The Humbugs of the World · Chapter
The Princess Cariboo; or, The Queen Of The Isles explained
In 1812, the city of Bristol is captivated by the arrival of a mysterious and beautiful woman claiming to be Princess Cariboo from a wealthy Eastern island.
What happens
In 1812, the city of Bristol is captivated by the arrival of a mysterious and beautiful woman claiming to be Princess Cariboo from a wealthy Eastern island. Accompanied by an exotic retinue and an agent who speaks broken English, she is lavishly entertained by the local aristocracy and press, who publish fantastical stories about her wealth and romantic quest. After a fortnight of extravagant receptions and gifts, she departs for London but never arrives, revealing the entire affair to be an elaborate hoax. The princess is later discovered to have been a local actress who netted £10,000 from the deception, and her death is reported years later.
Themes in this chapter
Gullibility and Human Nature
The entire chapter demonstrates how the people of Bristol, from merchants to aristocrats, are easily deceived by the Princess Cariboo's exotic appearance and fabricated story, making 'complete fools of themselves' and only the street boys remain skeptical.
Advertising and Showmanship
The hoax is fueled by sensational newspaper announcements in the Bristol Mirror and Felix Farley's Journal, which publish extravagant tales of the princess's wealth and adventures, showing how media hype can create and sustain a public delusion.
Cultural and Historical Context
The chapter reflects early 19th-century British fascination with the exotic Orient, the social dynamics of Bristol's elite, and the era's susceptibility to romanticized tales of faraway lands and royal personages.
Characters to notice
- Princess Cariboo
The mysterious and beautiful princess who arrives in Bristol in 1812, claiming to be from a wealthy Eastern island. She speaks no English, is attended by an exotic retinue, and becomes the center of a massive hoax, disappearing after extracting lavish gifts and money.
Key passages
“The Princess Cariboo had disappeared as mysteriously as she came. For years, the people of Bristol were unmercifully ridiculed throughout the entire Kingdom on account of this affair, and burlesque songs and plays immortalized its incidents for successive seasons.”
The princess vanished without a trace, and Bristol's residents became the butt of jokes across Britain for years, with the hoax being memorialized in comic songs and theatrical performances.
Highlights the lasting public humiliation and cultural impact of the hoax on the city of Bristol.
“One of these insisted that the Princess was no other than an actress of more notoriety than note, humbly born in the immediate vicinity of the old city, where she practiced this gigantic hoax, and that she had been assisted in it by a set of dissolute young noblemen and actors, who furnished the money she had spent, got up the oriental dresses, published the fibs, and fomented the excitement.”
One account claimed the princess was actually a local actress of dubious reputation, born near Bristol, who orchestrated the hoax with the help of dissolute noblemen and actors who provided funds, costumes, and publicity.
Reveals the likely true identity of the princess and the collaborative nature of the deception.