Faced with a series of domestic issues and failing military campaigns, the Ethiopian Emperor Tewodros II petitioned the British government for assistance. He gave a letter to the Consul Charles Cameron for presentation to Queen Victoria requesting assistance to teach his people how to make firearms and other skills. When no response from the Foreign Office was received Tewodros imprisoned British subjects living in Ethiopia. After negotiations failed, in 1867-8, Britain undertook an expedition to Ethiopia, led by Sir Robert Napier, to release the hostages. While the Ethiopian expedition was successful in securing the release of the hostages, it also resulted in the taking of valuable treasures, many of which ended up in the collections of major institutions in Britain.
This account was written by Clements Markham, the expedition's geographer, and was published in 1869.