Foot-ball In Europe

An amusing contemporary commentary on British interest in the Second Italian War of Independence.

This political cartoon, signed Stephens in the lower left, was published in London in the August 4, 1860 edition of Vanity Fair magazine. At the time of issue, an army of independence under Italian general Giuseppe Garibaldi had very recently conquered Sicily, and was preparing to cross the Straits of Messina to invade Naples. A British Admiral had brokered the peace terms by which the island capitulated, and, as shown by the cartoon, were eager to claim credit for the success.

John Bull, a red-nosed representation of Britain, is sitting in a chair and offering the ‘boot’ of Italy (the colloquial geographic term for the kingdom of Naples) to Garibaldi, who already has the ‘ball’ in his hand (Sicily). A map on the back alludes to the upcoming theater of war, and accompanying dogs (bulldog and greyhound) offer an allegorical reflection of each country.