This anti-American mezzotint, created by Philip Dawe, satirized the widespread use of physical violence in 18th century American colonial society.
Printed in London on Februrary 16, 1775, the cartoon depicts a scene in Williamsburg, when Patriots erected a scaffold from which they hung a cask of tar and a barrel of feathers. The Patriots compelled merchants to appear and sign an endorsement of the Articles of Association, agreeing to the embargo – nonimportation, nonexportation, and nonconsumption – against England.
This satirical cartoon depicts a diverse crowd of common people pressuring elite Virginians to sign the Continental Association (commonly known as the Articles of Association). The presence of women reflects their centrality—as conspicuous nonconsumers—to the boycott. Some wealthy colonists who profited from the British trade were reluctant to join the Association.
Text adapted from “”The Alternative of Williamsburg”: A British Cartoon on Colonial American Violence” in the April/May 1996 National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS) publication Social Education.
