George Cawston (fl. c. 1888 - 1911) was a barrister, stockbroker, cartographer, and founding member of the British South Africa Company. Born and raised in London, he moved to South Africa to explore mining possibilities after having prepared for a career in law. At first acting independently, he joined forced with Cecil Rhodes in acquiring mining concessions from local rulers in what would soon be known as Rhodesia. A founding member and board member of the British South Africa Company, Cawston made a fortune through his mining interests, but he and his associate Lord Gifford frequently disagreed with Rhodes and thought him domineering. Cawston resigned from the company in protest following the embarrassing Jameson Raid, a failed attempt by Rhodes and co-conspirators to foment a pro-British rebellion in South African Republic that led to Rhodes' ouster as Prime Minister of the Cape Colony and contributed to the Boer War. Cawston's papers relating to the British South Africa Company are held at the Bodleian Library, University of Oxford.



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