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THE NAPOLEON.ORG BULLETIN n° 708, 4-10 APRIL, 2014
EDITORIAL: St Helena, now more than ever
In January, director of the Fondation Napoléon, Thierry Lentz, visited St Helena as part his inspection of the work engaged as a result of the international appeal to «Save Napoleon's House on St Helena» and to do the ground work with Michel Dancoisne-Martineau for the next stages of the project. But you can't do the work if you haven't got the money. Thanks to your generosity, we have been able to restore both the house and its historical memorabilia for generations to come – we bring you the financial breakdown here on the site every month. Alongside the numbers we also publish the very long list of donors to the appeal launched in 2010. They thought we were crazy (and St Helena so far away), but we (that is, you, the Fondation Napoléon, the Souvenir napoléonien, the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the Fondation du Patrimoine) did it. THANK YOU.
Marie de Bruchard, Wed Editor at napoleon.org/fr
JACQUES LE GOFF (1924-2014)
The great French Mediaeval historian Jacques Le Goff passed away on 1st April, 2014. He will be greatly missed by the scholarly community. In 2006, on the tenth anniversary of napoleon.org, the great man spoke (with no holds barred!) about our great man. You can listen to the interview recorded in collaboration with the French radio Europe1 here (in French).
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BOOK OF THE MONTH > LA GUERRE SECRÈTE DE NAPOLÉON - ÎLE D'ELBE 1814-1815 (NAPOLEON'S SECRET WAR, ELBA 1814-1815), by PIERRE BRANDA
Our book of the month recounts Napoleon's first ‘exile' when he was granted sovereignty over the Tuscan island of Elba. Author, Pierre Branda, Fondation Napoléon Manager of Capital, Collection and Real Estate, answered a few questions on the Elban episode. Read the interview here: “On Elba, Napoleon once again took charge of his own destiny”.
FRENCH CAMPAIGN 200
For all the events related to the bicentenary of the French Campaign, see here and here.
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CONCERT > NAPOLEON SYMPHONY
Serge Lama and Yves Gilbert's 'extraordinary' Napoleon show will receive a single performance on 17 May; And the production goes with the blessing of the great Serge Lama himself – his artistic director and lighting engineer are participating in the project. You can be there for this unforgettable event at the Théâtre antique d'Orange (France) by booking here (in French).
NAPOLEONIC AND REVOLUTIONARY PERIOD VIDEO GAMES
> The next version of Scourge of war will be on the Battle of Waterloo. See here some screenshots (external link)
> We can announce on seeing some screenshots of Assassin's Creed V that: a) that it looks fantastic; and b) it's in the Revolutionary and possibly even Napoleonic periods. Gamers enjoy! (external link). See also here.
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NAPOLEONICA. LA REVUE > "The secret intelligence from Tilsit"
This article by Thomas Munch Petersen, from the latest issue of Napoleonica. La Revue, deals in detail with the problem of the source of the high-level leak from the negotiations at Tilsit, a leak which was to have far-reaching repercussions. Also included here is the first ever detailed, sourced biography of the shadowy diplomat/spy figure, Colin Alexander Mackenzie.
1809, INSURRECTION IN THE TYROL
10 April, 1809, was the date that the insurrection in the Tyrol led by Andreas Hofer officially began, after the blessing of Tyrolean flags. Read all about it in our Close up entitled Andreas Hofer and the Insurrection in the Tyrol, 1809-1810.
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200 YEARS AGO > Abdication, Charter, Restoration
In the night of 5-6 April, after long attempts at negotiations with the allies, Napoleon accepted defeat and wrote out a short text declaring that he had abdicated as follows: “[…] the Emperor Napoleon, true to his oath, declares that he renounces for himself and his heirs the thrones of France and of Italy, and that there is not personal sacrifice, even that of his life, which he is not ready to perform in the interests of France.” He gave this to Caulaincourt to transmit to the allies explaining that it should not be published until the treaty (the future Treaty of Fontainebleau, to be signed and published on 11 April) had established the rules for the abdication. On the same day (5 April), the Provisional government headed by Talleyrand, sent a document, ‘a constitutional charter', to the Senate. The text took its inspiration from the constitution of 1791 guaranteeing civil and political liberties but importantly established a sharing of legislative power between the King and the Chambres. It also noted that “Louis Stanislas Xavier de France, brother of the last King” was “freely” called to the throne of France by the “French People”. The stage was being set for the return of the Bourbon monarchy to France.
Battle of Toulouse
10 April, the extremely bloody (and useless) Battle of Toulouse, described by the cavalryman George Woodberry, an eyewitness, as a “day of carnage for all”, took place. Soult had fought Wellington there because he refused to believe that Napoleon had abdicated. The combined French and British losses for the day of 8,000 dead or wounded marked the military end of the First Empire
150 YEARS AGO > MAXIMILIAN, KING OF MEXICO
On 10 April, 1864, after some uncertainty (see Bulletin 703) and a long voyage (see Bulletin 704), Maximilian accepted the crown which an assembly of Mexican notables had offered to him a year earlier (See Bulletin 678) and ratified the Convention of Miramar, thereby becoming officially King of Mexico. For more about this, see our Focus on the Mexican Expedition.
Wishing you an excellent "Napoleonic" week,
Peter Hicks and Lucie Louvrier
THE NAPOLEON.ORG BULLETIN, N° 708, 4-10 APRIL, 2014
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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.
ALWAYS AVAILABLE
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napoleon. org - related content:
MAGAZINE
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.
WHAT'S ON
- Exhibition "Joséphine" at the Luxembourg Museum in Paris [12/03/2014 - 29/06/2014]
-El equipaje del rey José - Une historia de expolio y saqueo, Alava, Spain [17/12/2013 - 13/04/2014] - Closes next week
- Napoléon au bivouac, Ajaccio, Corsica [13/02/2014 - 12/05/2014]
- Bicentenary of Napoleon's Farewell in Fontainebleau, France [05/04/2014 - 20/04/2014]
- Bicentenary of Napoleon's Presence on the Island of Elba, Italy [11/04/2014 - 26/02/2015]
PRESS REVIEW
- "Garibaldi in London", History Today, April 2014
- "Sebastopol Besieged", History Today, April 2014
- "Gout Gets Even", History Today, April 2014
SEEN ON THE WEB
- Supposedly Napoleon's appendage - again (oh dear!)... (external link)
- The healing power of Napoleon! Brain-damaged man uses tapestry of Napoleon to stay sane... (external link)
- Marie-Louise's earrings up for auction (external link)
- Napoleonic apochryphal 'Quand la Chine s'éveille...' quote (probably yet another one of those invented by Balzac...) surfaces in Chinese premier's speech in France... (external link)
NAPOLEONICA.LA REVUE
Available free on Cairn.info
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