Britannia Rules the Waves!! Still Image

A grotesque, oversized Britannia straddles the sea, urinating on wrecked French ships while a trident on fire skewers the distant shore, with a lion lounging beside her.

Dublin Core

Title

Britannia Rules the Waves!!

Description

This color drawing from 1798 mocks both the French navy’s abysmal performance against Nelson’s fleet and the French hope to invade England; in the style of Gillray, it depicts a grotesque, gargantuan woman, straddling the English Channel and urinating into French ships while her trident pierces France and breaks off pieces to be seized by Britain.

Source

mfr 89.73

Date

1798

Relation

http://chnm.gmu.edu/revolution/d/50/

Identifier

50

Citation

“Britannia Rules the Waves!!,” LIBERTY, EQUALITY, FRATERNITY: EXPLORING THE FRENCH REVOUTION, accessed November 9, 2026, https://revolution.chnm.org/d/50.