Why was The True-Born Englishman popular in 1701?

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Daniel Defoe Daniel Defoe, engraving by M. Van der Gucht, after a portrait by J. Taverner, first half of the 18th century.

The True-Born Englishman, published by Daniel Defoe in 1701, achieved immense popularity because it served as a vigorous and witty defense of King William III.

At the time, the King—a Dutchman—was facing significant political attacks from those who labeled him a "foreign" ruler. Defoe’s poem resonated with the public by effectively exposing the fallacies of racial prejudice and challenging the xenophobic rhetoric directed at the monarch. The work was so successful that Defoe remained proud of it throughout his career, often identifying himself as the author of The True-Born Englishman in his subsequent writings.1