The Rand
Michael Enright, IB Diploma 2005
The Rand is the area of South Africa in which gold and diamonds were discovered and businessmen such as Cecil Rhodes made their fortune.
The word Rand is short for Witwatersrand (which translates to “the ridge of white waters” in Afrikaans language) and consists of a ridge running 60 miles east to west. It is located approximately 30 miles south of Pretoria.
Brief History:
In 1887 gold was discovered in the Rand. When discovered, the Rand was the largest gold field in the world. While at first this discovery may have seemed quite beneficial to South Africa, it would be a major contributing factor to the Boer War. In fact, Paul Kruger who was president of the Transvaal at the time showed an amazing level of foresight when he said, “Instead of rejoicing you would do better to weep, for this gold will cause our country to be soaked in blood.”
This statement was right on the money, with the discovery of gold men such as Cecil Rhodes built their business in the region. With the advent of the gold industry, thousands of British settlers who would become known as uitlanders flocked into the area. With this inundation, the uitlanders in the region quickly out populated the Boers and Afrikaners; however, the uitlanders still remained as a minority in the Transvaal as a whole.
As the population of uitlanders exceeded the population of Boers, resentment among the Boers regarding the overwhelming inundation grew and the government disenfranchised those who had not lived in the region for seven years. Eventually, this situation escalated into the Boer War when British Secretary Joseph Chamberlain gave Transvaal President Kruger the ultimatum that he had to enfranchise the British citizens in South Africa or face consequences. Kruger responded by declaring war on the British; starting the Boer War. Today, the Witwatersrand is another name for the Greater Johannesburg Metropolitan Area, which spans the entire length of the Rand.
Geography In Detail:
The Rand is a low range of mountains that goes though Johannesburg. The Rand forms a continental divide in which water runs off of in two directions, to the north into the Indian Ocean and to the south into the Atlantic Ocean.
Cecil John Rhodes’ Operations in the Rand:
In 1870 Cecil John Rhodes went to Natal (South Africa.) In South Africa, Rhodes was made supervisor of a diamond mine, which his brother had established. In 1873, Rhodes took control of the mine. Later he would gain control over more mines in the area and finally consolidate with other miners to form the DeBeers corporation, the world’s largest diamond producer.
In 1881, the now successful businessman was elected to the assembly of Britain’s Cape Colony. With the use of his wealth, he was able to further advance British imperialism in South Africa. In 1890 Rhodes became prime minister of the Cape Colony. Cecil Rhodes was quite possibly the most successful businessman to work the Rand and is a strong sign of the British presence in the Rand, which was a principal cause of the Boer War.