The Wasp — 1889 — page 92: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This **The Wasp** cartoon from February 9, 1889, depicts German Consul Knappe with two caricatured figures with exaggerated African features and chains, apparently representing enslaved or colonized people. A military officer stands nearby. The caption reads: "There is nothing to get excited about, Captain. I exceeded my instructions." The satire appears to target Knappe's colonial activities or imperial overreach in German territories. The cartoon mocks his dismissal of exceeding official authority while apparently involved in colonial exploitation. The exaggerated racial caricatures reflect the period's pervasive racist imagery in American satirical publications, though the cartoon's primary political criticism concerns German imperial conduct rather than promoting such racism itself.