Wherever he went in the Empire, Cecil Rhodes observed, he found Oxford men on top. This scholarly and entertaining book examines how and why Oxford dominated Imperial policy and administration through its network of classical graduates; how Oxford's Imperialists and anti-Imperialists conducted their arguments in light of the history of Greece and Rome; and how proconsuls, missionaries, and teachers carried her traditions abroad. The conflicting hopes of what various groups in the University sought to obtain in the name of Empire are explored as well as the often bewildering impact of Oxford on the colonials who went there to study.