The diamond magnates

by Brian Roberts

The discovery of diamonds in a remote region of the Cape, in the middle of the nineteenth-century, attracted an extraordinary collection of adventurers to South Africa.From all over the world men flocked to the diamond fields in the hopes of making a quick fortune. When diamond digging gave way to diamond mining, a struggle developed for complete control of the industry. This is the story of the men who, with varying motives, became involved in that struggle.Cecil Rhodes, son of an English parson, sought financial power to further his vision of Imperial expansion. Barney and Harry Barnato came from London’s East End and, with their nephews, Jack, Woolf, and Solly Joel, were determined to establish the financial supremacy of their family. Alfred Beit, a money-making genius from Hamburg, wanted little more than to assist Rhodes in his grandiose schemes. Joseph Benjamin Robinson, who was probably the richest of them, was mainly concerned with bolstering his own avaricious ego. Their struggle was accompanied by controversy and scandal – both financial and personal – and evolved into one of the most ruthless financial clashes of modern history.Not until late in their lives did they graduate from Kimberley’s corrugated-iron shanties to Park Lane mansions and splendid country houses; when they did, they fell victim to international charlatans – the pseudo Baron von Veltheim, the Russian-born Princess Radziwill and the French impostor Henri Lemoine – whose intrigues overshadowed their last days.This book, based on contemporary documents and unpublished material, explores the diamond magnates’ personalities with revealing candour.Brian Roberts , a distinguished historian and biographer, is an acknowledged expert on African history. His previous books include The Zulu Kings, The Diamond Magnates, Churchills in Africa , and Cecil Rhodes and the Princess . He spent many years in Africa and now lives in Somerset.

Genres: Africa, Nonfiction

288 pages, Hardcover

First published September 14, 1972

Reviews

[Rohit Enghakat]

I had to stop midway through the book in a really long time. This was not what I expected. The title of the book conjures up images of diamond barons (De Beers, Oppenheimers et al) and their detailed history as to how they came to establish billion dollar businesses. But here the author gives a detailed history of early diamond merchants namely three of them J B Robinson, Cecil Rhodes and Barney Barnato (nope, never heard of them) who were prominent South African figures in the late 1800s and early 1900s and how they had established their businesses through sheer hard work and determination. While the author's research efforts are definitely good, I am really not interested if the content and expectations do not match.