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In this week's letter...
our article of the month is about guerilla warfare in the Peninsular War, which was still ongoing as Napoleon readied his troops for combat in Germany. We're focusing on new publications this week and bring you a selection from both the First and Second Empires. These include titles on: Wellington's friend and General, Viscount Hill; the fifth volume of the Waterloo Archives; the fight for Upper Canada in the War of 1812; and a new study of the rebuilding of Paris under Napoleon III. We also have details of a re-enactment taking place in the Loire valley (France) at Château de Valençay and a large Napoleonic trail in Piedmont (Italy), which traces the movements of Bonaparte's army in the Italian Campaign of 1796. 200 Years Ago focusses on the military training of Napoleon's new battalions at Erfurt in Germany, and 150 Years Ago looks at the treaty of friendship between France and Madagascar. On the right-hand side, there's an online journal about the artillery at the Battle of Waterloo, and we have a podcast about the Opium Wars for you to listen to, as well as news of Napoleon's personal furniture going up for auction in London.
From the Fondation
We were saddened to learn of the death of the eminent historian and student of Jean Tulard, Inès Murat. Born in 1939, she was the author of many highly regarded works, amongst which were Napoléon et le rêve américain (Fayard, 1976; translated into English in 1981, Louisiana State University Press), Colbert (Fayard, 1980: Broquette-Gonin Prize awarded by the Academie Française), La Deuxième République (Fayard, 1987; awarded the Gobert prize by the Académie Française), Gabrielle D'Estrée (Fayard, 1992), Madame du Deffand. La lettre et l'esprit (Perrin, 2003). Born in Luynes, Inès Murat married Napoléon Joachim Louis Maurice, prince of Murat (1925-1998) and they had four children. She was awarded the chévalier de la Légion d'honneur in 2008.
The Fondation Napoléon expresses its sincerest condolences to her family.
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Article of the Month
“Bleeding Ulcer”: The Commencement and long-term Consequences of Guerilla Warfare in Iberia, by Don Barry
The month of May, 1808, marked the commencement of a terrible tragedy for the peoples and nations of Spain, Portugal, and France. Six months earlier French armies of the Napoleonic Empire had begun their invasion and occupation of the Iberian Peninsula. But the conservative, proud, religious, and xenophobic native populations had reacted initially to these foreign forces with a fear and loathing that exploded eventually into fury and violent opposition in the form of a spontaneous, general, leaderless, and massive insurrection. This uprising quickly coalesced into an armed popular movement that the French were never able to suppress over a period of nearly six years.
You can find the article of the French side of the napoleon.org website here: L'épopée du trésor des Invalides
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What's On
Re-enactment at the Château de Valençay, France
At the Château de Valençay, erstwhile home of Talleyrand, the Association Sergent Gourneau 17th Light infantry with the cavalry of the 12th Chasseurs à Cheval will present a re-enactment. There will be a bivouac and demonstrations of a soldier's life before parades of the troops and the large main re-enactment.
The Napoleonic Trail, Piedmont, Italy
The Itinerario Napoleonico (the Napoleonic trail) is an initiative of the Piedmont region of Italy which commemorates the decisive Italian Campaign of 1796. It follows a route across the country that Napoleon and his troops crossed as part of the campaign, and it comprises twelve stopping points at the sites of major battles with monuments erected in memory, along with information posters, often situated on promontories with grand views over the landscape where the French army marched. There are two museums on the route: the Museo Generale Bonaparte, dedicated to Napoleon, the Piedmontese troops who fought, and the painter Bagetti (whose works you can see on our site); and the Villa Scarzella, which houses an exhibition dedicated to Napoleon I. If you're visiting Piedmont this summer, why not first visit the Napoleonic trail website (scroll down the page for the link), download your map (and related information) and follow the trail?...
