Section 2 Imperial Consolidation and Liberal Rule c1890-1914 Chapter 10 Attitudes to Empire – the Role and Influence of Individuals
Chapter 10: Attitudes to Empire – the Role and Influence of
Individuals
Joseph Chamberlain
• He turned down both the Chancellor of the Exchequer and Home Secretary Job in order to become the
Colonial Secretary in the Conservative led coalition between 1895 and 1903
• He believed that effective use of the Empire could sustain British prosperity and prestige
• He believed that the imperial bonds needed reinforcing if the Empire was to be preserved and Britain maintain
its status as a world power
• Chamberlain summoned and chaired two further colonial conference (after the failure of the first 1887) in 1897
and 1902 At these he proposed an imperial defence and customs union for the self-governing white colonies
but these ideas were both rejected
• He conducted a campaign of tariff reform and for imperial preference. A tariff reform league was set p which
distributed leaflets and played messages in public meetings
• He believed imperial preference would benefit Britain and reduce unemployment
• He was a strong advocate for ‘colonial development’ and promoted government investment in the less
profitable areas of Empire both to promote and out of feeling it was an imperial duty
• ‘I believe that the British race is the greatest of the governing races that the world has ever seen’
• When the Boer war broke out in 1899, Chamberlain was viewed as a national hero, something which faded as
the war dragged on
• He initiated the building of the Ugandan Railway, sanctioned the conquest and annexation of Ashantiland and,
in 1900, supervised the acquisition of the territory of Royal Niger Company
• His idea of colonial preference split the conservative party and in 1906 he also failed to persuade the public
meaning the liberals won a majority
• He resigned in 1903
• Shortly after, Chamberlain suffered a stroke and his political career was over
Cecil Rhodes
• Prime Minister of Cape Colony in 1890
• Driven by a strong conviction that British civilisation and control was key to the betterment of the world
• Using his vast fortune, political power and control of the Cape newspapers, Rhodes impressed upon audience
at home and abroad the right and duty of Britons to dominate Africa and beyond
• In 1890, he sent settlers to establish Fort Salisbury in Matabeleland, opening up the territories that from c1899
were to be known as the Rhodesias in his honour
• One of Rhodes’ projects to outflank the Boer Republic of the Transvaal and the Germans in the rush to Central
Africa, was the railway line north from the Cape through Bechuanaland. He hoped it would eventually reach
the Nile to ensure British domination of all east-central Africa. This dream of Cape to Chiro was blocked by
the German occupation of East Africa from 1891 and never completed
• He resigned after the Jameson Raid in 1896 and dies 6 years later
• He made a great fortune out of enterprises and his funds helped promoted Empire after his death e.g. In his
publicity work of the Round Table, an imperial pressure group established in 1910 by a like-minded ally of
Rhodes – Alfred Milner
Viceroy Curzon
• Lord Salisbury appointed him as Viceroy of India in 1899
• He travelled around the world, exploring and producing several books, most notable of Russia and Persia
• Concern about Russian expansion led him to create the North West frontier province in 1901 and dispatch
military expedition into Tibet
• He believed in a moral imperial and took great pride in representing Britain and its imperial mission
Chapter 10: Attitudes to Empire – the Role and Influence of
Individuals
Joseph Chamberlain
• He turned down both the Chancellor of the Exchequer and Home Secretary Job in order to become the
Colonial Secretary in the Conservative led coalition between 1895 and 1903
• He believed that effective use of the Empire could sustain British prosperity and prestige
• He believed that the imperial bonds needed reinforcing if the Empire was to be preserved and Britain maintain
its status as a world power
• Chamberlain summoned and chaired two further colonial conference (after the failure of the first 1887) in 1897
and 1902 At these he proposed an imperial defence and customs union for the self-governing white colonies
but these ideas were both rejected
• He conducted a campaign of tariff reform and for imperial preference. A tariff reform league was set p which
distributed leaflets and played messages in public meetings
• He believed imperial preference would benefit Britain and reduce unemployment
• He was a strong advocate for ‘colonial development’ and promoted government investment in the less
profitable areas of Empire both to promote and out of feeling it was an imperial duty
• ‘I believe that the British race is the greatest of the governing races that the world has ever seen’
• When the Boer war broke out in 1899, Chamberlain was viewed as a national hero, something which faded as
the war dragged on
• He initiated the building of the Ugandan Railway, sanctioned the conquest and annexation of Ashantiland and,
in 1900, supervised the acquisition of the territory of Royal Niger Company
• His idea of colonial preference split the conservative party and in 1906 he also failed to persuade the public
meaning the liberals won a majority
• He resigned in 1903
• Shortly after, Chamberlain suffered a stroke and his political career was over
Cecil Rhodes
• Prime Minister of Cape Colony in 1890
• Driven by a strong conviction that British civilisation and control was key to the betterment of the world
• Using his vast fortune, political power and control of the Cape newspapers, Rhodes impressed upon audience
at home and abroad the right and duty of Britons to dominate Africa and beyond
• In 1890, he sent settlers to establish Fort Salisbury in Matabeleland, opening up the territories that from c1899
were to be known as the Rhodesias in his honour
• One of Rhodes’ projects to outflank the Boer Republic of the Transvaal and the Germans in the rush to Central
Africa, was the railway line north from the Cape through Bechuanaland. He hoped it would eventually reach
the Nile to ensure British domination of all east-central Africa. This dream of Cape to Chiro was blocked by
the German occupation of East Africa from 1891 and never completed
• He resigned after the Jameson Raid in 1896 and dies 6 years later
• He made a great fortune out of enterprises and his funds helped promoted Empire after his death e.g. In his
publicity work of the Round Table, an imperial pressure group established in 1910 by a like-minded ally of
Rhodes – Alfred Milner
Viceroy Curzon
• Lord Salisbury appointed him as Viceroy of India in 1899
• He travelled around the world, exploring and producing several books, most notable of Russia and Persia
• Concern about Russian expansion led him to create the North West frontier province in 1901 and dispatch
military expedition into Tibet
• He believed in a moral imperial and took great pride in representing Britain and its imperial mission
