Archibald Primrose, 5th Earl of Rosebery
Liberal Prime Minister, original Rhodes-Trust trustee (1847-1929)
Also known as: Rosebery, Lord Rosebery, Archibald Primrose
Archibald Philip Primrose, 5th Earl of Rosebery (1847-1929), was Liberal Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (1894-1895) and one of the original trustees named in Cecil Rhodes's final will. Quigley names him as one of the early members of Rhodes's secret society and as a key Liberal-imperialist bridge between the late-Victorian establishment and the The Milner Group's twentieth-century institutional descendants.
Liberal-imperialist bridge
Rosebery was educated at Eton and Christ Church, Oxford. He served as Foreign Secretary under Gladstone in 1886 and 1892-1894, and as Prime Minister 1894-1895 after Gladstone's resignation. Although a Liberal, he was 'one of the four leaders of the Liberal Party after Gladstone, who were strong imperialists: Rosebery, Asquith, Edward Grey, and Haldane. These four supported the Boer War, grew increasingly anti-German, supported the World War in 1914, and were close to the Milner Group politically, intellectually, and socially' (AAE 26).
Original member of Rhodes's secret society
Quigley records Rosebery as one of the early co-conspirators of Rhodes's circle, drawn in through complex negotiations over British acquisition of Uganda. 'As a result of complex and secret negotiations in which Lord Rosebery was the chief figure, Britain kept Uganda, Rhodes was made a privy councilor, Rosebery replaced his father-in-law, Lord Rothschild, in Rhodes's secret group and was made a trustee under Rhodes's next (and last) will' (T&H 148). The seventh-and-final will, which took effect at Rhodes's death in 1902, named Rosebery alongside Milner, Lord Grey, Alfred Beit, L. L. Michell, B. F. Hawksley, and Dr. Starr Jameson as the seven Rhodes Trust trustees (AAE 29).
Asquith's portraits
Quigley records a vignette in which the Liberal-imperialist alignment is made physically visible. Mrs. Asquith, on the day of her husband's appointment, had 'three portraits over the [mantel]: those of Rosebery, Balfour, and Milner' (T&H 488) — a Liberal Prime Minister, a Conservative Prime Minister, and a colonial proconsul. For Quigley, the portraits stand in for the Cecil Bloc-Milner Group-Liberal Imperialist consensus that ran the British state between 1895 and 1920 regardless of which party held office.
Cited in
- anglo-american-establishment · p. 8 Quigley
This brought him into close contact with the Cecil Bloc, especially George E. Buckle of The Times, G. W. Prothero, J. R. Seeley, Lord Rosebery, Sir Thomas (later Lord) Brassey, and Milner.
- anglo-american-establishment · p. 29 Quigley
(1899) wills, the personnel of the trustees shifted considerably, ending up, at Rhodes's death in 1902, with a board of seven trustees: Lord Milner, Lord Rosebery, Lord Grey, Alfred Beit, L. L. Michell, B. F. Hawksley, and Dr. Starr Jameson.
- tragedy-and-hope · p. 142 Quigley
In the Liberal Party the Little Englanders were opposed by imperialists like Lord Rosebery even before 1895; after that date, a younger group of imperialists, like Asquith, Grey, and Haldane took over the party.
- tragedy-and-hope · p. 148 Quigley
As a result of complex and secret negotiations in which Lord Rosebery was the chief figure, Britain kept Uganda, Rhodes was made a privy councilor, Rosebery replaced his father-in-law, Lord Rothschild, in Rhodes's secret group and was made a trustee under Rhodes's next (and last) will.