John Bull Learning a New Movement c. 1799

S. W. Fores made this print titled 'John Bull Learning a New Movement' around 1799. It caricatures John Bull, the national personification of Great Britain, attempting a new dance step. In the late 1790s, British society was in flux, marked by anxieties over class, national identity, and foreign policy. The print responds to these social tensions, presenting John Bull's awkward attempt at refinement as a critique of the elite's infatuation with continental European culture. The bagpipes and other musicians represent a kind of cultural invasion. The artist uses satire to comment on the perceived threat to traditional British values. Prints like this one offer invaluable insight into the social anxieties of the period, but understanding them requires a dive into the visual culture and political debates of late 18th-century Britain. Research into the popular press, political pamphlets, and social customs of the time helps us to interpret the print's complex layers of meaning.