Sir Robert Napier Expedition

In a short (two page handwritten) journal of Bob’s life, written I think by his son Claud, there is mention of him joining an expedition to Abyssinia (now called Ethiopia) in 1867 – the Sir Robert Napier expedition. There is no other mention of this in the journal. 

There is no explanation as to why Bob went on this expedition, whether he volunteered or was conscripted. We do know that it was a very difficult time for him financially, and there was almost certainly a financial incentive. By this time in his life, Bob had already been in clerkship to the military finance department in Bombay for approximately three years, so it is reasonable to assume that he accompanied the expedition as support for the logistics/supplies, though this is pure conjecture. 

Another possibility I have considered is that he may have gone as medical support – his Father had been in the East India Company’s Medical Service and Bob’s brothers were also pursuing medical careers. As a brief aside, The East India Company originated as a trading agent in the 17th century, and wielded immense monopolistic power. By the early 18th Century it had become involved in politics, acting as an agent of British imperialism in India through to the mid-19th century. It controlled trade politics and controlled the country with its own army of around 260,000 men - twice the size of the British army of the time! Its power and sphere of influence are still unparalleled.  

Irrespective of his role in this expedition, it must have been an extremely arduous and harsh experience, especially for a young man of around 18 years of age, who had already lost both parents.

Sir Robert Napier was a classic military careerist in the British Empire in India. He attended the military college of the East India Company and took an active and leading role in the Anglo Sikh wars between 1845 and 1849. He also led a troop in the second opium war in China in 1860. By 1865 he was head of the army in Bombay. Whatever the rights and wrongs of the politics of the time, he was a formidable person, and one who would certainly have exerted a great personal influence over those who came even into indirect contact with him (this may in part explain why Bob became such an ardent royalist and supporter of the British empire, as we can see in his poetry and other articles).

Briefly, the expedition was a rescue mission, which set off in January 1868. A small number of British and other Europeans (probably no more than 70) had been taken hostage by a local leader - the Ethiopian Emperor Tewodros II, because Queen Victoria had ignored his request for support in defeating an Islamic uprising. To rescue these people, the mission was put together which included 13,000 troops, 26,000 camp followers, and 40,000 animals - thousands of mules, hundreds of camels, and 44 Indian elephants! They even had desalination condensers which were used to produce up to 120 gallons of fresh water from sea water each day. The size of this undertaking was truly breathtaking. After a sea trip from India for this enormous troupe, they disembarked in Ethiopia, on the Red Sea coast. A 400 mile march through heat and largely untamed terrain ensued. The trails were at times non-existent, and ropes and pulleys had to be used to move stores and equipment. Heavy rain made the challenge even greater. They eventually arrived at the fortress called Magdala.

Magdala was besieged, and with the use of overwhelming, devastating fire power was eventually overthrown.

Once Emperor Tewodros II realised the hopelessness of his situation he killed himself, ironically using a gun which had previously been gifted to him by Queen Victoria. The European captives were saved, and Napier ordered the fortress of Magdala to be destroyed in April 1868, before commencing their return. 

The native hostages suffered an even worse fate. They were found to have had their hands and feet cut off before being sent over the edge of a precipice surrounding the plateau Magdala had been sited on.

Inevitably, there was some looting. Prime Minister, William Gladstone condemned the taking of treasures from Magdala, particularly a gold crown and chalice, and ‘deeply lamented, for the sake of the country, and for the sake of all concerned, that these articles … were thought fit to be brought away by a British army.’ He urged that they ‘be held only until they could be restored.’ Ironically, these are still in England today, on exhibition at the Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A) in London. 

Further information can be found about the expedition in an interesting BLOG  produced by the V&A, which includes images of the crown and chalice, as well as pictures of the emperor Tewodros and Napier himself.

The following link also provides a revealing insight in an online article about the Napier expedition.