What is the purpose or overall message of this image?

This American cartoon is titled “The Devilfish in Egyptian Waters”. It is clear from this satire that the Americans are critical of England’s imperialistic greed. The picture was published in Punch, a British magazine. In 1888 Britain was at almost ten million miles of land under their imperial and domestic control, including many Caribbean islands. This imperial control spread them thin, as you can see his tentacles are all delegated out. To name a few he has his tentacle on Canada, Jamaica, India, Egypt, and is sitting atop Ireland. We can conclude that most propaganda and publications that weren’t of British origin were being satirical and critical towards British Imperialism. It’s unlikely that any other country but Britain would be publishing pro-British Imperialism content. Britain was contending with France and the United states for imperial control.

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