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In this week's letter...
we bring you a new article of the month on Napoleon's consecration and coronation. Then there is news of events and talks organised by the Souvenir Napoléonien in Northern Italy and an exhibition on Napoleon and the Art of Propaganda in Iowa (USA). And to drive away the winter cold (it's snowing here in Paris!) with thoughts of warmer climes, we have two travel articles about St Helena for you, focussing on the construction of the airport, which will vastly increase accessibility to the island. Not only have we got all of that for you to get stuck into, we also have a new recipe for ‘potage à la reine', a soup popular around the time of the First Empire. As always, don't forget to check out the right hand side for details of a publications and events, as well as a selection of things we've seen on the web - like the menu for Lincoln's second inauguration and an article about military rockets!
Enjoy.
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Article of the Month
Napoleon's Consecration and Coronation, by Peter Hicks
On 18 May, 1804, after much political horse trading, the French Senate proclaimed Bonaparte Emperor Napoleon I. They then sent a group of senators from central Paris to the consul's palace in the nearby countryside, Saint Cloud, to present the First Consul with the news of his elevation. Not content with this secular appointment, Napoleon was also to feel the need for divine approbation via a religious consecration, seven months later.
This article looks at how Napoleon, a republican general from Corsica, had himself crowned 'Emperor of France by the Grace of God and the Constitution".
Over on the French side of the website, the article of the month is about the regencies of Empress Eugenie.
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St Helena in the air
The island of St Helena has featured in both the British and Italian press this week as an unlikely holiday destination. This comes amidst the start of construction work on the airport, which will open the island up to far more visitors than it is currently used to - at the moment, the only way to reach St Helena is by the Royal Mail ship which takes 5 days from Cape Town. Of course, when the strip is built, far more Napoleon enthusiasts will be able to visit the island where the Emperor was kept prisoner for 6 years. This article from the Financial Times takes a look at the island today and the impact the plans could have, whilst the article from la Repubblica (in Italian) looks at Napoleon and his imprisonment on the island.
And whilst talking of St Helena, don't forget that you can still donate to help secure Longwood House for the future.
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What's on
Napoleon and the Art of Propaganda, Old Capitol Museum, Iowa City (USA)
This exhibition, organised by the University of Iowa, brings together 120 various artefacts, from books and manuscripts to sculpture and painting, as well as some of the Emperor's own possessions, to illustrate the aesthetic of official art during Napoleonic era. The exhibition features works by Jacques-Louis David, Anne-Louise Girodet and Charles Percier. It closes on 29 January, so do go and see it if you're in the vicinity! Click here for more details.
Napoleonic Events in Northern Italy
The Northern Italy chapter of the Souvenir Napoléonien has its general meeting on 20 January, as well a talk on Napoleon in Friuli and a trip to Milan in February. You can find further details here.
Also see last week's letter for more events in Italy organised by the Souvenir Napoléonien and the Centro Romano di Studi Napoleonici.
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Winter warmer
We have a brand new recipe for you on the website for 'potage à la reine', a chicken and almond soup originating in the 15th century. Named for queen Marguerite de Valois, it proved to be a popular dish, even making its way across the channel features in the novel Pride and Prejudice, which is 200 years old this month. The soup is excellent for the cold weather (snow is due imminently here in Paris!), and thanks to modern kitchen appliances, a lot quicker to make!
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200 Years Ago
Pride and Prejudice
This month marks the bicentenary of the publication of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice. Interesting for our readers especially is the question of Jane Austen and the “Great War”, which was the background to her writing life, yet which rarely penetrates the social portraits she paints. Here's a link to an extensive essay about the subject (external link).
Russian Campaign: the aftermath
During this week in January 1813, Le Moniteur continued to publish reactions to the losses of the Grande Armée, following on from the publication of the 29th bulletin and the news of General Yorck's treachery (see Bulletin No. 653). Entire pages of the newspaper were dedicated to acts of allegiance and the rebuilding of the French war machine, such as: mayors proposing the financing of new cavalry officers; whole cohorts volunteering to join the Grande Armée; civilians petitioning to join up. This spontaneous goodwill of the French to shore up the Empire took other, more administrative, forms under the direction of Napoleon himself. For example, a decree was proclaimed for the reorganisation of the Imperial Schools of Rural Economy and Veterinary Science aiming to make the recruitment and training of vets more efficient, notably of those working at the Imperial stud farms and above all of those in the Grande Armée. More vets and their assistants, the veterinary marshals, were to graduate from the five Imperial Veterinary Schools (Alfort, Lyons, Turin, Aix-la-Chapelle and Zutphen). The aim was to have a veterinary service detached to each cavalry regiment and in each battalion of the baggage train. The Interior Minister reserved the right to choose twenty bursary scholars in each year and in each vet school. This reorganisation of the army, started right at the beginning of 1813, was to affect French society at every level.
150 Years Ago
During the night of 17 January, 1863, the viceroy of Egypt, Saïd Pasha, died at the age of 40. The news reached Paris by telegraph the next day. Le Moniteur paid tribute to the “prince, who, in all of his actions, had showed enlightened thinking” and also recalled that the monarch “had left a deep impression on the work of civilisation in those regions of the Middle East”. His nephew, Ismail Pasha, who succeeded him, appears not to have shared this French regard for the modernity of his uncle, as can be judged from the inaugural speech he made on 21 January, as he received the diplomats present in Egypt. Stressing his desire for his reign to be one of order, security, moderation and economy, he did not fail to underline his desire to “abolish the brutal system of forced labour still practised by the government in its work”. The French consul, Monsieur de Beauval, responded at the end of the speech, assuring him that France had never wanted to encourage this system. The viceroy told him that it wasn't a reference to the work on the Suez canal. The following months were to prove that the viceroy was here being rather economical with the truth.
Wishing you an excellent "Napoleonic" week,
Peter Hicks and Andrew Miles
Historians and web editors
THE NAPOLEON.ORG BULLETIN, N0 654, 18-24 JANUARY, 2013
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© 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 the prolongation of its 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.
You can still donate online to the project via the Friends of the Fondation de France in the US here
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MAGAZINE
Just Published
- The Boyhood and Youth of Napoleon, by Oscar Browning
Seen on the web
- Garibaldi: is his body still in its tomb?
- Find out what was for dinner at President Lincoln's inauguration (external link).
Press Review
- Congreve's Rational Rockets
- St Helena, Paradise Lost or Found?
- La riscoperta dell'ultimo Bonaparte
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
- Napoleon and the Art of Propaganda
[13/09/2013 - 29/01/2013, Iowa City, USA]
Full details here.
Talks
- The Souvenir Napoléonien North Italian Events
[20/01/2013 - 23/02/2013]
Full details here.
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
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