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A busy time ahead...
The school bell has rung: children are back at their desks, and the napoleon.org newsletter is returning to your inbox. This summer break has not been all sun and relaxation however: staff at the Fondation Napoléon have been busy working towards projects that will define the life of this institution for the next few months and indeed years. Two projects in particular deserve further explanation: the creation of an extensive Napoleonic digital library, and the relocation of our headquarters.
In their last meeting held in June, the board of trustees gave the green light to pursue the development of our Napoleonic digital library. Up to this point, we have simply been testing the waters (and people's interest) with the digitisation of about sixty volumes, freely available online via napoleon.org. Nearly four thousand hits and about five hundred downloads per month would suggest this has been a success. We have therefore decided to expand quite substantially our library, with an estimated five thousand titles set to go online over the next five years (this without taking into account the thousands of links to other sources that we are continually adding). In doing so, we are continuing in one of our key missions: encouraging a deeper understanding of Napoleonic history by offering researchers and readers from all over the world access to a quite exceptional resource centre.
This is not to suggest, however, that we will be doing away with our reference library of real books. For one, current legislation does not allow us to digitise books still under copyright. That being said, taking into account the rapid rate at which legislation and technology are evolving, the addition of more recent publications could well modify the digital collection in the years to come. Our team is keeping a close eye on these developments as they happen.
The second project under construction - almost in the literal sense of the word - is the Fondation Napoléon's new headquarters, which will be operational by summer 2012. For a number of years now we have been considering moving to a site more suited to receiving the public and providing more comfortable working conditions for the Fondation's collaborators. Following an agreement with the Fondation de France, the new offices have been located and purchased (the site will be owned by the Fondation de France, who will lease it to the Fondation Napoléon). The fitting of the offices will begin this autumn, for a May 2012 opening. The site, which is located not far from the Jardin des Plantes, will house workspaces, a modernised reference library, and a conference room capable of seating fifty people. Although it will be a new area of Paris for us, it is nevertheless extremely accessible and well-served by public transport.
These two important announcements should not however distract from other events taking place over the coming months. These include the publication of volume eight of General Correspondence of Napoleon Bonaparte (November), the selection of this year's history prize winners and study grant awardees (December), the continuation of "Operation St Helena", the organisation of a study day on great legislators of the Napoleonic period (January) and an "1812" conference (May), and the preparation for a grand Napoleonic exhibition in Melbourne, to name just a few projects that are in the pipeline.
Of course, both the newsletter and the website will keep you up to date on all of the Fondation's projects as they develop.
So, plenty to keep everyone both here at the Fondation Napoléon and Napoleonic history enthusiasts in general busy...
The very best Napoleonic week to you all.
Victor-André Masséna, prince d'Essling
President of the Fondation Napoléon
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FONDATION NAPOLEON
Remembering Baron Gourgaud
One year ago, on 6 August, 2010, Baron Gourgaud - the Fondation Napoléon's founder, president for eighteen years, and honorary president between 2005 and 2010 - passed away. The Fondation's president and executive board, along with all those who work at and with the Fondation Napoléon, would like to take a few minutes to remember the baron, and we invite all our visitors and readers to join us in this moment of remembrance.
The Fondation Napoléon on Facebook: now in French and English
The Fondation Napoléon's Facebook page has gone bilingual: find us on Facebook, hit the like button, and you'll be kept up to date on the latest announcements, events, and publications in the Napoleonic world, with alerts in both English and French.
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BOOK OF THE MONTH
Napoléon et ses hommes, by Pierre Branda
The creation of an imperial household - a web of services dedicated entirely to his person - was Napoleon's way of establishing France's new reigning power and reintroducing a Court, similar to those that had previously served the kings of France. Every member of his "maison" - from his closest advisers to the humblest servant, from the officers and soldiers of the imperial guard to the skivvies slaving away in the kitchen - was employed exclusively to his ends. Pierre Branda's account examines in detail the accounts and huge swathes of correspondence relating to the Maison de l'Empereur, from the beginnings of the regime to the miniature Court on the island of Elba, its resurrection during the Cent-Jours, and including its shadowy incarnation on St Helena.
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FONDATION NAPOLEON
Study grants 2011
Each year, the Fondation Napoléon awards study grants to seven French and foreign university students beginning or in the process of completing their thesis. To date, more than seventy students have received Fondation Napoléon support during their studies. To apply for a 2011 Fondation Napoléon study grant, students should complete and submit an application form to arrive in Paris no later than 30 September, 2011. Full details can be found on our study grant page.
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WHAT'S ON
European Heritage Open Days 2011
The European heritage open days initiative takes place across Europe over the course of two weekends in September: 9 to 11 September and 17 to 18 September. The Fondation Napoléon has selected a number of events taking place across Europe. Of particular note are a number of Victor Hugo-related events, tied in to the 150th anniversary of the completion of Les Misérables. So why not take a stroll in the famous author's footsteps at Braine-le-Château, Belgium, check out a performance of the famous musical in Waterloo, Belgium, or visit the Musée Wellington for the exhibition "Les Misérables, 150 ans à Waterloo" and a series of specially-organised events. Many of the events listed can be attended free of charge.
