Rhodes House
South Parks Road
Oxford OX1 3RG

The Rhodes Trust

The Rhodes Trust was established and endowed by the Will of Cecil John Rhodes, who died in 1902. Cecil Rhodes emigrated to South Africa in 1870. He obtained a large interest in the Kimberley diamond mines. By 1888, he had amalgamated them into the De Beers Consolidated Mines, of which he became chairman. He was prominent in the politics of the colony of the Cape of Good Hope (Prime Minister 1890-96). Much of his energy was devoted to the expansion of British imperialist interests in Southern Africa. This included the establishment of control over the area which became the future Rhodesia (today the state of Zimbabwe) for which he fought two wars in Matabeleland. He was also implicated in the Jameson Raid designed to subvert Boer rule in the Transvaal.

Cecil Rhodes designed his Trust for the purpose of educating future leaders of the world. He had studied at Oxford and felt that its organisation especially fostered broad views and personal development. A product of his time, he thought that peace, progress and prosperity would be led by the most developed economic powers which he saw as advanced civilisations. Thus, his scholarships were for countries then part of the British Empire, for the United States, and for Germany.

There were originally 52 scholarships. During the ensuing 100 years, the Trustees added at one time or another approximately another 40 scholarships, though not all have continued. Some of these extended the scheme to Commonwealth countries not mentioned in the Will.

Cecil Rhodes directed that the selection of scholars should be based on academic ability; sporting activity; qualities of personal rectitude, strength and compassion; and sense of the public good. The Trust continues to respect the spirit of these definitions, as identified within our contemporary context. Thus, while the Trustees believe that high academic attainment is a prerequisite, they also believe in the necessity of attainment in the area broadly defined by the terms of the Will.

There have been over 7,000 Rhodes Scholars since the inception of the Trust. Over 4,000 are still living.

Reading

R.I. Rotberg, The Founder: Cecil Rhodes and the Pursuit of Power (Oxford University Press, New York, 1988)

Anthony Kenny (ed.), The History of the Rhodes Trust (Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2001).