THE ABYSSINIANS.
According to Bruce, who travelled extensively in Africa, the
Abyssinians have among them a tradition, handed down from time
immemorial, that Cush was their father. Theodore, late king of
Abyssinia, maintained that he descended in a direct line from Moses.
As this monarch has given wider fame to his country than any of his
predecessors, it will not be amiss to give a short sketch of him and
his government.
Theodore was born at Quarel, on the borders of the western Amhara, and
was educated in a convent in which he was placed by his mother, his
father being dead. He early delighted in military training, and while
yet a boy, became proficient as a swordsman and horseman.
Like Robert Clive, Warren Hastings, and many other great warriors,
Theodore became uneasy under the restraint of the school-room, and
escaped from the convent to his uncle, Dejatch Comfu, a noted rebel,
from whom he imbibed a taste for warlike pursuits, and eventually
became ruler of a large portion of Abyssinia. Naturally ambitious
and politic, he succeeded in enlarging his authority steadily at
the expense of the other “Ras,” or chiefs, of Abyssinia. His power
especially increased when, in 1853, he defeated his father-in-law,
Ras Ali, and took him prisoner. At length in 1855, he felt himself
strong enough to formally claim the throne of all Abyssinia, and he was
crowned as such by the Abuna Salama, the head of the Abyssinian church.
His reign soon proved to be the most effective Abyssinia had ever
had. As soon as he came into power, his attention was directed to the
importance of being on terms of friendship with the government which
rules India, and which has established itself in the neighboring
stronghold of Aden. He therefore resolved to assert the rights assured
to him by virtue of the treaty made between Great Britain and Abyssinia
in the year 1849, and ratified in 1852, in which it was stipulated that
each State should receive embassadors from the other. Mr. Plowden, who
had been for many years English consul at Massawah, although not an
accredited agent to Abyssinia, went to that country with presents for
the people in authority, and remained during the war which broke out at
the succession of Theodore.
Unfortunately, Mr. Plowden, who had succeeded in winning the favor of
the emperor, to a large extent, was killed; and his successor, Mr.
Cameron, was informed, soon after his arrival in 1862, by the King,
that he desired to carry out the above-mentioned treaty; he even wrote
an autograph letter to Queen Victoria, asking permission to send an
embassy to London. Although the letter reached England in February,
1863, it remained unanswered; and the supposition is, that this
circumstance, together with a quarrel with Mr. Stern, a missionary, who
in a book on Abyssinia, had spoken disrespectfully of the King, and who
had remonstrated against the flogging to death of two interpreters,
roused the King’s temper, and a year after having dispatched the
unanswered letter, he sent an armed force to the missionary station,
seized the missionaries, and put them in chains. He also cast Mr.
Cameron into prison, and had him chained continually to an Abyssinian
soldier.
Great excitement prevailed in England on the arrival of the news of
this outrage against British subjects: but in consideration of an armed
expedition having to undergo many hardships in such a warm climate,
it was deemed best by the English government to use diplomacy in its
efforts to have the prisoners released. It was not until the second
half of August, 1865, that Mr. Rassam, an Asiatic, by birth, was sent
on a special mission to the Abyssinian potentate, and was received
on his arrival in February, 1866, in a truly magnificent style, the
release of the prisoners being at once ordered by the King. But the
hope thus raised was soon to be disappointed, for when Mr. Rassam and
the other prisoners were just on the point of taking leave of the
Emperor, they were put under arrest, and notified that they would have
to remain in the country as State guests until an answer could be
obtained to another letter which the King was going to write to the
Queen.
After exhausting all diplomatic resources to obtain from Theodore the
release of the captives, the English government declared war against
Theodore. The war was chiefly to be carried on with the troops,
European and native, which in India had become accustomed to the hot
climate. The first English troops made their appearance in October,
1867, but it was not until the close of the year that the whole of
the army arrived. The expedition was commanded by General Sir Robert
Napier, heretofore commanding-general at Bombay. Under him acted as
commanders of divisions, Sir Charles Steevely, and Colonel Malcolm,
while Colonel Merewether commanded the cavalry. The distance from
Massowah, the landing-place of the troops, to Magdala, the capital of
Theodore, is about three hundred miles. The English had to overcome
great difficulties, but they overcame them with remarkable energy. King
Theodore gradually retired before the English without risking a battle
until he reached his capital. Then he made a stand, and fought bravely
for his crown, but in vain; he was defeated, the capital captured, and
the King himself slain.
King Theodore was, on the whole, the greatest ruler Abyssinia has
ever had: even, according to English accounts, he excelled in all
manly pursuits, and his general manner was polite and engaging. Had he
avoided this foolish quarrel with England, and proceeded on the way of
reform which he entered upon in the beginning of his reign, he would
probably have played an important part in the political regeneration of
Eastern Africa.
As a people, the Abyssinians are intelligent, are of a ginger-bread,
or coffee color, although a large portion of them are black. Theodore
was himself of this latter class. They have fine schools and colleges,
and a large and flourishing military academy. Agriculture, that great
civilizer of man, is carried on here to an extent unknown in other
parts of the country.