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Tour of the imperial bathroom, Napoleonmuseum, Arenenberg, CH
Schloss Arenenberg, located in Thurgau, Switzerland, and home to the exiled Bonaparte family between 1817 and 1906, is home to a multitude of treasures. A surprising discovery was made in 2010, during renovation work made to the west wing of the castle annex. Archaeologists and historians working on the project uncovered well-preserved evidence of the long-lost "imperial bath room". The room contains a sunken bath or plunge pool, with the French imperial eagle clearly visible. Pipes supplied the room with both hot and cold water, cutting edge technology at the time. Another interesting feature of the room is the well-preserved green stucco ceiling and exotic bird ornamentation in the corners. The new wing opened earlier this year, and features as part of the Napoleonmuseum's "Eau et toilette!" exhibition, which runs until 23 October, 2011. Tours will be running on 11 September, 2011, at 11.30am, 12.30pm, 1.30pm, 2.30pm and 3.30pm.
200 YEARS AGO
Smugglers prepare for the outbreak of war
On 11 September, 1811, a decoded letter, from a Russian based in London, arrived in Napoleon's secret police briefing, discussing the traffic of contraband goods between the UK and Russia via Sweden. Although Sweden had declared war on Britain in 1810, the seaways remained for the most part open around the Baltic as Admiral James Saumarez, Britain's commander in the area, orchestrated a relaxed policy with the Swedish authorities that ensured that trade continued during the period of war.
"If, next spring, there is a rupture [between Russia and France]," mused the letter, "we will have lost nothing on our merchandise. [...] I have loaded with sugar, cotton, etc., several ships bound for Russia. [...] We do not fear [confiscation] for the moment, given that the Swedish government has provided Saumarez with a very satisfactory and reassuring response regarding [British] properties and the exhaustion [of resources] in Sweden."
The involvement of these two nations – both ostensibly allied with France (Bernadotte, Napoleon's former general, was set to assume the throne in Sweden, and the treaty signed at Tilsit between Russia and France in 1807 committed Alexander I to the continental blockade) - was to remain a continual thorn in Napoleon's side, and proved a contributing factor in Napoleon's decision to invade Russia.
150 YEARS AGO
Situation in Mexico
Since the establishment of Mexican independence in 1821, the country had been invaded by the United States (in 1848), lost or sold off huge swathes of territory, and - since 1858 - had been engulfed by a violent civil war between liberal constitutionists and their conservative opponents. Buckling under the weight of huge foreign loans - offered principally by France, Britain and Spain - the country found itself in an increasingly dire financial and political situation, with "pillage, murder, and destruction" reigning across the country. The Moniteur Universel of 10 September, 1861, offered its French readers an update of the desperate situation:
"For those who have been studying the Mexican question a bit, the decision taken by M. de Saugny, French minister, and by M. [Charles Wyke], British minister, has been anticipated for a while. In Mexico [City], just as in Vera Cruz, Juárez has been unable to find neither the initiative nor the moral strength to master [this] crushing situation. Weakness has made it impossible for him to keep his engagements he made in his country's name. He should have expected such observations to come from France and Britain, and if these two powers' ministers have closed their respective legations, it is because he has been unable to satisfy their entirely fair demands."
On 17 July, 1861, President Juárez announced to the world that Mexico would not be paying off its foreign debt for two years: France and Britain - represented by de Saugny and Wyke respectively - immediately broke off diplomatic relations with Mexico, and discussions began on how to force Mexico to restart repayments to the European powers involved. What began as a diplomatic issue very quickly escalated into military intervention...
Wishing you an excellent "Napoleonic" week,
Peter Hicks & Hamish Davey Wright
Historians and web-editors
THE NAPOLEON.ORG BULLETIN, N° 594, 9 – 15 SEPTEMBER, 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
Recently published
- Raglan: From the Peninsular to the Crimea, by John Sweetman
Press review
- Scotsman.com: lock of hair "belonging to Napoleon" found at Walter Scott's Abbotsford home
- Mass grave found near Kassel: Napoleon's soldiers retreating from Leipzig?
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.
Exhibitions
- "Les Misérables, 150 ans à Waterloo", Waterloo, Belgium [30/06/2011 - 30/09/2011]
Full details
"Eau et toilette!", Salenstein, Switzerland [15/04/2011 - 23/10/2011]
Full details
- "Magnificence and Grandeur of the Royal Houses in Europe", Monaco [11/07/2011 - 11/09/2011] [LAST WEEKEND]
Full details
Festivals
- European Heritage Open Days 2011, various, Europe [09/09/2011 - 18/09/2011]
Full details
NAPOLEON.ORG
The best of the month:
- Book of the month
- Painting of the month
- Objet d'Art of the month
- Article of the month
NAPOLEONICA.LA REVUE
Available free on Cairn.info
NAPOLEONICA ARCHIVES ONLINE
THE BIBLIOTHÈQUE MARTIAL-LAPEYRE FONDATION NAPOLEON LIBRARY
Autumn opening hours
Situated at 148 boulevard Haussmann, 75008 Paris, the library is open on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday 1pm - 6pm, and Thursday 10am - 3pm.
Online catalogue
Digital Library
Contact
ACCOUNT DETAILS
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