1861

King Cotton Bound; Or, the Modern Prometheus. Punch, Volume 41, November 2, 1861, p. 177

Inspired by the Greek tale of Prometheus Bound (vide. Aeschylus' tragic drama), this cartoon represents a British response to the South's "King Cotton" diplomacy. An inexpensive, regular supply of slave-grown American cotton had allowed textile manufacture to become one of the most important British industries; the prosperity of entire English Midlands cities such as Birmingham and Manchester depended on the cotton trade. Not surprisingly, Southerners believed absolutely in the economic power of cotton as a potential trump card of foreign policy. Senator James Hammond of South Carolina had declared in his famous "Cotton is King" speech in 1858 that any interruption of the cotton trade would cause "England [to] topple headlong and carry the whole civilized world with her..."

From the outset of the Civil War, one of the chief aims of the Northern naval blockade of Southern ports was to prevent the export of cotton, which the South could use to purchase military supplies from Europe. Ironically, many Southerners were so convinced of the power of "King Cotton" that they instituted their own cotton embargo, refusing to ship available supplies in hopes of forcing Britain to break the blockade and recognize the Confederacy. This policy proved ineffective for several reasons: bumper cotton crops of 1858-1860 had actually resulted in a surplus, which canny British speculators had already purchased at low prices and stored in their warehouses; moreover, British imperialists wished to promote the growing of cotton in Egypt and India, and actually welcomed the elimination of American competition. Staple food crop failures throughout northern Europe in 1860 meant that imports of North American grain were suddenly more vital than cotton. By the time the South reversed its mistaken embargo, the Union blockade of Southern ports was firmly established.

For defying the gods, the Titan Prometheus was punished by being chained to a rock, where Zeus' eagle tore at the liver of the prostrate giant. This dramatic scene is the subject of works such as the well-known Baroque painting by Peter Paul Rubens. In Tenniel's version, King Cotton is fastened to the rock by a metal band inscribed "blockade." The eagle tearing at the helpless figure's cotton bale clothing displays the Stars and Stripes on its left wing, the Stars and Bars on its right; Tenniel suggests that both Northern and Southern policies have unintentionally worked together to render King Cotton powerless.