Le Bande Dessinée

     Originally published by an anonymous artist in 1803, An English Bull Dog and a Corsican dog portrays an English bulldog viciously attacking a much smaller dog from Corsica. This drawing was used to symbolize the British breaking The Treaty of Amiens by attacking France. Seen in the image to the left the feeble and weak Corsican dog has the face of Bonaparte and is being mauled by an English Bull Dog. This signifies the beginning of the War of the Third Coalition. Also, shown proudly on the dogs collar reads "John Bull." John Bull is an important figure in British propaganda, this character was set to personify the kingdom and its might as an empire, much like the Untied state's Uncle Sam. The artist of the piece also uses typical stereotypes of Napoleon when creating the Corsican dog, giving him a prominent hooked, "Italian nose," and black hair. The artist also implies that Napoleon and his armies are inferior to Britain's due to the merciless attack, while the small nature of the dog mocks Napoleon's untrue reputation of being short.

     In perhaps one of the most commonly known caricatures of Bonaparte, James Gillray depicts Napoleon in The Plumb-pudding in danger - or - State Epicures taking un Petit souper. Sitting across a table from English Prime Minister, William Pitt, the two are appropriately paired eating dessert for their fame of conquest and colonization, and carve the world for their respective empires. Published in 1805, Pitt is seen slicing himself half of the globe, claiming much of the New World. While Pitt slices off more than he can chew, Napoleon cuts a smaller portion of the globe including France, Spain, Belgium, and Italy, illustrating his ambitions as Emperor. While Gillray depicts the two leaders dividing the world amongst themselves, the image feeds into the popular conceptions of Bonaparte and Pitt at the time. Again, shown as a short man with a sharp, hooked nose, Napoleon eagerly sits on the edge of his seat to take a portion of the globe.  As the War of the Third Coalition waged, Gillray's work was used to symbolize Napoleon's persistence to conquest most of continental Europe, which brought some of Europe's fiercest nations down upon Napoleon.