| |
| |
THE ICONIC BATTLEFIELD
On Monday night this week in Paris, the opening salvoes of our very own Waterloo campaign were fired! The Centre Wallonie-Bruxelles laid out for its guests a series of products and events related to this the climax of the Napoleonic bicentenary period. First, they were treated to a selection of teasers for the delights in store. Spoiler alert: the man playing Napoleon in the principal re-enactment is Frank Samson. Indeed, ‘The Emperor' was present, along with his marshals ‘Ney' and ‘Grouchy' (inter alia) all finely arrayed in full dress uniform. Next up, Etienne Claude – the Belgian lynchpin of the Waterloo commemoration industry – spoke about the fantastic ‘Route Napoléon', a Napoleon-themed travel itinerary in Belgium, running from the French border to the famous battlefield, studded with historical sites recalling the key events of 14-18 June 1815. Then came advanced news of two key events in which the Fondation is heavily involved, namely, a study day and an exhibition. The day of talks, jointly organised by the Fondation Napoléon and the ASBL «Bataille de Waterloo 1815”, is to be held in the town of Waterloo on 7 March, and speakers will discuss the battle and conflicting ideas of victory, defeat and commemoration in relation to this iconic battlefield. The exhibition, a Fondation Napoléon-Musée Wellington co-production, is an exploration of the ‘parallel lives' lived by Napoleon and Wellington illustrated by objects from the Fondation's own collection, from that of the Musée Wellington as well as from other prestigious private and public collections. It opens on 20 March. And there will of course be the great re-enactment on 20 June! Mouth-watering indeed… Our evening in Paris concluded with a screening of a remarkable 40-minute documentary on the battle (which included interviews with our very own director) and a reception which provided lucky invitees with Waterloo beer and a special commemoration mug.
Bottoms up then, and here's to an Excellent 2015!
Peter Hicks
Historian and Head of International Relations, Fondation Napoléon
|
|
|
| |
ARTICLE OF THE MONTH > THE HISTORY OF LORD SEATON'S REGIMENT, (THE 52ND LIGHT INFANTRY) AT THE BATTLE OF WATERLOO - CHAPTER III BY WILLIAM LEEKE
As we enter the Battle of Waterloo Bicentenary year, our article of the month is by William Leeke, who claims for Lord Seaton and the 52nd Light Infantry the honour of having defeated, single-handed, without the assistance of the 1st British Guards or any other troops, that portion of the Imperial Guard of France, about 10,000 in number, which advanced to make the last attack on the British position.
|
|
|
| |
JUST PUBLISHED > MIKABERIDZE ALEXANDER, RUSSIAN EYEWITNESS ACCOUNTS OF THE 1807 CAMPAIGN (LONDON: PEN & SWORD, 2015)
In the third in his series of eyewitness accounts of the Russia Campaigns, Alex MIKABERIDZE brings together dozens of Russian letters, memoirs and diaries, with authors ranging from the commander-in-chief (Benningsen) to NCOs. We see the brutal conditions of the winter campaign of 1807 at first hand, and gain fresh insight into the infamous Treaty of Tiltsit and the diplomatic manoeuvring that followed it.
INTERNATIONAL SEMINAR > "AFTER WATERLOO"
After 200 years of history, the Battle of Waterloo continues to fascinate. For some it's a symbol of victory of the monarchy, or indeed of European solidarity. For others Waterloo is a place of memory. What were the real consequences of this epic battle? To mark the beginning of the « 100 days », on 7 March the Fondation Napoléon is organising an International Seminar with 250 renowned historians on the theme “After Waterloo in History”. In order to bring a new light to the Battle of Waterloo, international experts will present, through a series of major conferences, new aspects to this debate still pertinent today but never suggested until now.
|
|
|
| |
LA ROUTE DU PRINCE IMPERIAL, LOUIS NAPOLEON > ANNIVERSARY COMMEMORATIONS IN SOUTH AFRICA
In March 1879, Louis Napoléon, only son of Napoleon III and the Empress Eugénie, travelled to Cape Town with British troops, as a “special observer”. The two months he spent there until his untimely death in an ambush by Zulu warriors on 1 June 1879, have been commemorated in South Africa by the creation of "La Route du Prince Impérial, Louis Napoléon", which was launched on 1 June 1996.
In May 2015, as part of « French Week in PMB” (Pietermaritzburg), several events are being organised as part of the 19th anniversary of La Route du Prince Impérial, Louis Napoléon, wine tastings, exhibition tour, concert, requiem mass, even a “Prince Imperial Fun Run” ...
|
|
|
| |
200 YEARS AGO > AGREEMENT ON THE FUTURE OF SAXONY AND POLAND
Of all the subjects to be discussed at the Congress of Vienna, there was one which the allies could not avoid, namely the future of two territories which had been under French imperial control and coveted by Austrian, Prussians and Russians, in other words, Saxony and Poland. The session in which it was hoped that these two questions would be settled began on 28 January, 1815. Austria, Britain, Russia and Prussia (with France in attendance) finally hammered out an agreement on Saxony, and this was ratified via a later memoir written by the Prussian diplomat Hardenberg on 8 February. Austria conceded that Prussia should receive only a part of Saxony (and so receive compensation in the form of territories on the left bank of the Rhine and in Hanover). The rest of Saxony would return to Frederick Augustus of Saxony, its ‘rightful' king. As for Poland, which during the Congress was under Russian administration, it was agreed that Prussia would keep the region around Poznan, Austria would keep Galicia, and the rest of the territory would be divided up between Russia (the new Kingdom of Poland was put under her protectorate) and Berlin. As for the ex-Duchy of Warsaw, only one autonomous Polish entity was to emerge from it, namely, the republic of Cracow, placed under joint Austrian, Prussian and Russian ‘protection'.
