This is a slightly longer episode - because Venture Capitalism needs intensive scrutinty. Yes 300 weeks of non-stop episodes, all I can say is thank you for listening. Our numbers have grown, the show has posted over 3 million downloads — it’s all the threes today. A quick note from a sponsor .. I have been playing learnclash which is a mini-quiz, where people duel each other on history questions — and science. You can create your own quiz, in my case it was South African history, and learnclash generated three questions - each became progressively more difficult. LearnClash is free on iPhone and android, go to learnclash.com/sahistory and use the code Desmond for a month of premium free. That’s learnclash.com/sahistory, code Desmond and you get a month free. With contemporary commerce concluded it’s time to take a closer look at historical commerce. Cecil Rhodes became Cape Prime Minister in 1890 - thus solving a riddle of business. Who could convince politicians to act in the best interests of investors? Well when the investor himself became the politician, problem solved. It is something that has characterised the Trump Presidency — once the barbarian has control over the keys of the kingdom, opening the doors of profit supersedes opening of doors of perception. Sorry to mangle concepts, but I think you know what I mean. And there is a direct link between Rhodes, Railways and his political ambitions. It’s one of the reasons I have spent some time describing both the De Beers chairman’s rise to power, and the role of the railways in South Africa. Rhodes came to prime minister of the Cape Colony thanks in part to his interest in developing a regional rail network. Later in this episode we’ll dive deeper into the Transvaal Railway experience, which will feature a London-based capitalist of note, Nathanial, natty Rothschild. Just as an aside, Nathanial’s descendent Natty Rothschild the fifth featured recently in the Trump families attempt to build a luxury resort on an Albanian Island. History and contemporary realities have collided in that story, which is not for us, but folks, keep an eye on the saga going on right now. The Jinks are high. Nathaniel Philip Victor James "Nat" Rothschild (born in 1971) is a British-born financier, investor, and corporate executive who currently holds the title of 5th Baron Rothschild and he is Jared and Ivanka Kushner’s deep pocketed friend. Nat Rothschild’s introduced Kushner and Trump to the Albanian coast during their shared travels, bridging his long-standing familiarity with European elite real estate destinations to Kushner’s deployment of private equity capital. It’s led to riots. Let’s see how Jared and Ivanka’s big day out in Albania ends. IN Cecil Rhodes’ case, Rhodes introduced Rothschild to the possibility of profit through land acquisition. Let’s probe matters. Skipping smartly back to 1890. Everything is about angles, particularly when you’re building infrastructure. The Cape Government of Gordon Sprigg had introduced a railway bill in the Cape parliament in 1888, the line proposed to be built from Kimberley to Fourteen Streams, Vryburg, Gaborone, and from there, northwards. Cecil Rhodes walked a political tightrope, balancing advocating for railroads, harbours and unity — while the colonial office expected that the Cape Colony would not overburden its finances. Railway construction presented opportunities for state-building and patronage. Sprigg had been pursuing major rail building initiatives since 1889, both to the north into the Free State and Transvaal, but also within the Cape itself. His big problem is that he wasn’t rich and needed to fund his dream. It turned into a pork-barrel idea, frightening both English and Afrikaans lawmakers in the Cape parliament and he lost the confidence of his cabinet. The old split between eastern Capers and western Capers emerged again, along with the inevitable split between conservatives and liberals.
