Global Encounters and the Archives: Britain’s Empire in the Age of Horace Walpole
Item
The Able Doctor, or, America Swallowing the Bitter Draught, April 1774
Title
The Able Doctor, or, America Swallowing the Bitter Draught, April 1774
Description
In this print, Lord Mansfield restrains "America," figured as an indigenous woman whose garments have been stripped to her waist. Lord North forces tea down her throat and John Montague, 4th Earl of Sandwich, looks beneath her skirts. Britain's punitive response to the infamous Boston Tea Party –including the Boston Port Bill, which demanded that Boston repay the empire for the destroyed goods –is configured as sexual assault, with "France" and "Spain" looking on. "Britannia" covers her face in distress. "Martial Law" (far right) is personified as a man standing with his legs spread wide, holding a large phallic sword in his right hand. Catalog Record
Contributor
Lewis Walpole Library, Yale University Library
Creator
Anonymous
