British Tars Towing the Danish Fleet into Harbour

Like much of his work the image portrays a contemporary event, the bombardment of Copenhagen and seizure of the Danish fleet by the Royal Navy to prevent it from falling into the hands of the French Empire with which Britain was at war.

The full title is British Tars Towing the Danish Fleet into Harbour; the Broad-Bottom Leviathan trying Billy's Old Boat, and the Little Corsican tottering on the Clouds of Ambition.

[4] Meanwhile, John Bull sits watching approvingly, sings "Rule Britannia" and drinks from a mug of beer outside a tavern in Sheerness Harbour.

In the background of the image, on the left, are the still-smoking ruins of Copenhagen, and on the right, Continental Europe is aflame with a surprised Napoleon hovering over it, his thwarted plans for control of the seas dropping from his hand.

[5] Published by Hannah Humphrey of St James's Street, in London, it was one of the later works produced by Gillray, who largely ceased drawing around 1810.