edward Linley Sambourne, and first appeared in ''Punch'' magazine in 1892. It was widely reprinted, and has since become a standard illustration in history texts.Richard Scully, âConstructing the Colossus: the Origins of Linley Sambourne’s Greatest Punch Cartoon
€™, ''International Journal of Comic Art'', Volume 14, No.2, Fall 2012, pp.120–142. The cartoon was published in the 10 December 1892 edition of ''Punch'', accompanied by a recent excerpt from ''The Times'' about a Rhodes plan to extend an electrical telegraph line from Cape Town to Cairo. The excerpt from ''The Times'' reads:
Mr. Rhodes announced that it was his intention, either with the help of his friends or by himself, to continue the telegraph northwards, across the Zambesi, through Nyassaland, and along Lake Tanganyika to Uganda. Nor is this all.... This colossal ''Monte Cristo'' means 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 by Edwin James Milliken, Edwin J. Milliken, on the character and ambitions of Rhodes. Satirical verses and stories often accompanied cartoons in ''Punch'' magazine.''Punch'', Volume 103, 10 December 1892
/ref> 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 pious Crusades, Crusader". The Rhodes as Colossus pun used in this artwork was a well-known joke that originated in South Africa and that ''Punch'' had used before, as well as many others.
Iconography
Sambourne illustrated this visual pun to depict Cecil Rhodes as the Ancient Greece, ancient Greek statue the Colossus of Rhodes, one of the Seven 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 a pith helmet with a rifle slung 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 the Colonisation of Africa, European colonisation of Africa. His giant size indicates his larger than life aspirations and desire for further influence in the continent.Influence
The cartoon quickly became widely referenced in historical texts as an illustrated representation of the Scramble for Africa, and the New Imperialism era 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.
In Adam Hochschild's ''King Leopold's Ghost, King Leopold’s Ghost: A Story of Greed, Terror, and Heroism, in Colonial Africa'', Rhodes is introduced as the "future South African politician and diamond magnate" who claimed he "would annex the planets" if he could. The South African cartoonist Jonathan Shapiro parodied the cartoon in a 2009 work by placing Premier of the People's Republic of China, Chinese premier Wen Jiabao in place of Rhodes holding up Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, the-then Minister of International Relations and Cooperation (as a marionette) while the 14th Dalai Lama, Dalai Lama looks on from Asia. The cartoon satirized Sino-African relations in general, and recent China–South Africa relations in particular, after the Dalai Lama was denied a visa to attend an international peace conference in Johannesburg, a move that was perceived to be the result of Chinese diplomatic pressure.
In 2013, political cartoonist Martin Rowson referenced Sambourne's cartoon in an Satire, satirical illustration published on 1 February in ''The Guardian'' on Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, British Prime Minister David Cameron's policies regarding Algeria and the Operation Serval, French intervention in Mali.
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-day South Africa has 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 various List of ethnic groups of Africa, African peoples which ceded portions of their territory to him.See also
* Rhodes Must FallReferences
Further reading
''Punch'', 10 December 1892
from Project Gutenberg * Sven Lindqvist, Joan Tate, and Sarah Death. ''The Dead Do Not Die''. New York: The New Press, 2014. . {{DEFAULTSORT:Rhodes Colossus Editorial cartoons Works about New Imperialism British colonisation in Africa British Empire 1892 works Cultural depictions of Cecil Rhodes Works originally published in Punch (magazine) 1882 in Africa Colossus of Rhodes