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Primary sourcePainting1 May 1773

The Present Times, or the Nabobs Clive and Colebrooke Brought to Account

1 May 1773

A 1773 satirical print showing East India Company 'nabobs' Clive and Colebrooke kneeling before Lord North, who is shown demanding money from them.

This satirical print depicts North as the minister forcing East India 'nabobs' to pay for their conduct.

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Engraved satirical print titled 'A New Scene for the Proprietors of India Stock'. A blindfolded Justice figure with a sword and scales stands above a scene: a man in a wig holds a paper labelled 'Report of the Secret Committee' and grips a bag while a small man bows and offers money bags; a kneeling man in a coat says 'You shall have my Jagua...'; a dragon lies at the bottom with chains. Caption below: 'The Present times, or the Nabobs Clive and Colebrooke brought to Account.'
Anonymous, A New Scene for the Proprietors of India Stock ('The Present Times, or the Nabobs Clive and Colebrooke Brought to Account'), 1 May 1773. British Museum, London.

About this source

What it is

This is an engraved satirical print from 1 May 1773 titled 'A New Scene for the Proprietors of India Stock', also known as 'The Present Times, or the Nabobs Clive and Colebrooke Brought to Account'. It shows Lord North standing with a pistol, receiving money bags from two kneeling figures identified as Clive and Colebrooke, while a blindfolded figure of Justice looms overhead and Lord Bute shields the group.

Why it matters

The print satirises the political fallout from East India Company scandals during North's time as Prime Minister, when Parliament investigated the Company's conduct through a Secret Committee. It shows how contemporaries viewed North as extracting 'hush money' from powerful but disgraced men like Robert Clive, reflecting public suspicion of corruption linking government and the Company.

Look closer

  • What does the artist want you to think about North's role in this scene?
  • Why are chains and a demon included in the image?
  • How might Clive and Colebrooke, if asked, have described this same event differently?

This painting is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Lord Frederick North on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

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