150 YEARS AGO > MODERNISATION OF THE ÎLE DE LA CITÉ
In the Moniteur Universel, 24 January 1865, readers were informed about the progression of construction work on the two barracks (the future “Prefecture”) on the southern quay of the Île de la Cité, on the site of the Église Saint Eloi, demolished in 1858. This quay, we read, would undergo further transformations which would render it “unrecognisable”. All private houses to the west of the Pont Saint Michel would disappear, and, once the new Hôtel Dieu hospital had been built to the north of the Parvis de Notre Dame, the old hospital buildings to the south would be demolished, leaving the way for a “magnificent continuous route” along the whole of the southern side of the island, “planted with trees … in order to create a large promenade to the right of the Parvis de Notre Dame”.
By the mid-19th century, Paris was over-populated and insalubrious. After his stay in London from 1846 to 1848, Napoleon III wanted to modernise the city with wide avenues and airy parks as well as a new sewer system. In 1853 Napoleon nominated George Eugène Haussmann, as Préfet de la Seine, giving him the task of “unifying, embellishing and airing the city”. Haussmann's controversial plans were radically to transform Paris, and the lle de la Cité would not be spared. Indeed, with the exception of Notre Dame Cathedral, the Palais de Justice, and the Sainte Chapelle, little would remain of the historic city centre. It became the administrative city centre, with its commercial courts and police headquarters. As 25000 people were expropriated, and dozens of small churches also disappeared from the island, the medieval cathedral of Notre Dame, which was itself undergoing aggressive restoration by Violet le Duc, would find itself rather isolated in the middle of a sanitized “modern” city centre.
|
|
|
| |
Wishing you an excellent Napoleonic week!
Peter Hicks and Rebecca Young
THE NAPOLEON.ORG BULLETIN N° 743, 23-29 JANUARY, 2015
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.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
WATERLOO BICENTENARY 1815-2015
What's on this year relating to the Bicentenary of the Battle of Waterloo: commemorations, books, exhibitions, news ...
WATERLOO WHAT'S ON (updated 23/01/15)
WATERLOO SEEN ON THE WEB
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:
PRESS REVIEW
- Review of “In These Times: Living in Britain Through Napoleon's Wars, 1793-1815'' by Jenny Uglow in Boston Globe by Matthew Price
- Review of "Ambition and Desire: The Dangerous Life of Josephine Bonaparte by Kate Williams" – in The Millstone by Edith Cody-Rice
- Review of "Congress of Vienna: Power and Politics after Napoleon" By Brian E. Vick, in the Washington Times
- Review of Aaslestad, Katherine B., Joor, Johan (eds.), "Revisiting Napoleon's Continental System: Local, Regional and European Experiences" (Palgrave Macmillan, 2014) in Newswise
- Preview of "Bonaparte and the British", exhibition at the Britsh Museum
WHAT'S ON
- Tom Kanon will discuss his new book, “Tennesseans at War, 1812-1815: Andrew Jackson, the Creek War and the Battle of New Orleans,” on Jan. 27 at Cumberland University.
- "From Dirty Shirts to Bucaneers: The Battle of New Orleans in American Culture" Louisiana State Museum [11/01/2015 - 31/12/2015]
- "Answering the Call: Tennesseans in the Battle of New Orleans" [06/01/2015 - 13/04/2015]
- Bicentenary of Napoleon's Presence on the Island of Elba [11/04/2014 - 26/02/2015]
- Treasures from the Royal Archives [17/05/2014 - 25/01/2015]
- "Coaching the Congress Along" - Exhibition at the Carriage Museum, Vienna [18/09/2014 - 09/06/2015]
- "Death Becomes Her: A Century of Mourning Attire" at the Metropolitan Museum of Art [21/10/2014 - 01/02/2015]
- "Les Adieux à l'Impératrice" at Malmaison [05/11/2014 - 02/02/2015]
- “Cairo to Constantinople: Early Photographs of the Middle East” [07/11/2014 - 22/02/2015]
SEEN ON THE WEB
- 210th anniversary of Lord Nelson's death
- Two Russian lawmakers wanted to establish a new national holiday marking tsarist Russia's 19th-century victory over France in the Napoleonic wars.
- Read about Tolstoy's War and Peace on BBC website
- Listen to all episodes of War and Peace on bbciplayer
WATERLOO
- Waterloo and the world's first high-speed trader
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.
|
|
