Rhodes asks Charter for British South Africa Company

Cecil John Rhodes applies for a Charter from United Kingdom to establish the British South Africa Company. The Royal Charter was granted in October 1889, with the responsibility of developing and colonising the territory north of the Limpopo, which today extends over Zambia and Zimbabwe. The BSAC was mandated to manage the mineralogical resources to the benefit of Britain. The company was vested with power to maintain law and order but the Crown reserved supreme control. Under the conditions stipulated was that no slave trade was to be allowed. By 1890 the BSAC and white settlers had occupied the fertile lands of the Shona (Mashonaland) and raised the British flag over the territory. Sources: (2003). 'Milestones', The Star, 30 May. Potgieter, D.J. et al. (eds)(1970). Standard Encyclopaedia of Southern Africa, Cape Town: NASOU, v. 3, p. 169. "/> http://www.saw.co.za/newsletters/archive/sawmail_110202.html http://www.blurofinsanity.com/papers.html