Caricature from the London Magazine, 1774

The ironic title of the caricature is The Able Doctor, or America Swallowing the Bitter Draught. As an opposition paper, the London Magazine sided with the Americans. The British prime minister Lord Frederick North (1732–1792) is trying to pour tea down the personification of America; the latter defends herself and spits the tea back in the face of her tormentor. On the left, Lord Sandwich (1718–1792), first lord of the admiralty and a notorious womaniser, peaks voyeuristically under the victim's skirts. In this way, the scene begins to resemble a rape. In the background, Britannia blushes in shame at the brutality and depravity of her country's elite.

The Able Doctor, or America Swallowing the Bitter Draught, etching and copper engraving, 9.2 x 15.1 cm, Great Britain, 1774, unknown artist, first published in London Magazine, or, Gentleman's monthly intelligencer, XLVIII (1774), issue from 1 May 1774; source: Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/97514782/.