Farmer George's Wonderful Monkey, 1795
O'Keefe depicts Prime Minister William Pitt as King George III's monkey - implying that he is an instrument of royal will. The caption declares he is an Offspring of the Devils'. This print caricatures Pitt at the height of his unpopularity. The war against France was going badly, and there were riots after a bad harvest had pushed up bread prices. Pitt had also recently introduced deeply unpopular taxes on popular items such as wine, tea, coffee and spirits
Picture No
11099620
Media ID
46672671
Size
3404px x 4783px
(5.0MB)
Credit
© Historic Royal Palaces / Mary Evans Picture Library
Source
William O'Keefe
Date
20 July 1795
