On April 13, 1868, British troops entered Magdala, a mountain fortress in Ethiopia and the stronghold of Emperor Tewodros II. The expedition, led by Sir Robert Napier, was a military campaign. The British won and then looted the city.

They moved through Magdala taking items systematically. Churches and monasteries were stripped of large numbers of handwritten manuscripts written in Ge’ez, covering religion, law, medicine, governance, history, and astronomy. Crowns, ceremonial crosses, royal objects, and sacred tabots were also taken.

After the looting, the city was burned.

Following the invasion, stolen items were divided among officers, auctioned to soldiers, or shipped to Britain. Over time, many of the manuscripts and objects ended up in British institutions such as the British Museum, the Victoria and Albert Museum, and the Bodleian Library at Oxford, while others entered private collections.

Ethiopia was never colonized, so this was not administration but invasion and theft. The removal of books and sacred objects helped erase evidence of Ethiopia’s long tradition of written knowledge and scholarship, making it easier to later claim that Africa lacked recorded history and intellectual systems.

EPISODE 3: THE ASHANTI GOLDEN STOOL.

In January 1896, the British entered Kumasi pretending to bring peace but came for the Ashanti Empire’s true treasure—its gold, its pride, and above all, the sacred Golden Stool, the spiritual heart of the Ashanti people. Governor Hodgson’s demand to sit on the stool sparked outrage and ignited resistance. From this rose Yaa Asantewaa, the queen mother who rallied the Ashanti to fight when the men hesitated. The Yaa Asantewaa War of 1900 became a fierce battle as the Ashanti defended their heritage against British forces armed with Maxim guns.

Though the British eventually captured Kumasi and looted vast royal treasures now displayed in European museums, they never found the Golden Stool. It remained—and still remains—protected.

The episode ends by questioning Africans today: while the Ashanti protected their sacred symbol, modern leaders surrender culture, pride, and sovereignty for foreign approval. The message warns that colonizers once stole gold and artifacts—but today, they steal meaning, identity, and dignity, because we no longer defend them like the Ashanti once did.

This episode captures the Ekumeku movement in Anioma and the Arochukwu movement in Today’s Abia. This episode explains the resilience and strength of these people. It exposes the thievery of the colonial Brits.