John Mackenzie

1835-1899. Scottish missionary to South Africa. Born in Morayshire, he went to South Africa under the London Missionary Society in 1858. His wife's health prevented his joining the disastrous Makalolo mission. He eventually settled among the Ngwato at Shoshong (1864-76) and gained the confidence of Kgama III. From 1871 to 1882 he superintended the Moffat Institution, first at Shoshong, later at Kuruman. Mackenzie was convinced that the protection of the Africans demanded the extension of British rule to the Zambesi. He therefore became politically involved, first as a government representative in Bechuanaland, and in 1885-91 as a propagandist of imperial expansion in Britain. His efforts were repeatedly frustrated, principally by his fellow-imperialist C.J. Rhodes, whose motives and methods differed fundamentally from Mackenzie's humanitarianism. Mackenzie's closing years (1891-99) were spent as missionary at Hankey, Cape Colony.