Cover of Narrative of Captivity in Abyssinia with Some Account of the Late Emperor the Late Emperor Theodore, His Country and People — Context and Discussion

Narrative of Captivity in Abyssinia with Some Account of the Late Emperor the Late Emperor Theodore, His Country and People — Context and Discussion

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In Category - Modern Nations

Authors: Blanc, Henry, 1831-1911 Digital Source: Project Gutenberg Gutenberg Release Year: 2005 First Publication Year: Not confirmed

Key Word: Theodore II, Negus of Ethiopia, -1868; Ethiopia -- History -- 1490-1889; Abyssinian Expedition (1867-1868) Target Reader: Readers of public-domain and historical texts

Book Edition: Project Gutenberg digital edition Book Language: en

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Words 105,924

Reading time 461 min

Text sections 9

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Source: Project Gutenberg record #8815

Henry Blanc's 1868 captivity narrative combines a physician's clinical eye with a prisoner's constrained perspective, using precise descriptions of Abyssinian fortifications, grain stores, and prison huts to map the physical and social terrain of Theodore's court.

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The Emperor Theodore--His Rise and Conquests--His Army and Administration--Causes of his Fall--His Personal Appearance and Character--His Household and Private Life

Europeans in Abyssinia--Bell and Plowden--Their Career and Deaths--Consul Cameron--M. Lejean--M. Bardel and Napoleon's Answer to Theodore--The Gaffat People--Mr. Stern and the Djenda Mission--State of Affairs at the End of 1863

Imprisonment of Mr. Stern--Mr. Kerans arrives with Letters and Carpet--Cameron, with his Followers, is put in Chains--M. Bardel returns from the Soudan--Theodore's Dealings with Foreigners--The Coptic Patriarch--Abdul Rahman Bey--The Captivity of the Europeans explained

News of Cameron's Imprisonment reaches Home--Mr. Rassam is selected to proceed to the Court of Gondar, and is accompanied by Dr. Blanc--Delays and Difficulties in communicating with Theodore--Description of Massowah and its Inhabitants--Arrival of a Letter from the Emperor

From Massowah to Kassala--The Start--The Habab--Adventures of M. Marcopoli--The Beni Amer--Arrival at Kassala--The Nubian Mutiny--Attempt of De Bisson to found a Colony in the Soudan

Departure from Kassala--Sheik Abu Sin--Rumours of Theodore's Defeat by Tisso Gobazé--Arrival at Metemma--Weekly Market--The Takruries at Drill--Their Foray into Abyssinia--Arrival of Letters from Theodore

Entrance into Abyssinia--Altercation between Takruries and Abyssinians at Wochnee--Our Escort and Bearers--Applications for Medicine--First Reception by his Majesty--The Queen's Letter translated and Presents delivered--Accompany his Majesty through Metsha--His Conversation _en route_

Leave the Emperor's Camp for Kourata--The Tana Sea--The Abyssinian Navy--The Island of Dek--Arrival at Kourata--The Gaffat People and former Captives join us--Charges preferred against the Latter--First Visit to the Emperor's Camp at Zagé--Flattery before Coercion

Second Visit to Zagé--Arrest of Mr. Rassam and the English Officers --Charges brought against Mr. Rassam--The former Captives are brought in Chains to Zagé--Public Trial--Reconciliation--Mr. Flad's Departure --The Imprisonment at Zagé--Departure for Kourata

Second Residence at Kourata--Cholera and Typhus break out in the Camp--The Emperor resolves to march to Debra Tabor--Arrival at Gaffat--The Foundry transformed into a Palace--Political Trial at Debra Tabor--The Black Tent--Dr. Blanc and Mr. Rosenthal seized at Gaffat--Another Public Trial--The Black Hole--March with the Emperor to Aibankab--Sent to Magdala, and Arrival at the Amba

