Photograph of Lord Napier of Magdala, leader of the Abyssinia Expedition (now Ethiopia), seated on a chair with his right arm resting on a table. He wears civilian clothes.

In 1862, faced with ever increasing threats to his country's borders and from within his own country, King Tewodros II of Abyssinia (modern-day Ethiopia) asked for military assistance from the British. The request was ignored particularly as the British sought to foster both commercial and diplomatic relations with Tewodros' enemies. As a result, King Tewodros captured and imprisoned a British missionary followed by Charles Duncan Cameron, the British Consul, along with his staff. The hostages were eventually released during the Battle of Magdala in 1868 when Lieutenant General Sir Robert Napier led the Bombay Army to victory. Many Abyssinian artefacts were taken from Magdala fortress by the British following the battle.