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Period: to
17th - 20th Century
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The Absolutism of Marie Antoinette & Louis XVI
''The two only make one'.
Print of Louis XVI and Marie-Antoinette satirically portrayed as a double ended beast. Louis XVI bears the horns of a cuckold, which mirrors the rumours of his wife's extra-marital activities. Marie-Antoinette bears Medusa-like hair combined of peacock feathers and snakes, symbolizing her frivolity and deceitful nature.
This illustration reflects the negative perception of the affluent and endulging Royal couple in a time of financial crisis. -
The threat of Napoleonic Imperialism for the rest of Europe
The plumb-pudding in danger: - or - state epicures taking un petit souper' (William Pitt; Napoleon Bonaparte). A caricature by James Gillray.
William Pitt calmly claims the oceans and West Indies while Napoleon is pictured as greedingly scooping up Europe, portrayed by the British satirist as an Imperialist threat. -
Socio-Economic Inequalities of the Industrial Revolution
''Capital and Labour'', editorial cartoon from Punch Magazine, Britain.
Represents the divide between the working class and the upper class in the age of the Industrial Revolution. The workers (adult and children) in coal mines suffering from exploitation, exhaustion, disabilities, and disease are sustaining the wealthy industrialists and aristocrat living in luxury. -
Exploitation Colonialism
Through the Second Industrial Revolution, an increased wave of Colonialism which saw the Scramble for Africa.
Illustration depicting King of Belgium Leopold II as a snake constraining a man representing the Congolese population, a symbol of how hw abused human rights while exploiting resources and acted with deceit and slyness. -
The buildup to World War One: an entangled alliance system
Illustration showing the irony of the alliance system which lead to war in 1914. Serbia is seen as the smallest character, backed by the impeding successive threat of Austria, Russia, Germany, France and the UK. The caption reads ''If Austria attacks Serbia, Russia will fall upon Austria, Germany upon Russia, and France and England upon Germany.” -
Nazi Germany's Anti-Semit Propaganda Campaign
The caption signifies “One can do anything to those Goyim. Our people crucified their Christ on the cross, and we do a great business on his birthday....”. This is an example of how cartoons were also used as tools of propaganda within repressive regimes, in this case contributing to painting the image of Jewish people as evil, corrupt, and unfairly profiting from the German economy.
