First published in 1984. These essays have been collected to mark the retirement of Freddie Madden. The contributors have, at various times, been associated with him either as pupils or colleagues during his four decades at Oxford. Their articles, in the diversity of subject-matter and time-span which they encompass, reflect the catholic historical sympathy which was always Freddie Madden's hallmark as a historian; whilst their coherence around the central theme of the growth and demise of Western empire testify to the vitality of that imperial historiographic tradition which was the preeminent concern of his activities both as teacher and scholar.