#OTD in 1765, the Stamp Act went into effect. This Act of Parliament imposed a direct tax on the colonies in America by requiring that all printed materials use paper produced in London and embossed with a revenue stamp. It was very unpopular among colonists, leading to protests and, despite being repealed less than five months later, ultimately the American Revolution. This political cartoon was created by Benjamin Franklin while he was in London in 1766. Originally issued on card stock and distributed to members of Parliament prior to debate on the repeal, it shows Britannia, fallen and resting against the globe of the world, her detached limbs inscribed with the names of the colonies strewn around her.
Benjamin Franklin, Magna Britannia, her colonies reduc'd. [London: ca. 1766]