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Just Published
There's been a flurry of new Napoleonic publications recently relating to the First and Second Empires, so here's a selection! First up is The Waterloo Archive, Volume V by Gareth Glover, which brings together for the first time testimonies of German soldiers who fought at Waterloo, providing a fascinating human perspective of the conflict. Similarly, Joanna Hill's Wellington's Right Hand: Rowland, Viscount Hill uses a wide variety of sources and personal papers to recount the story of Wellington's friend and general.
Also of interest is Paris Reborn by Stephane Kirkland, a study of the relationship between Baron Haussmann and Napoleon III and their construction of a remodelled Paris. You can also read a review of it here.
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200 Years Ago
On 24 April, 1813, Tsar Alexander and the Russian guards entered the city of Dresden in Saxony, where they were to celebrate the Russian Easter. On the same day, Napoleon moved eastwards from Mainz to Erfurt in central Germany to occupy a strategically key position on the great road from Dresden and Leipzig to Mainz. Napoleon had ordered the fortification of this position in 1806 when it had fallen to the French. At Erfurt, Napoleon reviewed his troops and partly oversaw the training of the new battalions, made up of the conscripts of 1813 and the remains of three regiments of the first corps.
150 Years Ago
Le Moniteur of 20 April, 1863, officially presented to the French people the treaty of friendship between France and Madagascar, signed a week and a half earlier (11 April). Above all, this treaty ensured favourable commercial benefits for French immigrants to the country. The first article announced a ‘constant peace' between the two countries; the second article confirmed the right of free movement in the two territories for both nations; the third article affirmed the religious freedom of the French and the Madagascans. But the rest of the articles were aimed at commerce and the acquisition of goods. Thus, article 4 guaranteed the freedom of trade and property of the French in Madagascar. Article 9 stipulated that the authorities of the Madagascan King would not intervene in the affairs and conflicts between Christians and that in the event of a judicial case between a French citizen and a Madagascan, the French consul would aid the local judge. The rest of the articles of the treaty established rules for naval commerce which were very favourable to French vessels. Madagascar thus came under a strong French influence, and this led to colonisation by an invasion in 1895.
Wishing you an excellent "Napoleonic" week,
Peter Hicks and Andrew Miles
Historians and web editors
THE NAPOLEON.ORG BULLETIN, N0 667, 19-25 APRIL, 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
Follow us on Facebook and on Twitter!
'NAPOLEON ET L'EUROPE' AT THE MUSEE DE L'ARMEE
- The exhibition is now open! Buy your tickets online.
napoleon.org-related content:
- Painting of the Month, from the exhibition: Napoleon's Consecration or Coronation
- Interview with E. Robbe, Director of the Exhibition
- Object of the Month, from the exhibtion: The Uniform and Epaulettes worn by Lord Nelson at the Battle of Trafalgar
- Book of the Month, from the exhibition: Napoléon et l'Europe Exhibition Catalogue
MAGAZINE
Just Published
- The Waterloo Archive, Volume V, by Gareth Glover
- Wellington's Right Hand: Rowland, Viscount Hill, by Joanna Hill
- Paris Reborn: Napoleon III, Baron Haussmann and the Quest to build a Modern City, by Stephane Kirkland
Seen on the web (external links)
- A podcast about the Opium Wars
- Napoleon's chairs go on sale at Christie's
Press Review
- 'Waterloo Artillery: British, French and Prussian', Smoothbore Ordnance Journal no. 5, edited by Dr Stephen Summerfield
- Book Review: Paris Reborn, by Stephane Kirkland
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.
Re-enactments
Re-enactment at the Château de Valençay [France, 28/04/2013]
NAPOLEONICA.LA REVUE
Available free on Cairn.info
NAPOLEONICA ARCHIVES ONLINE
Napoleonica Archives is now online!
THE BIBLIOTHÈQUE MARTIAL-LAPEYRE FONDATION NAPOLEON LIBRARY
The new library opening hours are:
Monday and Tuesday 1pm – 6pm and
Thursday to Friday 10am – 3pm.
Closed Wednesday.
Online catalogue
Digital Library
Contact
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