NYS Global History and Geography Regents Practice Test 2026 - Free Practice Questions and Study Guide

Cecil Rhodes is the figure who built a mining empire and used that wealth to pursue ambitious imperial projects. He founded De Beers Consolidated Mines, creating a dominant diamond monopoly in southern Africa. With that power, he pushed for the Cape to Cairo railroad—a plan to connect British-controlled lands from the southern tip of Africa up to Cairo, strengthening economic control and imperial influence.

The other men listed were not mining magnates pursuing that railroad plan: Henry Morton Stanley was an explorer who helped map routes and advance imperial interests, David Livingstone was a missionary explorer, and James Gordon Bennett was a newspaper publisher. Their roles did not center on founding a mining company or advancing the Cape to Cairo project.