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News from St Helena
As promised, here is an update on our Operation St Helena campaign, which has to this date received nearly one thousand individual donations. The total now sits at about 450,000 Euros, which includes private donors (150,000 Euros), companies (100,000 Euros), Napoleonic institutions (100,000 Euros) and, most recently, a sum worth 100,000 Euros pledged by an important French foundation, with whom the Fondation Napoléon is in the process of finalising an official agreement. There are more nice surprises to come, but with nothing certain until the paper's signed, I am not at liberty to divulge any further information at this moment in time.
All this being said, the operation would be nothing without the active participation and mobilisation of Napoleonic enthusiasts across the world. And whilst our total may be hovering around the 500,000 Euros mark, that doesn't mean you should stop donating (or indeed, if you fancy it, donating again). The Fondation Napoléon has put a lot of effort into ensuring that as many people as possible worldwide can benefit from certain fiscal measures in place relating to the donation process. So why not put some of your tax bill towards the preservation of an historic and cultural monument?
For those donors who have been enquiring about their souvenir diplomas, I can confirm that they are currently being readied, and will be sent out by the end of the year.
That's a lot of numbers, I hear you say. But the road to restoring such an essential heritage site as Longwood is paved with such numbers.
The very best week to you all,
Thierry Lentz
Director, Fondation Napoléon
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PAINTING OF THE MONTH
Clotilde de Savoie and her son Victor Napoleon, by Eugène Disdéri
Although the politically-motivated union between Princess Clotilde of Savoy and Napoleon III's cousin, Plon-Plon, could hardly be considered "happy", the births of their three children nevertheless brought great joy to the couple. In this photograph, taken in 1863, Eugène Disdéri, one of the great photographers of his time, delivers a family portrait depicting Princess Clotilde and her young son Victor, born on 18 July, 1862. The young prince, not yet two in this picture, and dressed in his white gown and a bonnet, stares straight at the camera, and exudes the serious but captivating air of a true professional.
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NAPOLEON IN THE NEWS
Reopening of the Museo Napoleonico, Havana, Cuba
Closed to the public for a number of years, Havana's semi-mythical Museo Napoleonico reopened its doors on 30 March, 2011. This re-launch comes as part of the wider project to restore Havana's old town district, organised with a great deal of energy and patience by Eusebio Leal, Historiador (city historian) of Havana, and supported by the Cuban government. The ceremony, which took place in the Caribbean island's beautiful capital, welcomed as its guest of honour HIH the Princess Napoleon. Jean Mendelson, French ambassador to Cuba, and the admiral in command of French forces in the Caribbean were also in attendance. José Ramon Fernandez (vice-President of the Council of Ministers), Abel Prieto (Minister of Culture), Miguel Diaz-Canel (Education Minister) and members of the diplomatic corps also attended the event. The museum - already well-known to Napoleonic enthusiasts and scholars - is now open to visitors.
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WHAT'S ON
"Tolentino 815" re-enactment weekend, Tolentino, Italy
Over the course of the first weekend in May, the Associazione Tolentino 815 is organising a series of events to mark the Battle of Tolentino, which was fought between Neapolitan forces under Joachim Murat and the Austrian Empire. As well as a mass in memory of the fallen scheduled for midday on 7 May, there will also be an historical re-enactment of the battle itself split across two days (7 and 8 May). Saturday's events will be rounded off by a Royal Gala Ball, complete with period dances, costumes and uniforms, and a firework display set to music at 11.30pm. There will also be a re-enactment parade through the centres of Tolentino, San Ginesio and Macerata on Sunday 8 May.
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"Spain and Portugal: Wellington enters the scene", Waterloo, Belgium
The Wellington Museum, in collaboration with the Royal Army Museum, the Waterloo Committee and the Bataillon Napoléon, is holding an exhibition on Napoleon's campaigns in Spain and Portugal. This will cover the period 1807 to 1814. Weapons, portraits, uniforms and medals have been assembled to illustrate the origins and the course taken by this war, which made a blood bath of the Iberian Peninsula over many years and lead to political upheavals that would continue to have an influence right up until the 20th century. The exhibition runs until 31 May, 2011.
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PRESS REVIEW
History Today April 2011
The latest issue of History Today (April 2011) features two articles of particular interest for historians and enthusiasts of the Napoleonic period. The first is Richard Cavendish's look at Nelson's victory at Copenhagen - entitled "I really do not see the signal" - in the Months Past section. A few pages later in the magazine is Jan Piggott's article "Reflections of Empire", which takes a look at Crystal Palace, the Great Exhibition of 1851, and subsequent exhibitions, including notably the Festival of Empire in 1911. Both links are external.
200 YEARS AGO
Baptismal preparations for the Roi de Rome
Although the small matter of the appointment of a new ambassador to Russia (see last week's bulletin) and French affairs in the Peninsular degenerating, Napoleon turned back to the recent event that was to safeguard his legacy and the Napoleon dynasty for years to come: the birth of his son, the Roi de Rome. Writing on 13 April, 1811, to Montalivet, Minister of the Interior, the French emperor outlined his plans for celebrations to be held around the baptism of his newly-born son.
