THE ALTERNATIVE OF WILLIAMS-BURG
DateFebruary 15, 1775
Publisher
Robert Sayer (1725-1794) & John Bennett (fl. 1760-1787)
Attributed to
Philip Dawe
OriginEngland, London
MediumBlack and white mezzotint engraving
DimensionsFramed: 16" X 12"
Credit LineMuseum Purchase
Object number1930-607
DescriptionThe lower margin reads: "THE ALTERNATIVE OF WILLIAMS-BURG./ London Printed for R. Sayer & J. Bennett N.o 53 Fleet Street, as the Act directs 16 Feb. 1775."Label TextThis print illustrates the colonial protest against the Intolerable Acts, passed by Parliament to punish the colonies following the Boston Tea Party. In August 1774 the Williamsburg Resolutions were passed and by February 1775 Sayer and Bennett had published this commentary on the citizens' reactions. Virginians were urged to sign a pledge of loyalty to the resolves of the Continental Congress and to withhold the export of tobacco, the colonies' major and most profitable crop, until all taxes on imported goods were repealed.
The labeled barrel of tobacco is a gift intended for John Wilkes, lord mayor of London, in appreciation for his support for colonial causes. The colonists appear reluctant to sign the pledge because curtailing the export of tobacco would cause great financial loss. The alternative is obvious: tar and feathering.
The monument erected to Lord Botetourt stands in the Earl Gregg Swem Library of the College of William and Mary.
February 16, 1775
June 10, 1775
November 19, 1774
July 21, 1781
September 14, 1774
January 25, 1777
