Assess the significance of the role of individuals in bringing about the expansion and dismantling of the British Empire in Africa in the period 1870-1981

It seems rather farfetched at first glance that individuals have enough influence in events such as the expansion of the British Empire in Africa or on the other hand the dismantling of it. However once we look into the effect individuals such as Cecil Rhodes, who was one of the main figures in the expansion of the British Empire to southern Africa or Harold Macmillan who with one speech “the winds of change” could cause so much revolt in British colonies. Although there is definitely evidence that individuals did have an effect in bringing about the expansion and dismantling of the British Empire in Africa in the period 1870-1981 we must not discard other reasons, such as how in the beginning expansion was financially great and after the second world war it was no longer profitable and instead a liability or how events such as the Suez canal crisis were able to lead to revolt of British colonies and how that may have caused the dismantling of the British empire in Africa.

One key individual in the expansion of the British Empire in Africa was Cecil Rhodes. His arrival to South Africa in 1871 was fuelled by the hunger for financial gain, more specifically through the diamond industry. Rhodes had a rather complex personality. He was the first to think of turning "riches into a political instrument"1 he would then use this (as he believed) to the good of the mother land. The use of concentration camps during the Boer war helped de militarise the and make the fight a lot more easier for Cecil Rhodes. He argued that placing the Boer in the camps was for their own safety. Many times Cecil Rhodes was able to make decisions like this because he followed a pattern of action where we would take a