No Cover Image

Journal article 22196 views

'Our War History in Cartoons is Unique': J. M. Staniforth, British public opinion and the South African War, 1899-1902

Chris Williams

War in History, Start page: 1

Swansea University Author: Chris Williams

Abstract

This essay re-examines the question of British public opinion regarding the 1899-1902 war against the Boer Republics by analysing the cartoons of the News of the World [London] and Western Mail [Cardiff] cartoonist J. M. Staniforth (1863-1921). Almost half of all Staniforth’s cartoons during the war...

Full description

Published in: War in History
Published: 2013
URI: https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa679
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
first_indexed 2013-07-23T11:49:28Z
last_indexed 2018-02-09T04:27:26Z
id cronfa679
recordtype SURis
fullrecord <?xml version="1.0"?><rfc1807><datestamp>2011-10-01T00:00:00.0000000</datestamp><bib-version>v2</bib-version><id>679</id><entry>2011-10-01</entry><title>'Our War History in Cartoons is Unique': J. M. Staniforth, British public opinion and the South African War, 1899-1902</title><swanseaauthors><author><sid>08a276c79b44490e5ab7b9ee7ee8b448</sid><firstname>Chris</firstname><surname>Williams</surname><name>Chris Williams</name><active>true</active><ethesisStudent>false</ethesisStudent></author></swanseaauthors><date>2011-10-01</date><abstract>This essay re-examines the question of British public opinion regarding the 1899-1902 war against the Boer Republics by analysing the cartoons of the News of the World [London] and Western Mail [Cardiff] cartoonist J. M. Staniforth (1863-1921). Almost half of all Staniforth&#x2019;s cartoons during the war&#x2019;s duration dealt directly with the conflict, and reached substantial audiences both at the time and in subsequent republications as stand-alone volumes. Arguing that the cartoons tell us not only about the views of the cartoonist but also suggest something about the attitudes of his readership, an examination is made of the use of stock characters and metaphor before attention is turned to selected aspects of the war. These are i) the approach and outbreak of war; ii) responses to British military reverses; iii) the welfare of servicemen and their families; iv) the controversy surrounding the &#x2018;scorched earth&#x2019; policy introduced in the summer of 1900. Although recognising the inherently unstable nature of cartoons as a source full of potential ambiguities, the conclusion is drawn that even patriotic supporters of imperial expansion were unable to conceal their doubts and unease over both the causes of the war and the methods by which it was pursued.</abstract><type>Journal Article</type><journal>War in History</journal><volume></volume><journalNumber></journalNumber><paginationStart>1</paginationStart><paginationEnd/><publisher/><placeOfPublication/><issnPrint/><issnElectronic/><keywords/><publishedDay>31</publishedDay><publishedMonth>12</publishedMonth><publishedYear>2013</publishedYear><publishedDate>2013-12-31</publishedDate><doi/><url/><notes/><college>COLLEGE NANME</college><CollegeCode>COLLEGE CODE</CollegeCode><institution>Swansea University</institution><apcterm/><lastEdited>2011-10-01T00:00:00.0000000</lastEdited><Created>2011-10-01T00:00:00.0000000</Created><path><level id="1">Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences</level><level id="2">School of Culture and Communication - History</level></path><authors><author><firstname>Chris</firstname><surname>Williams</surname><order>1</order></author></authors><documents/><OutputDurs/></rfc1807>
spelling 2011-10-01T00:00:00.0000000 v2 679 2011-10-01 'Our War History in Cartoons is Unique': J. M. Staniforth, British public opinion and the South African War, 1899-1902 08a276c79b44490e5ab7b9ee7ee8b448 Chris Williams Chris Williams true false 2011-10-01 This essay re-examines the question of British public opinion regarding the 1899-1902 war against the Boer Republics by analysing the cartoons of the News of the World [London] and Western Mail [Cardiff] cartoonist J. M. Staniforth (1863-1921). Almost half of all Staniforth’s cartoons during the war’s duration dealt directly with the conflict, and reached substantial audiences both at the time and in subsequent republications as stand-alone volumes. Arguing that the cartoons tell us not only about the views of the cartoonist but also suggest something about the attitudes of his readership, an examination is made of the use of stock characters and metaphor before attention is turned to selected aspects of the war. These are i) the approach and outbreak of war; ii) responses to British military reverses; iii) the welfare of servicemen and their families; iv) the controversy surrounding the ‘scorched earth’ policy introduced in the summer of 1900. Although recognising the inherently unstable nature of cartoons as a source full of potential ambiguities, the conclusion is drawn that even patriotic supporters of imperial expansion were unable to conceal their doubts and unease over both the causes of the war and the methods by which it was pursued. Journal Article War in History 1 31 12 2013 2013-12-31 COLLEGE NANME COLLEGE CODE Swansea University 2011-10-01T00:00:00.0000000 2011-10-01T00:00:00.0000000 Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences School of Culture and Communication - History Chris Williams 1
title 'Our War History in Cartoons is Unique': J. M. Staniforth, British public opinion and the South African War, 1899-1902
spellingShingle 'Our War History in Cartoons is Unique': J. M. Staniforth, British public opinion and the South African War, 1899-1902
Chris Williams
title_short 'Our War History in Cartoons is Unique': J. M. Staniforth, British public opinion and the South African War, 1899-1902
title_full 'Our War History in Cartoons is Unique': J. M. Staniforth, British public opinion and the South African War, 1899-1902
title_fullStr 'Our War History in Cartoons is Unique': J. M. Staniforth, British public opinion and the South African War, 1899-1902
title_full_unstemmed 'Our War History in Cartoons is Unique': J. M. Staniforth, British public opinion and the South African War, 1899-1902
title_sort 'Our War History in Cartoons is Unique': J. M. Staniforth, British public opinion and the South African War, 1899-1902
author_id_str_mv 08a276c79b44490e5ab7b9ee7ee8b448
author_id_fullname_str_mv 08a276c79b44490e5ab7b9ee7ee8b448_***_Chris Williams
author Chris Williams
author2 Chris Williams
format Journal article
container_title War in History
container_start_page 1
publishDate 2013
institution Swansea University
college_str Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences
hierarchytype
hierarchy_top_id facultyofhumanitiesandsocialsciences
hierarchy_top_title Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences
hierarchy_parent_id facultyofhumanitiesandsocialsciences
hierarchy_parent_title Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences
department_str School of Culture and Communication - History{{{_:::_}}}Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences{{{_:::_}}}School of Culture and Communication - History
document_store_str 0
active_str 0
description This essay re-examines the question of British public opinion regarding the 1899-1902 war against the Boer Republics by analysing the cartoons of the News of the World [London] and Western Mail [Cardiff] cartoonist J. M. Staniforth (1863-1921). Almost half of all Staniforth’s cartoons during the war’s duration dealt directly with the conflict, and reached substantial audiences both at the time and in subsequent republications as stand-alone volumes. Arguing that the cartoons tell us not only about the views of the cartoonist but also suggest something about the attitudes of his readership, an examination is made of the use of stock characters and metaphor before attention is turned to selected aspects of the war. These are i) the approach and outbreak of war; ii) responses to British military reverses; iii) the welfare of servicemen and their families; iv) the controversy surrounding the ‘scorched earth’ policy introduced in the summer of 1900. Although recognising the inherently unstable nature of cartoons as a source full of potential ambiguities, the conclusion is drawn that even patriotic supporters of imperial expansion were unable to conceal their doubts and unease over both the causes of the war and the methods by which it was pursued.
published_date 2013-12-31T03:03:17Z
_version_ 1763749499076870144
score 11.016258

Similar Items