The
British South Africa Company (
BSAC or
BSACo) was established following the amalgamation of
Cecil Rhodes' Central Search Association and the London-based Exploring Company Ltd which had originally competed to exploit the expected mineral wealth of
Mashonaland but united because of common economic interests and to secure
British government backing. The company received a
Royal Charter in 1889 modelled on that of the British
East India Company. Its first directors included the
Duke of Abercorn, Rhodes himself and the South African financier
Alfred Beit. Rhodes hoped BSAC would promote colonisation and economic exploitation across much of south-central Africa, as part of the "
Scramble for Africa". However, his main focus was south of the
Zambezi, in Mashonaland and the coastal areas to its east, from which he believed the Portuguese could be removed by payment or force, and in the
Transvaal, which he hoped would return to British control.