1908 Waterlow / Stanford Pocket Map of Rhodesia (British South Africa Company Lands)

Company Rule in Rhodesia.

This is a scarce c. 1908 pocket map of Rhodesia during the era of Company Rule, printed by Waterlow and Sons for Edward Stanford. It reflects a period when the British South Africa Company was at the height of its influence, and when shifting relations among colonial powers were drawing the British and Portuguese closer together in Africa.

A Closer Look

The map covers the lands of the British South Africa Company in what would later become Rhodesia (Northern and Southern), divided into the territories of Northwestern Rhodesia, Northeastern Rhodesia, and Southern Rhodesia, which is itself divided into districts. Cities, forts, railway stations, and smaller settlements are noted throughout, along with waterways, roads, railways (existing and proposed), mines, and telegraph lines. Portions of neighboring territories, including the Nyasaland and Bechuanaland Protectorates and the Congo Free State, are also depicted.

Railways and Foreign Relations

In the preceding decades, the British and Portuguese were locked in an intense inter-imperial competition over southern and central Africa, in which railways played a key role. For instance, the Beira-Bulawayo Railway, seen here, was the result of a failed Portuguese attempt to get the jump on Rhodes by finishing a railway to the disputed lands, which later became Rhodesia. But by the time this map was prepared, the British and Portuguese had reached a modus vivendi and even begun to cooperate as both warily eyed latecomers to African colonialism, namely the Germans; little surprise then that Britain and Portugal would soon be fighting jointly against the Germans in Africa during World War I (1914 - 1918). As a result of their improved relations, originally competing rail projects were linked and even more ambitious lines proposed, especially those seen here linking Bulawayo with the port of Lobito in Portuguese West Africa (Angola); later, such a link between Rhodesia and Angola was established by way of the Benguela Railway (completed in 1929).

The British South Africa Company in Rhodesia

When this map was prepared, Rhodesia was not yet a formal political entity but rather a common colloquial name for the territory administered by the British South Africa Company (BSAC), which had gained control of these lands through treaties (often secured through dubious means) that allowed for mining concessions in exchange for British military protection. The rapid British acquisition of this territory in the 1890s was driven primarily by the desire to capitalize on the considerable mineral resources in what became Rhodesia, but also motivated by imperial competition with the Portuguese based in Angola and Mozambique.

The BSAC was a chartered monopoly, akin to the earlier East India Company (EIC), and it operated with a similar ruthless commitment to its bottom line above all else. Another way in which it was similar to the EIC was that it maintained a militarized police force, was empowered to negotiate treaties, and oversaw administrative functions like a state, though one focused on maximizing profit rather than any other ethos. The company's presence in future Rhodesia was the result of machinations by Cecil Rhodes (1853 - 1902), leader of the BSAC, who in 1888 secured a concession from King Lobengula of the Ndebele, granting exclusive mining rights in exchange for weapons and a monthly stipend. Leveraging this agreement, Rhodes obtained a Royal Charter from Queen Victoria in 1889, and the following year, the Pioneer Column, a group of settlers and mercenaries raised by Rhodes, trekked north to establish Fort Salisbury (modern-day Harare), marking the start of a period where a private corporation held the powers of a sovereign state.

This era was marked by intense territorial consolidation and violent resistance from the indigenous population. As the BSAC pushed into Matabeleland and Mashonaland, tensions over land and cattle led to the First Matabele War (1893), resulting in the defeat of Lobengula's forces and the company's seizure of the region. Shortly after, the Second Matabele War and the Shona uprisings, collectively known as the First Chimurenga (1896 - 1897), challenged the company's authority. The BSAC used its paramilitary force, the British South Africa Police, to suppress these revolts with significant violence. By the turn of the century, the company had also expanded north of the Zambezi, creating Northern Rhodesia (now Zambia) and Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe), formalizing a structure that prioritized mineral extraction and white settler agriculture.

Although successful in seizing land and exploiting resources, the BSAC began to run into problems in Rhodesia in the early 20th century. After an early glut of easily accessible minerals, the promised future reserves failed to materialize. White settlers, increasingly composed of farmers rather than miners, also began to agitate for self-rule. When the Privy Council ruled that most of Rhodesia's land belonged to the Crown rather than the Company, its finances took a tumble. In 1922-23, the White population of Rhodesia voted for self-rule, independent of South Africa, the BSAC's charter was revoked, and its former territory was split into Northern Rhodesia (Zambia) and Southern Rhodesia (Zimbabwe).

Publication History and Census

This map was printed by Waterlow and Sons and sold by Edward Stanford, 'Geographer to the King,' in London. It is undated, but from context must date to 1907 or 1908 (by the notable inclusion of both the Congo Free State and the Nyasaland Protectorate). At least two other editions of the map were printed, though the lack of a date here has led to confused cataloging. In all, perhaps ten institutions globally hold an example of this map, but the present appears to be an early and likely first edition, not matching any extant in institutional collections or on the market.

Cartographers

Waterlow and Sons (1810 - 1961) was a British engraving and printing concern active in London specializing in currency, postage stamps, bond certificates, and occasionally maps. The firm was founded by James Waterlow (1790 - 1876) in 1810 on Birchin Lane, London, as a legal document printer and copyist. By 1852, they had expanded into stamps and his sons, Albert, Alfred, Sydney, and Walter joined the business. One year after James Waterlow's death, in 1877, infighting among the sons led Alfred Waterlow to split off, forming Waterlow Brothers and Layton. The rift was settled by 1920, and the two firms once again merged under the Waterlow and Sons imprint. They were involved in the Portuguese Bank Note Affair of 1925, wherein the Portuguese fraudster Artur Virgílio Alves Reis convinced the firm to print 200,000 banknotes of 500 Portuguese Escudos each, amounting to roughly 88% of Portugal's GDP. The affair was settled in court with a ruling against Waterlow. In 1928, Waterlow lost its most lucrative contract, printing English banknotes, and began to fall into decline. In 1961, they were acquired by Purnell and Sons who, shortly afterwards, sold the firm to De La Rue. Ironically, De La Rue acquired the contract to print Bank of England banknotes again in 2003 – 75 years after Waterlow lost it!   Further Details...

Edward Stanford (May 27, 1827 - November 3, 1904) was one of the most prolific map publishing firms of the late 19th century. The company began as a partnership in 1848 between the 21 year old Edward Stanford and the established map dealer Trelawney Saunders. By 1853 the partnership had dissolved and Edward Stanford took full control of the business. A subsequent series of expansions and exciting new map issues finally led to the production of Stanford's masterwork, "Stanford's Library Map of London". This map is still available and remains somewhat accurate. At the time of publishing it was hailed by the Royal Geographical Society as "the most perfect map of London that has ever been issued". In 1882 Edward Stanford Sr. passed the firm on to his son, Edward Stanford Jr. who continued in his father's proud tradition. Today the Stanford firm still publishes maps and remains one of the most important and prolific cartographic publishers in the world.   Further Details...

Condition

Excellent.

References

OCLC 54636969 (later editions).