This painting shows the crushing military superiority of the British forces against the army of Tewodros II (1818-1868) at the Battle of Maqdala (today Amba Mariam) in April 1868. This was not a colonial conquest: the English and Indian soldiers came to free European hostages detained for several years by the Ethiopian king offended by Queen Victoria (1819-1901) who had not replied to his request for military support against Muslims. The battle led to the king’s suicide and the plundering of his goods, most of which are still in England. E. Sohier