In the days when colonialism was a young and respectable word, Empire Builder Cecil Rhodes dispatched small bands of his agents into the wilds of Africa to make treaties with entire tribes. In 1890 the agents struck a shrewd bargain. In return for £2,000 sterling a year and the "protection" of the British crown, King Lewanika of Barotseland granted Rhodes a monopoly of the natural resources of his kingdom. As it turned out, the king's domain covered quite a bit of territory, and under charter from Queen Victoria, Rhodes directed his newly formed British South Africa Co. to exploit,...
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