"Remember that you are an Englishman, and have consequently won first prize in the lottery of life"

Cecil Rhodes, a prominent British imperialist and businessman of the late 19th century, expresses a worldview that reflects the dominant attitudes of his time. The statement suggests a perception of English identity as an exceptional blessing, positioning it as a privileged status within the global hierarchy. The analogy to a lottery win signifies the random fortune of birth, that merely being born an Englishman places an individual ahead of others in the world. Such sentiment reveals the ethnocentric confidence that fueled imperial expansion and the drive to spread British civilization and values across the globe.

Underlying this assertion is an assumption of inherent superiority. The “first prize in the lottery of life” implies not only material prosperity but also access to power, education, and influence that the British Empire afforded its citizens. In the era Rhodes inhabited, the British Isles were the seat of a globe-spanning empire, controlling vast territories, resources, and populations. For Rhodes and many of his contemporaries, the privileges afforded to Englishmen, political rights, economic opportunity, and social standing, were seen as natural entitlements, rewards bestowed by a combination of historical destiny and racial hierarchy.

Yet, the phrase also reveals the arbitrariness of such privilege. Just as a lottery win is by chance, the advantages attached to being English are a matter of accident, not personal merit. There is no reference to individual achievement; rather, it is the luck of birth that confers this “prize.” This acknowledgment, implicit or not, raises critical questions for the modern reader: what responsibilities attend inherited privilege, and how should societies address systemic inequalities rooted in history?

Rhodes' outlook, while emblematic of Victorian imperialism, now serves as a point of reflection. It urges examination of how national and cultural identities shape perceptions of worth and entitlement. The statement remains a potent reminder of how accident of birth can determine opportunity, and challenges present-day attitudes regarding privilege, identity, and global justice.