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British conquest · 1905–1906

Dr Stewart and the Ahiara expedition

In 1905 the Bende–Onitsha Hinterland Expedition was pushing British control through the Igbo country between Bende and Owerri.

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Overview

In 1905 the Bende–Onitsha Hinterland Expedition was pushing British control through the Igbo country between Bende and Owerri. Dr Stewart, a British medical officer, cycled into Mbaise, was seized, and was killed. The people took him for Harold Douglas, the District Commissioner of Owerri, whose brutality they hated. Captain Fox’s columns searched for Ahiara in December 1905, and the punitive Ahiara expedition of 1906 burned towns across Mbaise and Mbano. Villages that took up arms with machetes and charms against Maxim guns suffered heavy losses.[1],[2]Medium confidence

Who took part

  • British forces· Colonial force
  • The Mbaise and Mbano towns· Rose up

What happened

  1. November 1905 · Ezinihitte, Mbaise (approximate)

    Dr Stewart killed

    Dr Stewart is captured and killed in Mbaise, at Onicha in Ezinihitte by some accounts and at Obizi by others, mistaken for the District Commissioner Harold Douglas.[1]Disputed

  2. 1906 · Ahiara

    Ahiara burned

    The punitive expedition burns Ahiara and neighbouring towns and forces their submission.[1]Medium confidence

Sources

Every claim carries a confidence level: high (well attested), medium (one source or approximate) or disputed (sources disagree).

  1. The Killing of Dr. Stewart and the Brutal Ahiara Expedition of 1905. Ozi Ikòrò (cited elsewhere, not yet checked directly)
  2. Wikipedia contributors. Hugh Trenchard in Nigeria (cited elsewhere, not yet checked directly)