"The Rhodes Colossus-Striding from Cape Town to Cairo." Punch, December 10, 1892, 266-67.there was the movie that probably should not have been. It’s a fairly simple image to look at, and the poem is quite a fun read. I also noticed that the fact that this was a British man who was setting out to do this was likely pleasing, as Britain prided itself on being the most advanced with its trade and colonization of Africa, and a telegraph system like this would most certainly add to that claim.Īll in all, “The Rhodes Colossus” and it’s accompanying poem are very pro-Britain, and quite pro-colonization as well, showing an interest in advancing Britain’s position within the continent, as well as exerting its dominance over other nations involved with Africa. The colossus being Rhodes, he appears to be determined to undergo this immense project of connecting Africa to the telegraph system regardless of the support he gets, although it seems unlikely that he wouldn’t have garnered a fair amount of support. It reads, “But he, our colossus, strides on he declares/whether with or without chums or charters-or charters/Hooray! We brave Britons are still to the front-/Provided we’ve someone to boss us-to boss us”. I also noticed a strong pro-British sentiment in another section, closer to the end of the poem. The second line here referring to black emancipation is interesting, as it plays into a common reason, almost an excuse really, that the British and Europeans in general are needed in Africa to free Africans from their dark uncivilized lives, which here is referred to as emancipation. They seem to be referring to the “Rhodes Colossus” striding over Africa with his telegraph system, and that it is currently dark and unknown, but this is something that will bring it closer to the light of civilization. First, toward the beginning of the poem, there are two lines that read, “O’er Africa striding from dark end to end/To forward Black emancipation-cipation”. There are certainly some lines that stand out with regards to the picture as well as general sentiments at the time. Rhodes is attempting, as well as the imperial system in general. It is also probably on the side of celebrating the feat Mr. The set up makes it fun to read, and gives the subject a boisterous and adventurous taste. The poem is a bit sing song like when it is read, having stanzas of four lines where the two odds rhyme and the two evens rhyme. I’m unsure who actually wrote the poem, as it wasn’t clearly stated in the periodical. Thus the image itself is rather simple, although the accompanying poem provides us with a few more interesting details. What I initially thought was some sort of string is actually a telegraph wire, which he has attached to his boots at the two cities and is literally stretching across the entirety of the African continent. He is depicted wearing what we might think of as traditional explorers gear, wearing the high-waisted pants, button up jacket, and tall laced boots, carrying a bag, a gun, and a brimmed hat. I now realized that the positioning of the man’s feet were relatively at the sites of Cape Town and Cairo, and that the man stretched across Africa was Mr. This quote alone gives much more meaning to the image. He claims that he can stretch the system from Cape Town in the South to Cairo in the North, connecting everything in between. Rhodes has claimed that he is going to connect Britain to all of her colonies, or as he calls them “spheres of influence”, in Africa via a telegraph system. Looking through the rest of the issue of Punch provided the clues needed to fully understand the image.Īccompanying the photograph was a medium length poem preceded by a recent quote from a man named Mr. It does appear in an issue of the British periodical Punch from December of 1892, giving the appearance of Africa a bit of context, as this is during the height of European exploration and development inside the continent. All the image really shows is an image of Africa with a clearly European man standing with his feet at the North and South ends of the continent while holding a string of some sort running from both feet and through his outstretched hands and arms. Looking at the image titled “Rhodes Colossus-Striding from Capetown to Cairo” was initially a bit confusing.
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