Question

What is the caricaturist trying to depict?

Answer 1

The Club of Thinkers, an unidentified caricature from around 1820.

The plaque on the left has the inscription: “The most important question of today’s meeting: How long will thinking be allowed to us?’’

The board on the right lists the club’s rules, which include the following:

1. Silence is the first commandment of this learned society.
2. To avoid the eventuality whereby a member of this club may succumb to the temptation of speech, muzzles will be distributed to members upon entering.

The caricaturist is painting the Liberal Nationalist Club, which was founded in 1820. Conservative regimes were established in 1815. These regimes were authoritarian, and they were unwilling to accept criticism and opposition. They banned all actions that called into question the legitimacy of dictatorial governments. The majority of regimes had enacted censorship laws in order to suppress press freedom and songs that promoted liberty.