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James Kier Hardie
The first representative of the Labour Party in the British House of Parliament, elected in 1892, and the first realworking-man to sit full time in the Commons.
Otto von Bismarck
Chancellor of the German Empire from 1871 until his dismissal by Kaiser Wilhelm II in 1890. Known as the “Iron Chancellor,” he was the key figure in the unification of the German states—and probably the most important actor on the European political scene for a 30-year period up until his dismissal. Bismark was a keen political operative who understood the geopolitics of modern Europe and worked to change the balance of power to Germany's favor. His key tactic was to isolate Germany’s strongest enemy, France, from any other state on the Continent, thus his alliances with Austria-Hungary and Russia prior to 1895. A pragmatist above all else, he was known for his practice of realpolitik, or politics of self-interest.
Menelik II
Emperor of Ethiopia and a skillful politician; realized that his country could only defeat the European imperialists by playing them off one another, therefore, he made small concessions to each in return for weapons. These weapons kept pouring in as numerous nations feared increased influence on the part of their enemy. When Italy did invade Ethiopia to take control on 1 March 1896, Menelik II used all the modern weaponry he had obtained to defeat the Europeans.
Cecil Rhodes
British investor, politician, and imperial boss who envisioned a railroad connecting all British territory from Cairo, Egypt to Cape Town, South Africa. He was the major investor who, after the discovery of gold in Transvaal, brought the British in to mine the mineral, sparking conflict with the Afrikaner government. He orchestrated an overthrow of the government that failed and ruined his reputation.
