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Mint:
London
Artist:
Wyon, Leonard Charles
Artist:
Poynter, Edward John
Ruler:
Victoria (1837-1901)
Ruler:
Victoria regina
(With the title of)
Peace-keeping operations in the British possessions in Africa, as anywhere else, required a large number of small campaigns, several of which, from 1892 until 1900, were considered to merit this medal, which in terms of design is a continuation of the Ashantee War Medal. Recipients who held that medal already were therefore awarded only extra clasps.
Witu was a small state in what is now Kenya. Established in 1858 as a colony of the Sultanate of Patu, in 1885 it became the German Protectorate of Wituland by an arrangement in which the German Tana Company protected the state from the political threat of Zanzibar. In 1890 the Heligoland-Zanzibar Treaty saw the Protectorate ceded to British East Africa. In 1891, however, a new Sultan, Fumo Umar ibn Ahmad, succeeded, and his actions were considered less than helpful by the British. As a result, a small punitive expedition was sent in 1893, which landed at the island town of Lamu in the Sultan's home state of Pate (now also in Kenya). As a result Fumo Umar was briefly deposed, but returned to the throne in 1895.
This medal was awarded to Shipwright F. Stephens, who served in HMS Blanche, one of the three vessels from which the expedition was landed. Lester Watson purchased the medal from the London dealers Spink at some point before 1928.
History note: Gift of L. Hoyt Watson; ex Lester Watson Collection, bt Spink before 1928
Given by Lester Watson through Cambridge in America, 2009
Diameter: 36.3 mm
Weight: 38.56 g
Method of acquisition: Given (2009) by Watson, Lester
1893 CE - 1900 CE
Inscription present: Bust of Victoria facing left with veil
Inscription present: Scene of bush fighting around tree with fallen African to fore
Accession number: CM.1207-2009
Primary reference Number: 141301
Watson Catalogue: 100
Ordering: M-0090
Previous object number: LW.0090
Stable URI
Owner or interested party:
The Fitzwilliam Museum
Associated department:
Coins and Medals
This record can be cited in the Harvard Bibliographic style using the text below:
The Fitzwilliam Museum (2024) "East and West Africa Medal (1887-1900)" Web page available at: https://collection.beta.fitz.ms/id/object/141301 Accessed: 2024-11-05 03:29:19
To cite this record on Wikipedia you can use this code snippet:
{{cite web|url=https://collection.beta.fitz.ms/id/object/141301
|title=East and West Africa Medal (1887-1900)
|author=The Fitzwilliam Museum|accessdate=2024-11-05 03:29:19|publisher=The
University of Cambridge}}
To call these data via our API (remember this needs to be authenticated) you can use this code snippet:
https://collection.beta.fitz.ms/api/v1/objects/object-141301
To use this as a simple code embed, copy this string:
<div class="text-center">
<figure class="figure">
<img src="https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/imagestore/cm/cm15/LW_0090_281_29.jpg"
alt="East and West Africa Medal (1887-1900)"
class="img-fluid" />
<figcaption class="figure-caption text-info">East and West Africa Medal (1887-1900)</figcaption>
</figure>
</div>
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