Taking advantage of the liberalisation in print culture in 1696 with the expiration of the Licensing of the Press Act 1662, Simeon and Levi’ or Jacobite Villany and French Treachery, Hand in Hand is part of wider polemical response by the supporters of William III to growing Catholic dissidence. The text is a condemnation of Jacobite rebels’ violence – referring to the failed assassination plot against William III – and an exhortation to commit violence against any who might waver in support of William III. The pamphlet illustrates the Williamite state’s response to fully pursue Jacobite traitors - or taint those wavering in their support of William III.

The Jacobite cause was often relegated, by necessity, to the margins of society. Such themes are exemplified in the early Jacobite polemic titled A Discourse Shewing the Reasons why Protestant Subjects Cannot enjoy their Laws, Religion, Liberty, and Property Under a Popish Prince. Published in 1714, the text posits a social and political argument in support of a Catholic monarchy by utilizing the literary element of dialogue while covertly invalidating the position of the English Protestant character. This document also reflects the growing anti-Hanoverian sentiment ahead of the Jacobite Rising of 1715, as domestic supporters of James Francis Edward Stuart worked to covertly rally popular support. 

While Simeon and Levi and A Discourse use a fictional dialogue to reduce the Jacobite and Hanoverian perspective respectively to absurdity, Reasons against the succession of the House of Hanover highlights how satire was similarly mobilised to mock supporters of James II and VII. Written by famed English writer and journalist Daniel Defoe, Reasons was published anonymously in 1713 as a part of a trilogy of satirical propaganda for the English government. Despite being pilloried and imprisoned in 1703 by Anne for undermining – albeit satirically – the authority of the government; within months he was asked to produce satirical propaganda on their behalf as part of his terms of release, pointing to the tenuous status of both the monarchy and state during this period. 

The items in this display case are examples of the unique literary forms used to undermine and advocate for the Jacobite position during the reign of William III and Mary, and Anne, highlighting the significance of polemical texts in shaping popular and elite perceptions of the movement.