Our first House at Magdala--The Chief has a "little Business" with us--Feelings of a European when being put in Chains--The Operation described--The Prisoners' Toilette--How we Lived--Our first Messenger a Failure--How we obtained Money and Letters--A Magdala Diary--A Rainy Season in a Godjo

Description of Magdala--Climate and Water Supply--The Emperor's Houses--His Harem and Magazines--The Church--Prison-house--Guards and Gaol--Discipline--A previous Visit of Theodore to Magdala--Slaughter of the Gullas--Character and Antecedents of Samuel--Our friends, Zenab the Astronomer, and Meshisha the Lute-player--Day Guards--We build new Huts--Abyssinian and Portuguese Servants--Our Inclosure is enlarged

Theodore writes to Mr. Rassam about Mr. Flad and the Artisans--His two Letters contrasted--General Merewether arrives at Massowah--Danger of sending Letters to the Coast--Ras Engeddah brings us a few Stores--Our Garden--Successful Results of Vaccination at Magdala--Our Day Guard again--Second Rainy Season--The Chiefs are Jealous--The Ras and his Council--Damash, Hailo, Daily Life during Rainy Season--Two Prisoners attempt to Escape--The Knout in Abyssinia--A Dying Man's Prophecy

Second Rainy Season ends--Scarcity and dearness of Provisions--Meshisha and Comfou plot their Escape--They succeed--Theodore is robbed--Damash pursues the Fugitives--The Night Attack--The Galla War-cry, and the "Sauve qui peut"--The Wounded left on the Field--Hospitality of the Gallas--Theodore's Letter on the Subject--Mastiate's Troubles--Wakshum Gabra Medhin--Sketch of Gobaz's Career--He invites the Co-operation of the Bishop in seizing Magdala--The Bishop's plan--All the rival Chiefs intrigue for the Amba--Mr. Rassam's Influence overrated

Death of Abouna Salama--Sketch of his Life and Career--Grievances of Theodore against him--His Imprisonment at Magdala--The Wallo Gallas--Their Habits and Customs--Menilek appears with an Army in the Galla Country--His Policy--Advice sent to him by Mr. Rassam--He invests Magdala, and fires a _feu-de-joie_--The Queen's behavior --Steps taken by the Chiefs--Our Position not improved--The Effects of Smoke on Menilek--Our Disappointment followed by great Joy--We receive news of the Landing of British Troops

Theodore's Proceedings during our stay at Magdala--His treatment of Begemder--A Rebellion breaks out--Forced March on Gondar--The Churches are plundered and burnt--Theodore's Cruelties--The Insurgents increase in Strength--The Designs of the Emperor on Kourata frustrated--Mr. Bardel betrays the new Workmen--Theodore's Ingratitude towards the Gaffat People--His Raid on Foggara unsuccessful

Arrival of Mr. Flad from England--Delivers a Letter and Message from the Queen--The Episode of the Telescope--Our Property taken care of--Theodore will not yield except to Force--He recruits his Army--Ras Adilou and Zallallou desert him--He is repulsed at Belessa by Lij Abitou and the Peasants--The Expedition against Metraha--His Cruelties there--The great "Sebastopol" is cast--Famine and Pestilence compel the Emperor to raise his Camp--The difficulties of his March to Magdala--His arrival in Dalanta

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Henry Blanc's 1868 account of his imprisonment in Abyssinia under Emperor Theodore is structured as a movement between confined spaces and open camps, each described with a surgeon's attention to material detail. The narrative shifts from the crowded huts of Magdala's prison compound, where over six hundred captives were held, to the emperor's tent at Islamgee, which Theodore preferred to the larger houses on the amba. Blanc's descriptions of granaries with grain stored in leather bags, of huts built so close that fires spread rapidly, and of the bare church lacking even whitewash, ground the reader in a world where architecture reveals power and vulnerability.

