16. Thomas Onwhyn, Comic map of the Seat of War. London: Rock Brothers & Payne, 1854.
COLLBN Port 212 N 46
This caricature map was made during the Crimean War (1853-'56). Its principal protagonists were: the British lion standing guard, the French imperial eagle, the Sardinian dog with papal tiara, the Turkey in Europe and the Russian bear wielding a whip. Poland is shown enslaved with her name spelled out in bones and skulls. Russia wanted to expand its protection over Orthodox Christians in the Ottoman Empire. In 1853 they invaded Moldavia and Wallachia and reserved the right to occupy Istanbul and the straits. The bear's body is labelled with 'cruelty', ‘despotism’, ‘bigotry’, ‘treachery’, ‘oppression’ etc. Main theatre of war was Crimea. The allied fleet encircled the peninsula, trimming the toenails of the Russian bear. This war greatly damaged Ukraine's economy, hence the fierce opposition among its landowners, traders and peasants.