This map was published by British cartoonist Fred W. Rose in March 1877. With a satirical and, to some extent, propagandistic tone, Fred W. Rose depicts the political situation in Europe just two months after the outbreak of war between Russia and the Ottoman Empire.
Titled Serious-Comic War Map (Satirical map of war), this map is Rose's magnum opus. In it, he chooses to transfer his caricatures onto a map of Europe, adding a layer of narrative to cartography which, although it had been used before, had never reached this level of complexity:
- The Russian Empire is represented by the iconic octopus. Its tentacles are strangling Persia and Poland, but they are also attacking the Ottoman Empire.
- The Ottoman Empire defends itself with a pistol from the Russian Empire.
- Greece is a small crab pinching the left arm of the Ottoman Empire.
- The Austro-Hungarian Empire is represented by two figures: Austria as a woman holding Hungary, a man, so that he does not attack Russia.
- Germany is personified in the figure of Otto von Bismarck, who is surrounded by weaponry and holds the Russian Empire with his left arm.
- Italy appears as a relaxed young woman, a reflection of the country's recent unification.
- Spain appears relaxed and asleep, turning its back on the rest of Europe.
- France is personified in the figure of Marshal MacMahon, who is aiming his artillery at Germany, seeking revenge for the defeat in the Franco-Prussian War.
- The British Isles, represented by the figures of an English knight, a Scottish highlander and an Irish monk, are attentive to events in the rest of Europe and ready to intervene.
This map enjoyed great popularity throughout Europe and was reproduced, adapted and even translated into other languages many times. Its cultural and artistic impact is tangible in the many maps that subsequently also used an octopus as a figure of oppression on a map. In this monograph You can see many more examples.
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