| |
| |
HISTORY AS ENTERTAINMENT
We've got a huge array of events lined up for you in this napoleon.org newsletter. All week, Rueil-Malmaison is being transformed for the second “Imperial Jubilee” – a riotous Napoleonic spectacle that includes nineteenth-century food, music, re-enactments, costumes, fireworks and more. On Saturday and Sunday, cultural institutions across Europe are opening their doors for this year's European Heritage Weekend, bringing the breadth and wealth of our cultural heritage to light. We've got news of the French “Maisons des Illustres” scheme, as well as the history of its pre-cursor, the British Blue Plaques. And as always, the right hand column is filled with the latest Napoleonic happenings, from exhibitions to ghost tours. All this has got us thinking this week about history as entertainment. Of course, the enjoyment of history and culture isn't anything new. Who can forget Napoleon's role in building up the “Musée Napoléon” (as the Louvre was then called) or the major improvements and expansions it enjoyed under the Second Empire? Throughout the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries (and even earlier), it was commonplace for well-connected cosmopolitan travellers to carry letters of introduction that let them visit the most exclusive private homes and collections. What struck us this week, however, is the emphasis on history's place as popular entertainment; on the diverse and exciting ways in which the historical message is being transferred and preserved and made tangible. This, of course, is also what we strive to do at napoleon.org – bring the two empires to life for you, our readers.
Happy reading!
Francesca Whitlum-Cooper
Web Editor
|
|
|
|
|
| |
21 & 22 SEPTEMBER > A NAPOLEONIC WEEKEND AHEAD!
It's a big weekend ahead for Napoleonic heritage. Rueil-Malmaison will be transported back to the First Empire for its second "Imperial Jubilee", bringing together more than 500 soldiers, 60 cavaliers, 6 pieces of artillery, Napoleon's tent, and the Emperor himself. It's also the European Heritage Weekend, and there are plenty of Napoleonic happenings to catch across France – including a chance to see the 12,000 piece Waterloo model in the Musée de la Figurine Historique in Compiègne, a ramble “in Napoleon's footsteps” in Forges, and guided tours around the “Thermes Napoléon” in Plombières-les-Bains (external links).
|
|
|
| |
OCTOBER CONFERENCES > THE FRENCH CAMPAIGN AND THE PENINSULAR WAR
We're also entering a busy season of Napoleonic conferences, so be sure to mark these two in your diaries: between 1 and 3 October, the Fondation Napoléon and the Conseil Général de l'Aube will host an international conference in Troyes on the French Campaign, and on 15 and 16 October, the Friends of the British Cemetery, Elvas have organised an action-packed symposium at Hedingham Castle, "The Peninsular War in Portugal", which includes talks, tours and meals. Reserve your places now!
|
|
|
| |
CULTURAL HERITAGE > MAISONS DES ILLUSTRES AND BRITISH BLUE PLAQUES
On Saturday 11 October, a “Maisons des Illustres” plaque will be unveiled on the Town Hall of Lectoure, residence of Maréchal Lannes. 195 buildings in France currently bear the “Maisons des Illustres” plaques, which follow the British Blue Plaques model. Read more about the history of the Blue Plaques here, and, next time you're in London, why not seek out some Napoleonic-era notables and their former homes? Napoleon III is commemorated at 1c King Street, Horatio Nelson at 147 New Bond Street, and Charles X of France at 72 South Audley Street… (external links)
|
|
|
| |
EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY MATERIAL CULTURE > THE BRITISH SOLDIER IN CAMP
The Eighteenth-Century Material Culture Resource Center has just published this fantastic body of visual material online, “The British Soldier in Camp” (external link). Brought together in one place from a huge variety of sources, these paintings, drawings, watercolours and engravings paint a vivid picture of life in the British Army in the eighteenth century.
DIGITAL LIBRARY > LE LIVRE DU SACRE DE SA MAJESTE L'EMPEREUR
Le Livre du Sacre de sa Majesté l'Empereur was a Herculean effort to commemorate the splendour of Napoleon's coronation in print. Delve into this extraordinary book via our Digital Library (you can skip ahead to page 60 for the illustrations) and discover the amazing events of December 1804. And don't forget, our Digital Library can now be viewed online via Gallica, the digital resource of the Bibliothèque Nationale de France. Be sure to take a look!
200 YEARS AGO > NAPOLEON'S KIDNAP AND TALLEYRAND'S ARRIVAL
> Plans to kidnap Napoleon confirmed in Paris. A report of 28 September 1814 from Consul Mariotti to Talleyrand proves that plans to organise the kidnapping of Napoleon from Elba had been concretely formed: “All the intelligence which I have received from Portoferraio and which I have had the honour of bringing to Your Highness's attention suggest that there are not many opportunities for removing Napoleon. The extraordinary precautions which he has taken against strangers […], the continual changing of his residence, and the hope that he maintains amongst his soldiers for a happy change of location after the Congress are obstacles that make it impossible for me to try anything against him at the moment…” These precautions stemmed from the fact that Napoleon had heard the rumour circulating about his abduction (see Letter n° 726). Louis XVIII's Minister of War confirmed as much to Talleyrand on 15 October: “From all the reports received from Portoferraio, it would be very difficult to abduct Napoleon, since he has taken a huge number of precautions and can count on his troops.” In the end, Louis XVIII, like most of his ministers with the exception of Talleyrand, was only vaguely interested in this project. Were they wrong to dismiss it so easily? The Minister of the Navy, Ferrand, expressed as much in his memoirs, written after the Hundred Days: “Bonaparte's stay on Elba should have been a cause for concern, and I must say that the government did not take enough notice of it.”
