Extraordinary Gazette, Saturday November 10th 1827 - Admiral Codrington & his Allies lending the Brave Greeks a hand & teaching the Ottoman how to respect Treaties (caricature)

This hand-coloured print depicts a fraught battle. On the left, the Ottoman Navy are violently thrown by cannon fire, their ship is in flames, and the water is filled with sailors. Two Ottoman Empire flags survive above the waves, suggesting a sinking ship beneath the troops. From left to right, a French, Russian and British ship remain unscathed, surrounded by the smoke of their cannon fire. Sailors can be seen celebrating aboard each ship. On the far right, a family in a caricatured version of traditional Greek costume, reach towards the ships, the mother presenting her baby. They kneel on a shore inscribed ‘Navarino’ in front of an elderly man and preacher.

The Battle of Navarino in 1827 was a major step in the Greek War of Independence. After the Ottomans rejected a British treaty set to end six years of attacks on Greece, British, French and Russian forces allied to defeat the Ottoman-Egyptian navy.

The caricature is signed in the lower left with a small figure of a crouching man, leaning on a cane. This figure represents ‘Paul Pry’, a pen name frequently used by artist William Heath. Heath took the name from the title character in a farce written by playwright John Poole in 1825. Heath also depicted reactions to the Battle of Navarino in another print, see PAF3920.