(or) a new planetary system
published at the height of napoleon's reign, this drawing shows britain (john bull) sitting complacently with his pipe and tankard of ale, surrounded by the british navy and seal. Outside that protection stand malevolent forces ready to attack if his guard is dropped. The most malevolent force is napoleon, depicted as a comet. The russian bear is shown to be two-headed and identified as an appendage to the comet because of a treaty signed at tilsit between napoleon and czar alexander after napoleon's victory at friedland. This secret treaty stipulated that if britain rejected russia's mediation for a general peace, russia would join the continental system (a blockade that closed continental ports to trade with britain). If turkey refused french mediation, napoleon would join alexander in partitioning turkey. The tilsit treaty marked a major reversal of alliances. The american torpedo (a ray-fish which discharges electricity) refers to an expected rupture with america due to the chesapeake affair. In that attack on american sovereignty, the british navy fired on the chesapeake, then boarded her to arrest four deserters from the royal navy. The problem was that three of those men were american citizens who had been kidnapped and pressed into british service. Reference source: george #10768. Subjects (lcsh): political cartoons; history--caricatures & cartoons; napoleon i, emperor of the french, 1769-1821; napoleonic wars, 1800-1815. Date: 1807. Place of creation: Cheapside, London. Medium: etching. Collection: University of Washington. Malignant Aspects looking with envy on John Bull and his Satelites (NAPOLEON 139)
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