Editing Tewodros II (section)

== Description ==

The British Consul [[Walter Plowden]] knew well the political events of Ethiopia during the 1850s and had foretold the rising star of Kassa the freelance warrior from [[Qwara Province|Qwara]].

When being crowned as King, Plowden described him as such:

{{blockquote|The King Theodorus is young in years, vigorous in all manly exercises, of a striking countenance, peculiarly polite and engaging when pleased, and mostly displaying great tact and delicacy. He is persuaded that he is destined to restore the glories of the [[Ethiopian Empire]] and to achieve great conquests: of untiring energy, both mental and bodily, his personal and moral daring is boundless... When aroused his wrath is terrible, and all tremble; but at all moments he possesses a perfect self-control. Indefatigable in business, he takes little repose night or day: his ideas and language are clear and precise; hesitation is not known to him; and has no counsellors or go-between. He is fond of splendour, and received in state even on a campaign. He is unsparing in punishment – necessary in a wilderness as Abyssinia (at that time). He salutes his meanest (poor) subjects with courtesy, is sincerely though often mistakenly religious, and will acknowledge a fault committed to his poorest follower in a moment of compassion with sincerity and grace. He is generous to excess, and free from all cupidity, regarding nothing with pleasure or desire but munitions of war for his soldiers. He has exercised the utmost clemency towards the vanquished, treating them more like friends than enemies. His faith is signal: without Christ I am nothing.}}

The French explorer, geographer, ethnologist, linguist and astronomer [[Antoine Thomson d'Abbadie|Antoine Thomson D'Abbadie]] describes him during his stay in Ethiopia:<ref>{{cite book|last=d'Abbadie |first=Antoine |title= L'Abyssinie et le roi Théodore|page= <!-- or pages= -->26|date=1868|url=https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k106152m/f25.item}}</ref>

{{blockquote|I saw Kasa, or Theodore, frequently at Gondar in 1848. He was dressed as a simple soldier, and had nothing, either in his features or language, which presaged his high destiny. He loved to speak of fire-arms. He was about twenty-eight years old; his face rather black than red; his figure slim; and his agility seemed to arise less from his muscular power than from that of his will. His forehead is high and almost convex; his nose slightly aquiline, a frequent characteristic of the pure-blooded Amaras.}}

[[Georg Wilhelm Schimper]] the German botanist had mentioned the following about Tewodros:
{{blockquote|Theodore, the new King of Kings of Ethiopia, was certainly the most remarkable man that has appeared in Africa for some centuries. At the date of his assumption of the regal title, Theodore was thirty-seven years of age, of medium stature but possessing a well-knit muscular frame capable of ensuring any amount of fatigue – a noble bearing and a majestic walk – and he was the best shot, the best spearmen, the best runner, and the best horseman in Abyssinia.}}The French traveler [[Émile Jonveaux]], described him as: <blockquote>The Négus Theodore, King of the kings of Ethiopia, had none of the insignia of sovereign majesty. Clothed very simply, he handled the pickaxe and the hammer like the lowest of his workmen, with the view of encouraging them by his example. He was in all things the man of energy, the fierce hero, of whom M. Lejean, who knew him intimately enough to call him his "terrible friend," has traced so life-like a portrait. He was about fifty years of age; of medium stature, with muscular limbs, a swarthy complexion, and features of remarkable beauty.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Jonveaux |first=Émile |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=98ENAAAAQAAJ&q=simply |title=Two Years in East Africa: Adventures in Abyssinia and Nubia, with a Journey to the Sources of the Nile |date=1875 |publisher=T. Nelson and Sons |language=en}}</ref></blockquote>The British geographer [[Clements Markham]], mentioned the following about him:<blockquote>He was a genius, and a very remarkable one. It is a misuse of terms to call him a savage, except in the sense that Peter the Great was a savage. They were both born kings of men; both endowed with military genius; both lovers of the mechanical arts; both possessed of dauntless courage; and, while capable of noble and generous acts, both were frequently guilty of perpetrating most horrible atrocities.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Markham |first1=Sir Clements Robert |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=oRBDAAAAcAAJ&q=remarkable |title=A History of the Abyssinian Expedition |last2=Prideaux |first2=William Francis |date=1869 |publisher=Macmillan |language=en}}</ref></blockquote>