Close-ups : 49
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Close-upA close-up on: the creation of the Confederation of the Rhine, 12 July, 1806After having sketched out his ideas regarding France and German lands in a letter to Talleyrand (Minister of Foreign Affairs) dated October 1805, Napoleon went further in the spring of 1806, creating a confederation of small western German states grouped around the three “principal” allies,… -
Close-upA close-up on: the Prussian CampaignThe twin battles of Jena and Auerstedt, 14 October, 1806. -
Close-upA close-up on: Napoleon’s entry into Berlin, 27 October, 1806On 27 October, 1806, after the victories at Iéna and Auerstädt two weeks earlier, Napoleon rode in triumph into Berlin passing under the Brandenburg Gate. -
Close-upA close-up on: 1803: the purchase of Louisiana by the US from FranceDiscovered by the Spanish in the 16th century, Louisiana was explored a century later by the Frenchman, Robert Cavalier de la Salle (1643-1682). He gave this land to the French king as a present. In 1699, Pierre Le Moyne de Bienville (1680-1768) took possession of… -
Close-upA close-up on: the promulgation of the French Code Civil, 21 March 1804Comprising 36 laws and 2,281 articles, arranged in three parts consecrated to people, goods and property, written in a clear and concise style so as to avoid any ambiguity, the Code civil was “a body of laws designed to direct and fix social, familial and commercial… -
Close-upThe proclamation of Empire, 18 May 1804Contrary to a widely held belief, it was not the coronation (Sacre) of 2 December, 1804, which “created” the Napoleonic Empire but rather a Sénatus-consulte adopted by the Sénat during its meeting of 18 May, 1804. The ensemble of documents presented on Napoleonica® les archives… -
Close-upA close-up on: the coronation of Napoleon I (otherwise known as the “Sacre”)On 2 December, 1804, the cathedral of Notre-Dame de Paris was the stage on which the coronation of Napoleon I was played out, in the presence of Pope Pius VII. The new emperor broke with tradition by crowning himself and pronouncing an oath guaranteeing the… -
Close-upA close-up on: Napoleon crowned king of Italy, 26 May 1805 in MilanIt was in Milan, on 26 May 1805, that Napoleon was crowned King of Italy. -
Close-upA close-up on: Trafalgar, 21 October, 1805On 21 October, 1805, the allied Franco-Spanish fleet under Admiral Villeneuve was ‘annihilated’ by the British fleet under Admiral Nelson.