The Fondation Napoléon (founded in 1987) is a registered charity committed to the encouragement of the study of and interest in the history of the First and Second Empires and the preservation of Napoleonic heritage.
HIGHLIGHTED ON NAPOLEON.ORG, 26 JUNE - 2 JULY, 2009
FONDATION NAPOLEON LIBRARY SUMMER OPENING HOURS From 1 July to 2 September, the library will be open Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursday, from 1-30 to 6pm.
CLOSE-UP > MAGENTA AND SOLFERINO/THE «RESURGENCE» OF ITALY Magenta and Solferino (June 1859), for their results, are probably Napoleon III's most successful military campaigns. Not only did they allow France to be the patron of Italian independence and unity and to establish the natural frontiers to the south (through the accession of Savoy and Nice to French territory), they also underlined the weakness of Austria in the concert of nations and highlighted the potential of French military might if unleashed. The face of Europe changed almost over night.
SUMMER SELECTION 2009 Whether you're leaving on holiday or not, the summer's always a good time to catch up your reading. We've made a selection here for you choose from Napoleonic books published this year. Here's hoping you find something to your taste. Enjoy your read! View our selection here.
PHD VIVA The Fondation Napoléon is delighted to announce that Marie Emilie Vaxelaire, who received a Fondation Napoléon research grant in 2007, successfully defended her PhD thesis on «Mellerio/Meller, the history of a Parisian jewellers in the 19th century» on 19 June, 2009, at the Paris Institut National d'Histoire de l'Art. Her thesis received the accolade «très honorable» (summa cum laude). Bravo!
JUST PUBLISHED > SPECIAL OFFER In co-operation with the publishers the History Press, readers of the English-version of Fondation Napoléon bulletin are being given the chance to order exclusively reserved copies of this work numbered 1 to 25. These will be distributed by ballot to the first 25 people who order the book. In this way, everyone will have the opportunity to own copy number one. To discover the book and participate in the offer, click here.
PRESS REVIEW > WATERLOO 2009 More than 1,200 enthusiasts came from all over Europe to participate in the re-enactment of the battle of Waterloo on Thursday 18 June, 2009, in Waterloo in Belgique. This year it was the French lawyer Frank Samson, who wore the emperor's greatcoat. Photographs and a short film can be viewed here (external link)
THIS MONTH'S OBJECT The frigate "La Muiron" landing at Ajaccio with Bonaparte in October 1799 Napoleon selected twenty-eight subjects for the painted Sèvres porcelain plates of the famous Headquarters service, fifteen of which were related to directly to the Egyptian Expedition. Some of the plate scenes were reproductions of engravings in Vivant Denon's Voyage dans la haute et la basse Egypte, notably, the Miqyâs in Cairo, a view of the Pharos in Alexandria and that here showing the frigate "La Muiron" landing at Ajaccio with Bonaparte in October 1799.
ARTICLE OF THE MONTH "Napoleon and the Pope: from the Concordat to the Excommunication", by Peter Hicks Napoleon's relations with Pius VII are occasionally overlooked in general public treatments of the Napoleonic epic. Perhaps the subject is seen as peripheral or too technical. And yet, as Napoleon's actions themselves reveal to us, relations with the Holy See were of huge importance in his vision for France. One of Napoleon's first acts as Consul was to bring religion back to France after the atheistic years of the Revolution. The church was to provide the key stone to Napoleon's pacification of the divided state inherited in 1800 after the Brumaire coup. But as the events were to play out, it became clear that Napoleon and Pius VII did not share the same vision for Consular and Imperial France. In Napoleon's scheme, France was to be a state of religious tolerance, in which the Catholic church would provide social cohesion but would be subservient to the government and have no special status amongst religions in France. For Pius the Concordat of July 1801 was to presage the great return of the Church's eldest daughter to the fold and bring back to Catholicism her predominant position in France. This article recounts the Emperor and Pontiff's increasingly difficult relationship in the years 1804-1808, leading up to the excommunication and abduction of the Pope in 1809.
EXHIBITION Napoleon and Corsica This exhibition will set out for the first time to investigate and retrace the complex relationship between Napoleon and the island of Corsica, as well as the role played by these insular, Latin beginnings in the future emperor's destiny. It seems unimaginable that a young man from Ajaccio, the principal city of an island that had only just become French, and whose culture, origins, codes, bearings and even language were completely different to those of the French political elites, could so rapidly rise through the ranks to lead France and found an Empire. Did his Corsican identity serve to help or to hinder his rise to leader of the most powerful nation in Europe during the period? In becoming more 'French', did he choose the right side, at the risk of being considered a traitor? Was he a son of the Revolution, or a son of the Ancien Régime?
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