> Talleyrand and the French Delegation arrive in Vienna
Meanwhile, on 23 September 1814, Talleyrand, in the role of Ambassadeur Extraordinaire du Roi de France, arrived in Vienna and moved into the Palais Kaunitz in the heart of the city.
150 YEARS AGO > THE SEPTEMBER CONVENTION
Though Italian unification was one of Napoleon III's major preoccupations, both a matter of political and military urgency, it was nevertheless not without ambiguity. The Kingdom of Italy, uniting Cavour's northern territories with the southern areas won by Giuseppe Garibaldi, was created on 18 February, 1861, and Victor-Emmanuel II, King of Piedmont-Sardinia, assumed the title of King of Italy on 17 March, 1861, but he had to take his throne in Turin, not Rome, not only because he was King of Piedmont-Sardinia but also because a small portion of the Papal States around and including the city of Rome remained under the temporal control of Pope Pius IX. Since Napoleon III's power base in France was middle class and Catholic, any activities directly threatening papal temporal power made the French emperor's position complicated. Against a background of tensions in Italy related to desires to have the historical centre of the Italian peninsula as the capital, it was Victor-Emmanuel who signed the September Convention with Napoleon III on 15 September, 1864. The Convention agreed that France would withdraw all its troops from Rome within two years (Paris had been a major protector of the Papal States), and that Victor-Emmanuel would guarantee the Papal States' borders. Opposed by the Pope, French Catholics, and Italian nationalists, the September Convention was only a temporary solution. Although the last French troops did indeed leave Rome in December 1866, they were quickly called back when Garibaldi led an invasion of the city in 1867 that required the French forces to defeat it. When the Second Empire fell, Victor-Emmanuel proposed the peaceful entry of the Italian army into Rome. Refused once again by Pope Pius, the Italian army took Rome on 20 September 1870, and the following year the capital was finally transferred from Florence to the Eternal City.
Wishing you an excellent Napoleonic week,
Peter Hicks and Francesca Whitlum-Cooper
THE NAPOLEON.ORG BULLETIN, N° 727, 19-25 SEPTEMBER, 2014
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.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
- 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
Problems with a link in this letter?
- Check the homepage on: http://www.napoleon.org/en/home.asp
- View back numbers of the bulletin: http://www.napoleon.org/en/space/information_bulletin/archive_lettre.asp - Contact us: information@napoleon.org
Follow us on Facebook and on Twitter!
napoleon. org - related content:
EVENTS
A selection of events taking place now or in the coming weeks, taken from our What's on listings.
JUST PUBLISHED
- WILSON, A. N., Victoria: A Life (London, 2014)
WHAT'S ON
- Niagara 1812 Legacy Council Programme of Commemorative Events [14/04/2014 - 19/10/2014]
- Germany: The House of Hanover on the British throne 1714-1837 [17/05/2014 - 05/10/2014]
- Napoléon Who?! Prince, Prisoner, President, Emperor. Louis Napoléon (1808-1873) [10/06/2014 - 10/10/2014]
- Carpeaux (1827-1875), a Sculptor for the Empire at the Musée d'Orsay [24/06/2014 - 28/09/2014]
- Napoleon's Bivouac: Imperial Luxury in the Countryside [28/06/2014 - 15/10/2014]
- 2nd "Imperial Jubilee" at Rueil-Malmaison [15/09/2014 - 21/09/2014]
- Napoleon's Exile, Napoleon's Travels [19/09/2014 - 19/10/2014]
- European Heritage Weekend / Journées du Patrimoine 2014 [20/09/2014 - 21/09/2014]
- An Evening with Bernard Cornwell at Apsley House [21/10/2014 - 21/10/2014]
- Ghost Tours at the Royal Arsenal [30/10/2014 - 01/11/2014]
SEEN ON THE WEB
- 200-year-old mystery leads to Niagara
- “I Encontro sobre Arqueologia e Museologia das Napoleónicas em Portugal,” in Loures (Portugal) this weekend
- Restoration of Le Sacre de Napoléon by the Bibliothèque Nationale de France (video, with French commentary)
WAR OF 1812
- Two tough War of 1812 vets to be lauded at Halifax cemetery
- Prince Edward to unveil War of 1812 monument
- Gravesite of a 1812 African-American sailor to be decorated at the Eastern Cemetery, Portland
- 200 years later, military foes from War of 1812 stage fresh battle, with food
- Three cheers for those behind War of 1812 commemoration
THE BIBLIOTHÈQUE MARTIAL-LAPEYRE FONDATION NAPOLEON LIBRARY
The library is open on Mondays and Tuesdays from 1pm to 6pm and on Thursdays and Fridays from 10am to 3pm. The library is closed on Wednesdays.
Online database catalogue
Digital Library
Contact
NAPOLEONICA LES ARCHIVES
Site of digitised Napoleonic archival material:
The working papers or 'imprimés' of the Napoleonic Conseil d'Etat, the correspondence of Vivant Denon, etc.
http://www.napoleonica.org
Contact: napoleonica@napoleon.org
NAPOLEONICA. LA REVUE
International peer-review interdisciplinary e-review on the history of the two Empires, bilingual French-English, 3 issues per year, free access.
Read the review on Cairn.info
Contact: napoleonicalarevue@napoleon.org
ACCOUNT DETAILS
To change your email address, unsubscribe, and sign up for the French information bulletin.
|
|
