'The Irish Frankenstein', 1882.

'The Irish Frankenstein', 1882. An awestruck Charles Parnell of the Irish Nationalist Party is crouching before his Creature which is depicted with the usual simian features of the Irishman in Punch cartoons. Fully armed, the Creature is powerful and ready for violence. Following the sudden and angry resignation of the Chief Secretary for Ireland, William Forster, Lord Frederick Cavendish had been appointed to the vacancy. However, on 6th May 1882, Cavendish and his Permanent Irish Under-Secretary, Mr Thomas Burke, were attacked by members of an Irish extremist group whilst walking in Phoenix Park, Dublin. They were slashed with long knives, and their throats were cut. Because of his support for the aims of the Irish Land Leaguers, Parnell was seen as largely responsible for the increasing violence of the Creature he had helped to create. From "Punch, or the London Charivari", May 20, 1882.. Stunning Photo Gifts From Heritage Images

The article is basically about the “Irish Land League” which was supported by Charles Parnell. The purpose of this revolution was to abolish tenant farming. The extremists’ violence got out of hand, and Charles Parnell did not wanted it go this far. In the cartoon above you can see that Parnell pushed in to the corner by his own monster i.e. Irish Land League. One can also connect this to the British Empire. The main justification the British used to control other countries was that they considered they were keeping order and not allowing their “Frankenstein” to get out of control.

Thursday, March 24, 2011

The British Empire.

The British Empire was the empire consisting of Britain and the territories it controlled. It began in the early 1600's and peaked around the end of World War I, around 1920. At its height it included the British Isles, parts of the West Indies, Canada, Guyana, parts of West Africa, parts of East Africa, India, Australia, and New Zealand. (Princeton)

By 1815, Britain had become the dominant world power--it's power and wealth having been built on the slave trade and on the growing world demand for crops grown in British colonies, like sugar, tobacco, cotton, tea, and coffee. (George Mason University)