The Cape to Cairo Railway was one of the most ambitious dreams of the late 19th and 20th centuries. Africa was a target of Europeans as early as the 17th century, but impermeable borders made access to the interior almost impossible. The discovery of quinine helped Europeans in this effort, but not completely (Stage 24). Cecil Rhodes, an Englishman who lived in South Africa for most of his life, had earned all his wealth from the South African treasury. This made him wonder: “If South Africa has such treasures, how much money can fifty-three other countries represent?” Rhodes was an extremely ambitious man whose dream was to take control of Africa's two most prosperous cities, the North and the South. Subsequently, he would build a railway connecting the two. The Cape to Cairo Railway was built to strengthen British control over the entire continent and deprive the country of all its treasures. “Despite its failure, the Cape to Cairo idea left a legacy of a series of railways across the continent. Many of them would never have been built without the grandiose plan to cross Africa” (Wolmar 173). Until the end of the 15th century, Africa remained virtually untouched. It has often been called “the dark continent” (Wolmer 173). Contrary to the popular misconception that the nickname comes from the color of its inhabitants, "it was called the Dark Continent because of the mysteries that surrounded it" (Wolmer 173). No one was sure what the continent held, but what they were sure of was the potential a large land like this had. By the mid-19th century, the rest of the globe "including the great landlocked mass of Asia, the hidden corners of... middle of paper... in the field, His heart is sick with lust. The gold she earns is red with blood, Norean protects it. His name comes from a tainted league with men of broken trust” (Carter 476). ;Works CitedBigland, Alfred. “The Cape to Cairo railway and ferries: discussion.” The geographical review. 2nd ed. Flight. 55. Np: Royal Geographical Society (with the Institute of British Geographers), 1950. 101-08. Print.Cain, Peter and Tony Hopkins. British imperialism, 1688-2001. Harlow: Longman, 2001. Print. Carter, Mia and Barbara Harlow. Archives of the Empire. Durham: Duke UP, 2003. Print.Strage, Mark. From Cape Town to Cairo. New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1973. Print. Williams, Robert. The Cape to Cairo Railway. London: Macmillan et, 1921. 241-58. Print.Wolmar, Christian. Blood, iron and gold: how railways transformed the world. New York: PublicAffairs, 2010. Print.