The East Offering Its Riches To Britannia

''The East Offering its Riches to Britannia'' is an oil painting created by Spyridon Romas. Romas was a Greek painter from the island of Corfu active from 1745 to 1786 in

Corfu Corfu (, ) or Kerkyra ( el, Κέρκυρα, Kérkyra, , ; ; la, Corcyra.) is a Greek island in the Ionian Sea, of the Ionian Islands, and, including its small satellite islands, forms the margin of the northwestern frontier of Greece. The isl ...

Lecce Lecce ( ); el, label=Griko, Luppìu, script=Latn; la, Lupiae; grc, Λουπίαι, translit=Loupíai), group=pron is a historic city of 95,766 inhabitants (2015) in southern Italy. It is the capital of the province of Lecce, the province ...

Livorno Livorno () is a port city on the Ligurian Sea on the western coast of Tuscany, Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Livorno, having a population of 158,493 residents in December 2017. It is traditionally known in English as Leghorn (pronou ...

, and

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

. He was a painter of the Heptanese School and later adopted the English style of painting. The painter migrated to London in 1770 and remained in the region for the rest of his life. Roughly twenty-five of his works survived. Romas painted several portraits in London but also maintained art. The painter's most well-known work is ''The East Offering its Riches to Britannia''.

Colonialism Colonialism is a practice or policy of control by one people or power over other people or areas, often by establishing colonies and generally with the aim of economic dominance. In the process of colonisation, colonisers may impose their relig ...

was very popular starting around 1500 until the end of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. By 1800, Europeans controlled roughly 35% of the world, and by 1914, they controlled 84% of the world. The British Empire at its height was the largest empire in history. Its domination began around 1500 and by 1913, the

British Empire The British Empire was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts esta ...

had dominion of over 23 percent of the world population or about 412 million people. The painting commissioned by the

East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (the Indian subcontinent and Southea ...

was a tribute to the British Empire. The East India Company offers its riches to

Britannia Britannia () is the national personification of Britain as a helmeted female warrior holding a trident and shield. An image first used in classical antiquity, the Latin ''Britannia'' was the name variously applied to the British Isles, Great ...

. The painting symbolizes the British Empire's imperial colonial domination over the world. Paintings depicting colonization were a popular theme among painters during the period of colonization. Italian painter originally from Venice

Giovanni Battista Tiepolo Giovanni Battista Tiepolo ( , ; March 5, 1696 – March 27, 1770), also known as Giambattista (or Gianbattista) Tiepolo, was an Italian painter and printmaker from the Republic of Venice who painted in the Rococo style, considered an impo ...

completed many such works, one important example depicting Spanish Colonialism was ''Wealth and Benefits of the Spanish Monarchy under Charles III''. Dutch Colonialism was depicted in two works, one created by Dutch painter

Pieter Isaacsz Pieter Isaacsz (ca 1569, Helsingør – 14 September 1625), was a Danish court and portrait painter from Dutch origin who worked in a mannerist style on historical, biblical and mythological subjects. He was also a tapestry designer and art- ...

entitled the ''Harpsichord Lid showing an Allegory of Amsterdam as the Center of World Trade'' and another painted by Dutch painter

Willem de Poorter Willem de Poorter (1608–1668) was a Dutch Golden Age painter. Biography According to Houbraken he painted a very good ''Queen of Sheba'', but he painted mostly still lifes.