The Amba as a Stage for Confinement

Blanc's depiction of Magdala, the mountain fortress where he was held, is organized around the physical layout of the amba. He distinguishes the emperor's wives' quarters, the granaries, the chiefs' houses, and the prison huts, each with a specific location relative to the precipice and the open spaces. The prison compound, described as "five or six huts inclosed by a strong fence," is placed precisely on the eastern slope, extending to the edge of the cliff. This spatial mapping serves not only as topography but as a diagram of social hierarchy and control: the Abouna's garden has become his prison, and the chiefs' consultation house sits within the magazine enclosure where they inspect the emperor's dwindling treasures. The repeated mention of fences and enclosures—separating the ladies' department, surrounding chiefs' dwellings, and confining prisoners—creates a sense of layered confinement that mirrors Blanc's own captivity.

Recurring Images of Fire and Decay

Throughout the excerpts, fire appears as a recurring threat and metaphor. Blanc notes that huts were built "in such close proximity that if a fire broke out, in a few seconds twenty or thirty houses were at once burnt to the ground." The only remedy was to pull down huts to leeward, a desperate measure that underscores the fragility of the settlement. This image of rapid conflagration contrasts with the careful storage of grain in leather bags, piled to the roof, and the covering of store-huts with black woollen cloth during the rainy season. The juxtaposition of combustible construction and meticulous preservation suggests a tension between order and chaos in Theodore's domain. Blanc also observes that the church walls were not whitewashed and that the enclosure was bare, lacking the juniper or sycamore trees that might have offered shade—details that hint at neglect or incompleteness in the emperor's religious projects.

Movement Between Camp and Fortress

Blanc's narrative traces a pattern of travel between the emperor's camp and fixed locations like Kourata and Magdala. The chapter titles indicate a rhythm of departure and return: from Massowah to Kassala, then to Metemma, and finally into Abyssinia. Within the excerpts, Theodore himself is shown moving between his tent at Islamgee and the amba, preferring the former. Blanc speculates that the emperor had "a particular objection to shutting himself up in the fort." This mobility contrasts with the static imprisonment of the Europeans, who are moved from one place of detention to another. The description of the weekly market at Metemma and the Takruries at drill suggests a world in motion, where armies and traders circulate, while the captives remain fixed in their enclosures. The tension between movement and stasis becomes a structural principle of the narrative.

The Emperor's Household as a Microcosm

Blanc's account of the amba's inhabitants—the wives, concubines, eunuchs, female slaves, chiefs, soldiers, priests, and prisoners—presents the fortress as a self-contained society. He notes that the granaries held enough grain for six months, and that the chiefs met weekly to inspect the treasures. The prison alone contained no fewer than six hundred and sixty people. This enumeration of persons and provisions gives a sense of scale and organization. Yet the description of the church as small and unadorned, lacking the customary representations of saints, and the mention that the Abouna's pied-à-terre had become his prison, suggest a community under strain. The emperor's accumulation of wealth—muskets, books, carpets, silks, gold—at Magdala in his final year is presented as a last resort, a gathering of remnants. Blanc's clinical eye records both the abundance and the decay, leaving the reader to infer the fragility of this world.

Readers approaching Blanc's narrative should attend to the way he uses physical space—the layout of huts, the position of fences, the height of grain piles—to convey the conditions of captivity and the character of Theodore's court. His medical background lends precision to observations of disease, fire, and storage, but the account remains that of a prisoner whose knowledge is limited by his confinement. The gaps in the excerpts, particularly the missing chapters, mean that the full arc of the captivity and the expedition's outcome must be sought in the complete text.

Years among shelves teach one to notice quiet kinship. Dr. Blanc’s captivity, measuring Theodore’s fortress walls, shares a patient watchfulness with History of Friedrich II of Prussia — Volume 16 — Themes and Context—both chroniclers pause at the ordinary, the storied grain and guardroom, to understand a sovereign’s grip. Such books sit well side by side, each a steady lantern held to distant power.