De Nederlandse Leeuw door list en geweld aangevallen (The Dutch Lion Attacked by Cunning and Force)

This Dutch political engraving depicts the Dutch Lion under assault during the Fourth Anglo-Dutch War. The print uses the allegorical figure of the lion—symbol of the Netherlands—surrounded by hostile forces, rendered through satirical character vignettes in the manner of German Bilderbogen picture-sheets. Numbered scenes show various national and military figures in caricatured form. The work descends from the tradition of Hogarth and Gillray: multiple episodes unfold across a single sheet, combining visual narrative with numbered explanatory text. Engraved rather than hand-colored, the print reached a broad Dutch audience during a period of naval and commercial crisis. Its propagandistic purpose—to galvanize national sentiment—illustrates how political caricature shaped public opinion before the modern newspaper.