In 1866 a young geologist named Carl Mauch claimed that miles of goldfields were lying untapped in the African region of Mashonaland. Inspired by the thought of such riches, Cecil Rhodes established the British South Africa Company in 1889 to exploit Africa's expected mineral wealth from 'Cape to Cairo'. In 1895, after securing control of Matebeleland and Mashonaland, the BSAC named its collective territories Rhodesia to reflect the colonialist's apparent popularity. As shown by this map, the area was prized for its mining potential, with eight distinct mining districts identified in the key and individual goldfields labelled across the map. When the anticipated gold failed to materialise, however, the BSAC found itself in financial difficulties, and many of their enterprises, such as railway expansion, ground to a halt. Nonetheless, the company remained in charge of Rhodesia until 1924, when administrative power and control of the land was given over to colonial Governors.

Alongside the mining industry, this map indicates a preoccupation with communications; it displays the railways, roads, telegraph and telephone lines that spanned the country. It was essential for the BSAC to be fully informed about these methods of communication for both administrative and military purposes. The railway lines are also helpful in another way: although the date of this map is not stated, it is possible to make an estimate based on the progression of the railway system. The Rhodesia Railways route connecting South Africa and Bulawayo, which was completed in 1896, is represented by a solid red line, indicating that this was in operation at the time of publishing. By contrast, the dashed line between Bulawayo and Salisbury shows that the route was still under construction when this map was made, placing it before 1902, when the route was launched.

This map was published at Stanford's Geographical Establishment in London, founded and run by Edward Stanford. At this point in time, Stanford had already become the sole agent for Ordnance Survey Maps in England and Wales, and received his royal warrant as Cartographer to the Queen. As well as the Ordnance Survey, he was an agent for the Admiralty, the Geological Survey, the India Office and the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge. Stanford produced numerous maps for the British South Africa Company throughout its period of influence in Rhodesia. This map in particular is rare on the market, and we have been able to trace only one institutional example, held at the University of Oxford.