Which British colony in Africa was originally a private possession of Cecil Rhodes?

Southern Rhodesia was the British African colony that began as a privately administered territory associated with Cecil Rhodes. The region was occupied and governed initially by the British South Africa Company, founded and controlled by Rhodes and backed by a royal charter from the British government.

Rhodes pursued mineral wealth and territorial expansion north of the South African republics. In 1888, agreements including the Rudd Concession were used to claim mining rights from Ndebele king Lobengula. The company then organised the Pioneer Column’s occupation of Mashonaland in 1890, establishing the foundations of later Southern Rhodesia.

The description can be misleading if “private possession” is taken literally: the territory was not Rhodes’s personal property. It was administered by his chartered company, which claimed extensive powers over land, mining and government. In 1923, Southern Rhodesia became a self-governing British colony. Northern Rhodesia, a common mix-up, became modern Zambia, while Southern Rhodesia became Zimbabwe.