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DePaul University Special Collections and Archives

Expressions of National Sentiment

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With the failure of the the Treaty of Amiens, popular pamphlets attempted to rally their countrymen for what they felt was an inevitable confrontation with Napoleon and the French Republic on English soil.

SpCN. 941.073 I621h1803

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The frontispiece of The Anti-Gallican sets the tone for the satirical poems, songs, speeches, and theatrical spoofs against the Napoleonic threats that make up its contents.

SPCN. 941.073 A629A

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One of the theatrical parodies that can be found in The Anti-Gallican.

SPCN. 941.073 A629A

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Satires of Napoleon and the French threat found their way into such established serial publications as Gentleman's Magazine.

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George Huddesford, the editor of the poetry miscellany, Salmagundi, created his own comic verse in 1803 of Napoleon's military aggression. This passage references Napoleon's threats to England.

SpCN. 821.6 H884b1803

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The invasion of Egypt and Syria were used to stir up British sentiment and this continued to be a topic of satire even after the conclusion of the Napoleonic wars. 

SpCN. 821.7 C729L1815

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Anti-Napoleon pamphlets often demonized him through an emphasis on his foreign roots as does the title of this pamphlet that refers to him as a "Corsican daemon." The pervasive use of capital letters reinforces these messages.

SPCN. 944.05 A882

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After the author makes his case against the Corsican daemon, he calls upon his countrymen to unite against this threat.

SPCN. 944.05 A882

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This print attempts to galvanize public sentiment by envisioning England under French rule.

Skeptical and suspicious, by 1803 the public dissatisfaction with misleading truces and resulting anxieties of potential invasion were manifested in a spate of printed materials intended simultaneously to deride and buffoon and to inspire fear and action. The tales of atrocities from battles in Syria and Egypt, illustrations of fellow citizens in shackles, unappetizing meals of frog legs, and rousing new lyrics to traditional songs all served to galvanize sentiment as well as warn of Napoleon’s intentions in Britain. The popular periodical, Gentleman’s Magazine, took up the conversation and included reproductions of poems, satires, and broadside texts in its issues. Even the ghost of Shakespeare was enlisted to give voice to the English cause. From theatrical spoofs to caricatured illustrations of public officials, the escalating campaign of political rhetoric encompassed every popular genre and format as a means to arouse all classes and audiences into one united country.