Promis'd Horrors of the French Invasion, or Forcible reasons for negotiating a regicide peace

Promis'd Horrors of the French Invasion, or Forcible reasons for negotiating a regicide peace

French troops with fixed bayonets march up St. James’s Street. In the center foreground a ‘tree of Liberty” has been planted, topped with the bonnet-rouge. To the pole of the ‘tree’ William Pitt, stripped to the waist, is tied. Charles James Fox, flogs Pitt ferociously with a birch-rod in each hand. The scene references the falling of the British crown, led by Fox: the palace is in flames in the background and the streets are filled with close ranks of French soldiers. This print emphasizes Gillray’s negative reception to Fox’s alliance with the French.

James Gillray

The British Museum

Hannah Humphrey

Published 20 October 1796 in London

The British Museum

© Trustees of the British Museum

Hand-colored etching

Image: 32.3 x 43.2 cm

Still Image