Queen Elizabeth I Feeds the Dutch Cow

This satirical painting depicts a cow which represents the Dutch provinces. King Philip II is vainly trying to ride the cow, drawing blood with his spurs. Queen Elizabeth is feeding it while William of Orange holds it steady by the horns. The cow is defecating on the Duke of Anjou, who is holding its tail.The picture was painted in the period following the visit of François, Duke of Anjou (brother of King Henry III of France) to Queen Elizabeth's court in 1581–82 to discuss his marriage proposal and his military support for the Anglo-Dutch alliance against the Spanish. Anjou's subsequent mission to the Netherlands met with disaster when his army was massacred by the citizens of Antwerp in early 1583. William of Orange was assassinated the following year. The dating of the picture to about 1586 is based on its use of an image of Philip, by William Key, engraved in that year.

The Dutch were extremely grateful to Elizabeth for her intervention in the Dutch Revolt and her pro-alien foreign policy which led to the development of distinctly Dutch quarters in London, especially St. Katherines and Southwark.

‘Her sacred hand hath euermore been knowne
As soon held out to straungers as her owne’.
(Thomas Dekker. Old Fortunatus. ‘The Prologue at Court’. 58-59)