After the French and Indian War's conclusion, Great Britain had excessive debt. The war itself had cost the Britons over 133 million pounds--doubling their national debt. Leaders searched for a way to relieve the strain and turned to the American colonists where they began to require increased taxation. The "Britons demanded that Parliament find new sources of revenue in the colonies" (Taylor, 51). The colonists, after all, only paid 1 shilling per capita as compared to the 26 shillings the Britons were paying. Of course, as the taxes began to be applied, the American colonists reacted harshly and many satirists were sympathetic to their pain.
Victory had not come cheap, for the conflict nearly doubled the British national debt . . . Britons insisted that colonists should pay new and higher taxes as the chief beneficiaries of an expensive war. After making such a major investment of men and money to fight in North American, Britain's rulers were not about to revert to their prewar policy of neglecting the colonies. During the war, British officers and officials had discovered just how prosperous the colonists had become" (Taylor, 51).
An Exciseman made out of ye Necessaries of Life now Tax'd in Great Britain. Anon., 1763, British Museum
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This symbolic figure is a concoction of the items on which the people in Great Britain were taxed. His shoulders are a bottle of cider, arms are of candles, the body is a barrel of beer, the sword is a gage, his breeches are of leather, his legs are soap and his feet are chocolate. On each side he is pointing to tea and coffee containers. In the background, there is a sun rising. The light coming into the image seems to symbolize that they were taxed for an excess number of windows in their houses. Of course, he is standing on land which was also substantially taxed.
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As Great Britain worked to balance the enormous debt, this work was published depicting George Grenville, in the middle, holding the deeply tipped scale on which he is trying to balance the national debt.
Those he is working with are "idiot" economies. America is the kneeling Native with a feather crown and a heavy yoke about the neck--signifying taxation without representation. He holds a bag of dollars and is crying "Commerce will outweigh it". Behind him, the tax collectors are digging into the bags of money. William Pitt is to the left of Grenville saying the "Conquests will balance it." Meanwhile, Grenville's assistant is trying help balance the scale by paring the ends of candles and adding various other small portioned items to the tray. All this occurs while Britannica looks on from a toppling throne being dismantled by a monkey. A broken spear lays at her feet and the whole scene is being looked down upon by Spain and France who are greatly enjoying the spectacle. |
The Great Financier, Anon., - 1765, Library of Congress
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A View of the Year 1765 - Paul Revere, 1765, Massachusetts Historical Society
When the colonists began paying taxes, one of the acts that incurred the most severe outcry was the Stamp Act of 1765.
This allegory features a dragon holding a copy of the Magna Carta--a document all British held in the highest regard, while the colonial men are backing it up on the edge of a cliff. Under the dragon are two martyrs who are depicted as Pym (a known critic of the king) and Anti-Sejanus (Sejanus was used as a symbol for absolute monarchy). The attacking men are depicted with letters above their head indicating who or what they represent. The closest is Boston labeled with a "B". Then, working right to left, there is Rhode Island (R-I) and Hampden (H) who created the idea of no taxation without representation during the English Civil War. Next is a clergyman holding gun and a woman representing Virginia (V) with a liberty pole. Continuing left are four other men whom Revere calls United Provinces (U). Behind the dragon is a figure hanging from the liberty tree and is discussed in the poem. His name is John Huske. He aspired to be treasurer for the British government and had just given a report to the British parliament declaring that the colonies were in a rebellious state. Minerva, the goddess of wisdom, flies overhead on the left while on the right are two demons depicting two prominent British politicians who are spraying the men with a syringe. |
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[The text below the print] The Repeal. Or the Funeral Procession, of Miss Americ-Stamp. Over the Vault are placed two Skeleton Heads. Their elevation on Poles, and the dates of the two Rebellion Years, sufficiently shew what Party they espoused, and in what cause they suffered an ignominious Exit. |
The Repeal or the Funeral Procession of Miss Americ-Stamp - Benjamin Wilson, 1766, Princeton University
The Stamp Act was thought necessary to help with the burden of debt. "During the debates over the Stamp Act's repeal, Lord Lyttleton claimed that only an American revenue could alleviate the 'dreadful' burdens on the 'gentry and people of this Kingdom" (Brunsman, 29). After only four months, the Stamp Act was repealed.
In this image, the funeral procession of Miss America Stamp is lead by Dr. Scott who famously wrote the Anti-Sejanus letters severely rebuffing Lord Bute. The use of a dog as a symbol is common in political satire. In this case, when the dog is urinating, it is showing scorn and distrust. Behind them, "Scott is followed by Solicitor-General Wedderburn and Attorney General Fletcher Norton, carrying flags that display the vote against the repeal" (Princeton, 2010). Next, is George Grenville who carries a coffin of the four month old Miss America Stamp. In the harbor are three ships representing Prime Minister Rockingham and his advisers. This print was so popular that the publishers could not keep up with the demand. |
The Statue or the Adoration of the Wise-Men of the West - Anon., 1766, Library of Congress
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Print shows Dr. W. Scott on a pedestal, he is wearing clerical robes, a crown fashioned from tobacco leaves, and holding a branch from an apple tree in his right hand and a picture of the tax stamp; around the pedestal are standing Mr. Wedderburn, the Earl of Halifax, Lord Sandwich (Jemmy Twitcher), George Grenville, the Duke of Bedford, and Sir Fletcher Norton. The wife of a weaver wearing ragged dress, with her two children, kneels at the base of the pedestal" (Library of Congress, 2019) |
Miss America Stamp is safely interred in the vault behind closed doors and the members of the funeral procession have built their own statue to replace William Pitt--Dr. Scott who had campaigned for the Stamp Act. Dr. Scott is also being approached by a nymph labeled as "Repeal" who is holding a cat-o'-nine whip used for discipline.
Britannia, as the Roman general Belisarius, is dismembered, her torso leaning against a globe with a banner "Date Obolum Belli Sario" (give a penny for Bellisarius) and her arms and legs, labeled "Virg-", "Pennsyl-", "New York", and "New Eng-" are scattered on the ground before her, an olive branch has dropped from one hand. Idle ships sit in the harbor in the backgound and a broken tree on the right mimics Britannia. The scene emphasizes America's poverty as a result of the Stamp Act" (Library if Congress, 2019) |
The Colonies Reduced - Benjamin Franklin, 1768, Library of Congress
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Benjamin Franklin originally used a print similar to this when lobbying for the repeal of the Stamp Act. The woman is Britannia who has had her limbs separated from her body. The moral was that in the long run, it would be Britain who would suffer from alienating her colonies. She would fall from the top of the world and become a beggar. This print was also republished just after the Townshend duties were issued in 1768.