The Alternative of WIlliams-Burg

Attributed to Philip Dawe British

Publisher Robert Sayer and John Bennett British

February 16, 1775

Not on view

This political satire published in London shows rough looking "Sons of Liberty" at Williamsburg, Virginia urging planters to sign a pledge of loyalty to anti-British actions passed by the Continental Congress. After the Boston Tea party of December 1773, the British parliament passed the "Intolerable Acts" that imposed further duties on their American colonies. In August 1774 the Williamsburg Resolutions were issued in response and local planters were pressured to stop exporting tobacco until the new taxes are repealed. Those reluctant to do so are here threatened with being tarred and feathered, with those elements hanging from a gibbet in the background.

Artwork Details

Title: The Alternative of WIlliams-Burg
Artist: Attributed to Philip Dawe (British, ca. 1745–1809?)
Publisher: Robert Sayer and John Bennett (British, active 1774–83)
Date: February 16, 1775
Medium: Mezzotint
Dimensions: plate: 13 7/8 x 10 in. (35.2 x 25.4 cm)
sheet: 15 15/16 x 11 1/2 in. (40.5 x 29.2 cm)
Classification: Prints
Credit Line: Gift of William H. Huntington, 1883
Object Number: 83.2.182
Curatorial Department: Drawings and Prints

More Artwork

By Philip Dawe

In the same medium

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The Patriotick Barber of New York, or the Captain in Suds, Philip Dawe British, Mezzotint — The Patriotick Barber of New York, or the Captain in Suds
Philip Dawe
Robert Sayer and John Bennett
February 14, 1775

The Bostonians Paying the Excise-Man, or Tarring & Feathering, Philip Dawe British, Mezzotint and etching — The Bostonians Paying the Excise-Man, or Tarring & Feathering
Philip Dawe
Robert Sayer and John Bennett
October 31, 1774

The Patriotick Barber of New York, or the Captain in the Suds, Philip Dawe British, Mezzotint — The Patriotick Barber of New York, or the Captain in the Suds
Philip Dawe
Robert Sayer and John Bennett
February 14, 1775

The Bostonians in Distress, Philip Dawe British, Mezzotint — The Bostonians in Distress
Philip Dawe
Robert Sayer and John Bennett
November 19, 1774

The Alternative of Williams-Burg, Philip Dawe British, Mezzotint — The Alternative of Williams-Burg
Philip Dawe
Robert Sayer and John Bennett
February 16, 1775

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