9 The iconography of decolonisation in the cartoons of the Suez Crisis, 1956
-
Stefanie Wichhart
Abstract
This chapter explores how British, French, and Egyptian cartoonists engaged with the Suez Crisis of 1956. It observes how, in pursuing their craft, the likes of Pol Ferjac, Leslie Illingworth, and Zahdi al-’Aduwi dug deep into the rich reservoir of icons from the high age of imperialism (such as Britannia and Marianne, the British lion, historical analogies, and well-known literary references). It also shows how both those celebrating empire, and those critical of its costs, reappropriated and recrafted older imperialist imagery to convey new meanings. In this, they drew on the history of their own publications (appropriating imagery from past iterations of Punch, Le Canard enchaîné, and Ruz al-Yusuf), and the fact that the maudlin humour of such reappropriations helped readers to cope with the changing political realities that in turn impacted on their national and imperial identities.
Abstract
This chapter explores how British, French, and Egyptian cartoonists engaged with the Suez Crisis of 1956. It observes how, in pursuing their craft, the likes of Pol Ferjac, Leslie Illingworth, and Zahdi al-’Aduwi dug deep into the rich reservoir of icons from the high age of imperialism (such as Britannia and Marianne, the British lion, historical analogies, and well-known literary references). It also shows how both those celebrating empire, and those critical of its costs, reappropriated and recrafted older imperialist imagery to convey new meanings. In this, they drew on the history of their own publications (appropriating imagery from past iterations of Punch, Le Canard enchaîné, and Ruz al-Yusuf), and the fact that the maudlin humour of such reappropriations helped readers to cope with the changing political realities that in turn impacted on their national and imperial identities.
Chapters in this book
- Front matter i
- Contents v
- List of figures vii
- List of contributors xvi
- Acknowledgements xxi
- 1 Introduction 1
-
PART I: High imperialism and colonialism
- 2 Courting the colonies 31
- 3 ‘Master Jonathan’ in Cuba 66
- 4 ‘The international Siamese twins’ 92
- 5 ‘“Every dog” (no distinction of color) “has his day”’ 134
-
PART II: The critique of empire and the context of decolonisation
- 6 The making of harmony and war, from New Year Prints to propaganda cartoons during China’s Second Sino-Japanese War 161
- 7 David Low and India 192
- 8 Between imagined and ‘real’ 216
- 9 The iconography of decolonisation in the cartoons of the Suez Crisis, 1956 242
- 10 Punch and the Cyprus emergency, 1955–1959 277
-
PART III: Ambiguities of empire
- 11 Outrage and imperialism, confusion and indifference 305
- 12 Ambiguities in the fight waged by the socialist satirical review Der Wahre Jacob against militarism and imperialism 334
- 13 The ‘confounded socialists’ and the ‘Commonwealth Co-operative Society’ 362
- 14 Australian cartoonists at the end of empire 393
- Index 426
Chapters in this book
- Front matter i
- Contents v
- List of figures vii
- List of contributors xvi
- Acknowledgements xxi
- 1 Introduction 1
-
PART I: High imperialism and colonialism
- 2 Courting the colonies 31
- 3 ‘Master Jonathan’ in Cuba 66
- 4 ‘The international Siamese twins’ 92
- 5 ‘“Every dog” (no distinction of color) “has his day”’ 134
-
PART II: The critique of empire and the context of decolonisation
- 6 The making of harmony and war, from New Year Prints to propaganda cartoons during China’s Second Sino-Japanese War 161
- 7 David Low and India 192
- 8 Between imagined and ‘real’ 216
- 9 The iconography of decolonisation in the cartoons of the Suez Crisis, 1956 242
- 10 Punch and the Cyprus emergency, 1955–1959 277
-
PART III: Ambiguities of empire
- 11 Outrage and imperialism, confusion and indifference 305
- 12 Ambiguities in the fight waged by the socialist satirical review Der Wahre Jacob against militarism and imperialism 334
- 13 The ‘confounded socialists’ and the ‘Commonwealth Co-operative Society’ 362
- 14 Australian cartoonists at the end of empire 393
- Index 426
