Gillray Galleries: List of Works 1779 — 1788 1788 — 1793 The Golden Age of the English Engraver

Books on William Hogarth

Books on James Gillray

© Great Caricatures
2023

The DUTCH DIVISIONS

Wright & Evans Description | British Museum Description

Hand-colored Engraving
Published June 23, 1787
by S.W. Fores, No. 3 Piccadilly
5"h x 8"w

Wright and Evans Description (More ...)

Not included.

British Museum Description by M. Dorothy George (More ...)

7171 THE DUTCH DIVISIONS.
Plenipotentiary N. 4
Pub^d June 23^rd 1787, by S.W. Fores, N^o 3. Piccadilly.

Four monarchs divide between them a map of the territories of the Dutch Republic, all saying, Let as support the poor Dutch! In the background (l.) the Stadt House falls in ruins, and on a small rock in the sea inscribed Texel a fat Dutchman in back view, looking out to sea, says, Now, I am an Absolute Monarch; the words ascend in the smoke of his pipe. He holds a sword and is surrounded by cackling geese.

All four sovereigns hold the map, and all shed tears: George III (r.) tugs at it with both hands, tearing off a piece inscribed Good Hope, Java, Saha, Eustatia, Curac, Bonaire (?), Coruba, St Martins, Surinam. Frederick William of Prussia (l.), seated on the ground, wearing a fool's cap decorated with the skull and cross-hones of the Death's Head Hussars, uses a dagger to cut off a piece containing Friesland, Groningen, Overyisel, and Ceylon. The Emperor Joseph, standing opposite Frederick William, slices the map with a large sword, securing Utrecht, Zalper (?),Holland, Moiucca Islands. Between Joseph and George III LouisXVI, dressed as a French fop, uses a pair of shears to cut off Guelderland, Zeeland, Rotterda[m], and Hague.

At this time there was virtual civil war in Holland between the Patriots, relying on French support, and the Orangists. The concerted action of England and Prussia to prevent an oligarchic republic subservient to France (which proved successful ... ) was not yet agreed upon, Prussia fearing the intervention of Joseph II. The print anticipates Pitt's letter (2 Aug.) to Cornwallis ordering him to seize Trincomalee should hostilities begin, possibly foreshadowing an attack on the Cape of Good Hope.