Although Edward Lear seems to have written few overtly political limericks, one poem with definite political overtones is the following:

There was an Old Man of Jamaica,
Who suddenly married a Quaker;
But she cried out, 'Alack!
I have married a black!'
Which distressed that Old Man of Jamaica.

This poem has definite political implications for a number of reasons, including the following:

• It mentions Jamaica, for years a British colony and thus a symbol of British imperialism.
• It mentions a Quaker – a member of a small but fervent band of dissident Christians. Since religion was so often a political issue in Britain, and since Quakers became prominent during and after the English Civil Wars of the 1640s, the reference to Quakers is somewhat political.
• It alludes to racial prejudice – obviously a major political issue, especially in the nineteenth century, when slavery was a very recent memory.
• Because Quakers were (and often still are) thought to be especially gentle and kind Christians, the fact that this particular Christian is racially prejudiced is somewhat surprising.