William Petty, Lord Shelburne, braces himself against the door to the Treasury in order to resist the pull of the rope tied around his waist. He is helped by John Dunning dressed in legal wig and cloak. The four men attempting to remove Shelburne from the Treasury are, from left to right, Charles James Fox, intent on forming a new administration; Admiral Augustus Keppel and the 3rd Duke of Richmond, both members of the Shelburne administration but opposing Shelburne; and Edmund Burke, later paymaster-general in the Fox-North administration
Description:
Title etched below image., Sheet trimmed within plate mark., and The figure on the right identified by George as Edmund Burke is identified here as Lord John Cavendish.
Publisher:
Pub. Jan. 9th, 1783 by W. Humphrey, No. 227 Strand
Subject (Geographic):
England and Great Britain
Subject (Name):
Lansdowne, William Petty, Marquis of, 1737-1805., Dunning, John, Baron Ashburton, 1731-1783., Fox, Charles James, 1749-1806., Keppel, Augustus Keppel, Viscount, 1725-1786., Richmond, Charles Lennox, 3rd Duke of, 1735-1806., and Burke, Edmund, 1729-1797.
Subject (Topic):
Ropes, Tug of war, Military uniforms, British, Clothing & dress, and Politics and government, 1760-1789
Three American Indians are shown killing six loyalists as the result of the 1783 peace treaty preliminaries. On the left, an Indian pulling on the rope attached to the nooses of two military officers and two civilians hanged from a limb of a dead tree says, "I have them all in a String." The limb is inscribed, "Recommended to Congress by Lord S___e [Shelburne]." Below, another Indian with a large knife in his hand pulls the hair of a loyalist lying on the ground saying, "I'll scalp him." To their right, a loyalist kneeling on the ground and looking with horror over his shoulder at the Indian with a raised tomahawk says, "O Cruel Fate! is this the Return for Our Loyalty," to which the Indian responds, "I'll tomahawk the Dog."
Alternative Title:
Cruel fate of the loyalists
Description:
Title from item. and Date, including day, in lower right corner of the design. The day of publication not given in British Museum catalogue.
Publisher:
Sold by W. Humphrey No 227 Strand
Subject (Geographic):
United States and Great Britain
Subject (Name):
Lansdowne, William Petty, Marquis of, 1737-1805.
Subject (Topic):
Indians of North America, Hangings, Scalping, Massacres, Clothing & dress, Military uniforms, British, Headdresses, Tomahawks, Politics and government, and History