'Promis'd horrors of the French invasion, - or - forcible reasons for negotiating a regicide peace'
14 of 14 portraits of Thomas Townshend, 1st Viscount Sydney
'Promis'd horrors of the French invasion, - or - forcible reasons for negotiating a regicide peace'
by James Gillray, published by Hannah Humphrey
hand-coloured etching and aquatint, published 20 October 1796
12 3/4 in. x 17 1/4 in. (325 mm x 437 mm) paper size
Purchased, 1947
Reference Collection
NPG D12579
Artistsback to top
- James Gillray (1756-1815), Caricaturist. Artist or producer associated with 887 portraits, Sitter in 7 portraits.
- Hannah Humphrey (circa 1745-1818), Publisher and printseller. Artist or producer associated with 720 portraits, Sitter in 1 portrait.
Sittersback to top
- Richard Pepper Arden, 1st Baron Alvanley (1744-1804), Judge. Sitter in 14 portraits. Identify
- Francis Russell, 5th Duke of Bedford (1765-1802), Whig politician and agriculturist. Sitter associated with 39 portraits. Identify
- Edmund Burke (1729-1797), Statesman; orator; author. Sitter associated with 107 portraits. Identify
- George Canning (1770-1827), Prime Minister. Sitter associated with 64 portraits. Identify
- Edward Smith Stanley, 12th Earl of Derby (1752-1834), Sportsman and patron of horse-racing. Sitter associated with 65 portraits. Identify
- Thomas Erskine, 1st Baron Erskine (1750-1823), Lord Chancellor. Sitter associated with 69 portraits. Identify
- Charles James Fox (1749-1806), Whig statesman. Sitter associated with 313 portraits. Identify
- Frederick, Duke of York and Albany (1763-1827), Commander-in-Chief of the Army; son of George III. Sitter associated with 73 portraits. Identify
- King George IV (1762-1830), Regent 1811-19; Reigned 1820-30. Sitter associated with 274 portraits. Identify
- Augustus Henry FitzRoy, 3rd Duke of Grafton (1735-1811), Prime Minister. Sitter in 27 portraits. Identify
- William Wyndham Grenville, 1st Baron Grenville (1759-1834), Prime Minister. Sitter associated with 70 portraits. Identify
- William Petty, 1st Marquess of Lansdowne (1737-1805), Prime Minister and patron of the arts. Sitter associated with 68 portraits. Identify
- James Maitland, 8th Earl of Lauderdale (1759-1839), Scottish politician and author of 'Inquiry into the Nature and Origin of Public Wealth'. Sitter associated with 37 portraits. Identify
- Robert Banks Jenkinson, 2nd Earl of Liverpool (1770-1828), Prime Minister. Sitter associated with 59 portraits. Identify
- Henry Dundas, 1st Viscount Melville (1742-1811), Statesman. Sitter associated with 82 portraits. Identify
- Charles Howard, 11th Duke of Norfolk (1746-1815), Politician; MP for Carlise and Arundel. Sitter associated with 55 portraits. Identify
- William Pitt (1759-1806), Prime Minister. Sitter associated with 174 portraits. Identify
- Charles Lennox, 3rd Duke of Richmond and Lennox (1735-1806), Field Marshal, ambassador to France and politician, Secretary of State for the Southern Department. Sitter in 28 portraits. Identify
- Alexander Wedderburn, 1st Earl of Rosslyn (Lord Loughborough) (1733-1805), Lord Chancellor. Sitter associated with 33 portraits. Identify
- Richard Brinsley Sheridan (1751-1816), Dramatist and parliamentary orator. Sitter associated with 168 portraits. Identify
- Charles Stanhope, 3rd Earl Stanhope (1753-1816), Scientist and politician; MP for Wycombe. Sitter associated with 46 portraits. Identify
- Thomas Townshend, 1st Viscount Sydney (1733-1800), Statesman. Sitter in 14 portraits. Identify
- Michael Angelo Taylor (circa 1757-1834), Barrister and politician; MP for Poole, Ilchester and City of Durham. Sitter associated with 35 portraits. Identify
- John Thelwall (1764-1834), Reformer and elocutionist. Sitter in 12 portraits. Identify
- King William IV (1765-1837), Reigned 1830-37. Sitter associated with 175 portraits. Identify
- William Windham (1750-1810), Politician; Secretary at War. Sitter associated with 52 portraits. Identify
This portraitback to top
A satire on the Opposition and the possibilities of invasion, on Pitt's peace overtures and Burke's pamphlets, Thoughts on a Regicide Peace. French troops march up St James's Street; Pitt, tied to a 'tree of Liberty' is flogged by Fox. Burke is tossed by the ox (Duke of Bedford). The French raiding White's toss the Royal Dukes over the balcony; the Opposition holds Brooks's with Sheridan taking in the spoils.
Linked publicationsback to top
- Holmes, Richard, The Romantic Poets and Their Circle, 2013, p. 52
- Holmes, Richard, Insights: The Romantic Poets and Their Circle, 2005, p. 40
Placesback to top
- Place made: United Kingdom: England, London (37 New Bond Street, London)
- Place portrayed: United Kingdom: England, London (St James's Street, London)
Events of 1796back to top
Current affairs
Birth of Princess Charlotte, only child of George, Prince of Wales and Princess Caroline whose marriage soon quickly and publicly degenerates.Art and science
Fanny Burney publishes Camilla, one of several influential novels exploring social misunderstanding and the fashionable mode of sensibility.Architect William Chambers completes the building of Somerset House.
Collector William Beckford, the richest man in England, begins construction of his gothic fantasy Fonthill Abbey.
International
Napoleon Bonaparte assumes command of the French armies in Italy and defeats the Austrians at Millesimo and the Piedmontese at Mondovi.Arthur Wellesley, later Duke of Wellington, arrives in India as a colonel.
John Adams is elected President of the United States, defeating Thomas Jefferson by three votes.
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