'Shadows of the Times'

'Shadows of the Times'

A depiction of the threat of European intervention in the American Civil War

Part of a set of prints by Peter Kramer, these two images point to the interests of the European powers observing the conflict in America. The top image shows the figure of Queen Victoria, representing the British Empire, and the military threat posed by British participation. Relations with Britain had deteriorated over the course of late 1861 over their neutrality and recognition of the Confederacy as a belligerent. While by 1862, the immediate tension had waned, animosity towards Britain lingered in the North, flaring up over later controversies with the British before the end of the war. The lower image displays the figures of Otto von Bismarck of Prussia and Napoleon III of France, two other powers vying for superiority over the other in Europe and beyond. France in particular would exploit the situation in America, the Union being distracted by its war with the Confederacy, to enact an invasion and occupation of Mexico. Establishing a puppet regime under Maximilian I, it would collapse due to revolts by Mexican republicans in conjuction with the winding down of the Civil War to the north.

Printed by Peter Kramer

Housed and digitized by The Library Company of Philadelphia, Print Department

Published by Peter Kramer and C. Muringer

1862

Collected by John Allister McAllister; Digitized by Alexander Street Press for Images of the American Civil War

All use must credit the Library Company of Philadelphia; https://www.librarycompany.org/

English

Lithograph print

Lithographic print