Focus on The Rhodes Colossus and analyze the 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.
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 J. Milliken, on the character and ambitions of Rhodes. Satirical verses and stories often accompanied cartoons in Punch magazine. 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 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.
Cape Town Cairo Edward Linley Sambourne South Africa The Times satirical Zambesi Lake Tanganyika Edwin J. Milliken Nyassaland Crusader Punch electrical telegraph