NAM.1975-01-65-1

The last Grand Ministerial Expedition: on the Str Piccadilly, 1810. Etching by Isaac Cruickshank, published by S W Fores, 1810. Associated with Napoleonic Wars (1803-1815). The caricature relates to events surrounding the arrest of Francis Burdett MP and shows the Prime Minister Spencer Perceval and other politicians among troops charging into a rioting crowd. On 5 April 1810 Burdett was found guilty of breach of privilege by the House of Commons for his letter condemning the exclusion of reporters from debates over the Walcheren expedition of 1809. He was also a critic of corruption in parliament and corporal punishment in the army. However, initial attempts to break through rioters in Piccadilly and gain entrance to his barricaded house proved unsuccessful and the Foot Guards and Horse Guards had to be called in. The Horse Guards charged down Piccadilly, the crowds retiring up side streets and mocking at 'the Piccadilly Expedition'. Further troops were ordered into London and Burdett was finally seized on 9 April and confined to the Tower of London for over a month.

Walcheren, Expedition to, 1809 (Napoleonic Wars, Holland 1809), Burdett Riots, 1810 (Civil Unrest 1800-1899)