"I have decided on 2 June for the baptism of the Roi de Rome, which will be held in [Notre-Dame cathedral]. The empress and I shall be in attendance in order to offer our thanks to God for the birth. After the ceremony in Notre-Dame, I shall dine at the town hall of the great city of Paris, and I shall watch a firework display. The same day, a Te Deum will be sung across the Empire. My wish is that the festivities and celebrations take place at the same time according to the same format that you have suggested; for this, you will address your instructions to the local authorities and indicate the amounts that they will be allowed to spend on these festivities. [...] My wish is also that communal mayors attend the baptism of the Roi de Rome, each accompanied by two députés chosen from the principal representatives in the Conseil Général. Allocate to each of them the necessary amounts to cover their travel expenses, so that during their stay in Paris they are acceptably presented and their people can be dressed in the livery of the towns they are representing." [Letter from Napoleon to the Comte de Montalivet dated 13 April, 1811, n° 17,604, Correspondance de Napoléon Ier, Second Empire Edition.]
Although the date was set for 2 June, 1811, the ceremony was subsequently postponed, to take place a week later, on 9 June, also Trinity Sunday for that year.
Find out more about the birth of the Roi de Rome in our new close-up, available on napoleon.org.
150 YEARS AGO
The Italian parliamentary process hampered...
April was proving to be a busy month for the Italian authorities and newly elected members of parliament. Rumours circulated that Pope Pius IX had died. Although the pope, who by now was nearly seventy, was increasingly beset by ill health and had indeed fainted on 2 April, these rumours proved false and Pius IX remained in office until his actual death in 1878, thereby becoming the longest serving pope in history. The Moniteur Universel, in its almost daily round-up of Italian events, also reported (in a decidedly vague manner) on 8 and 9 April of a potential royalist conspiracy in the Neapolitan area (which had recently seen the defeat of the ruling Bourbon king, Francis II). Despite arrests, talk of arms and munitions caches, and the suggestion of the clergy's involvement, the report nevertheless admitted that "the general peace has not been disturbed".
And on top of these matters, the Moniteur Universel (on 11 April) was also moved to comment on some more cultural issues that were hampering the nascent parliamentary process in Turin:
"Interjection follows interjection in Turin with such frequency that all parliamentary work is being prevented. The order of the day, which has become unending, is continuously being updated. The British, who are eminently more practised in such parliamentary matters, succeed in [hearing] three or four interventions at the beginning of a session: a precisely expressed request and a clear explanation suffice. The Italians take pleasure in the phrase, they fill out their speeches, and it is a miracle if one intervention does not take up the entire session. In the meantime, the laws intended to bring order to [the country], the very [laws] prepared and proposed by their own ministry, remain undiscussed. The more intelligent Turin newspapers complain bitterly about this lost time: but what can be done? It is the uncontested right for each Member of Parliament to have their say, and they take advantage of this right with all the fervour with which one approaches something new."
Wishing you an excellent "Napoleonic" week,
Peter Hicks & Hamish Davey Wright
Historians and web-editors
THE NAPOLEON.ORG BULLETIN, N° 579, 8 – 14 APRIL, 2011
Interested in the work of the Fondation Napoléon? Why not participate, either generally or in a specific project, by making a donation?
© This Napoleon.org weekly bulletin is published by the Fondation Napoléon. Reproduction or all or part of this bulletin is forbidden, without prior agreement of the Fondation Napoléon.
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OPERATION ST HELENA
The Fondation Napoléon and the Souvenir Napoléonien, in association with the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs, have announced an international fund-raising campaign to restore and save Napoleon I's residence on the island of St Helena. All the details regarding the campaign as well as donation forms and advice for donating from outside France, can be found on napoleon.org.
FONDATION NAPOLEON ON THE WEB
Each week we offer you a "mystery" link to somewhere on napoleon.org. Click on the link to discover a part of the website you might not have visited before...
MAGAZINE
Just published
- Murat, by Renata de Lorenzo
Press review
- French History vol. 25, n° 1, March 2011
- News of the Museo Napoleonico's reopening appears in the international press
- History Today April 2011
- Book review: The Civil War of 1812: American Citizens, British Subjects, Irish Rebels, and Indian Allies
EVENTS
On now and coming up
A selection of events taking place now or in the coming weeks, taken from our What's on listings.
Conferences
- "Transformation and innovation in the British Military from 1642 to 1945", Birmingham, UK [13/04/2011]
Full details
Exhibitions
- Spain and Portugal: Wellington enters the scene, Waterloo, Belgium [17/02/2011 - 31/05/2011]
Full details
Re-enactments
- "Tolentino 815" re-enactment weekend, Tolentino, Italy [06/05/2011 - 08/05/2011]
Full details
Study days
- "Le Roi de Rome, de la naissance au retour des cendres", Paris, France [11/04/2011]
Full details
Talks
- Britain's Greatest General, London, UK [09/04/2011]
Full details
- Mark Gerges: "Napoleon Bonaparte", Kansas City, USA [16/04/2011]
Full details
NAPOLEON.ORG
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