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EDITO > NAPOLEON FOR PRESIDENT!
When it comes to historical and political comparison, Napoleon is still a source of inspiration. Whether as an example or counter-example, Napoleon provides thinkers with a sort of sliding scale by which to measure other military men or politicians at a given moment in time.
British historian, Andrew Roberts, 2014 Jury Prize of the Fondation Napoléon, provided us with a fine example of this, when earlier this year the Wall Street Journal, proud of its reputation as a serious newspaper, published his article “Napoleon for President in 2016?”
Its purpose was clearly to raise the level of debate on the future US presidential election by pushing its candidates to seek inspiration from Napoleon Bonaparte ... Though tongue-in-cheek, the article was nevertheless quite serious.
As Roberts was in fact trying to use historical sources to communicate the reality of Napoleon Bonaparte, this time in lands less Napoleonic. And the comparison in the article was well worth making. Nor was this the only recent mainstream Napoleonic manifestation in the United States. Next week, High Point North Carolina will see the annual Consortium on the Revolutionary Era, which has been giving pride of place to the study of Napoleon and the First Empire since 1971! Also this year is the annual general meeting of the Massena Society, named after our president, which supports research in military history during the reign of Napoleon I. The Fondation Napoléon will be represented at both events by its president, Prince of Essling, Victor-André Masséna, and by Peter Hicks, Responsible for International Relations. So hey, why not? - at least for the duration of the Consortium – let's all shout: “Napoleon for President!”
Marie de Bruchard
Web-éditrice sur napoleon.org
OBITUARY> COUNT ROEDERER
Pierre Louis Roederer, a descendant of his namesake of the Consulate and the Empire, generous friend of the Fondation Napoléon, died on January 31st at the age of 87. Born of a French father and an American mother, he had a long career in the US before returning to settle in France for his retirement. Philanthropist at heart, he contributed to the restoration of the stained glass windows of Chartres Cathedral and, on several occasions, the actions of the Foundation. The Count Roederer was buried in Pornic (Brittany), where he owned a second home. The Fondation extends its most sincere condolences to his three children and seven grandchildren.
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PAINTING OF THE MONTH > THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON AT WATERLOO (18 JUIN 1815) BY ROBERT ALEXANDER HILLINGFORD (1828-1904)
“The Duke of Wellington at Waterloo, 18 June 1815”, will be featured in the exhibition "Destins Croisés" next month at the Musée Wellington, Waterloo, in the form of a rare chromolithograph, a reproduction (1890) of an original oil painting by Robert Alexander Hillingford which is now in a private collection. Hillingford's paintings of the Battle of Waterloo became well-known thanks to the faithful colour reproduction that chromolithography offered, a technique using 3 primary colours and black (as in today's offset technique).
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BICENTENARY OF THE CONGRESS OF VIENNA
If you happen to be in Vienna in this 200th anniversary year of the Congress of Vienna, two exhibitions are celebrating this momentous event in the history of Europe. The first, Europe in Vienna - The Congress of Vienna 1814/15 from 20 February to 21 June 2015 at the Belvedere will highlight both the political and social aspects of this extraordinary event. The second, Coaching the Congress Along, at the Carriage Museum, until 9 June, shows how Vienna rose to the logistical challenge of transporting its elegant visitors around, presenting an opulent tableau that brings to life the splendour of this historical event held in Vienna two centuries ago. To pursue the subject further why not have a look at Thierry Lentz's book, The Congress of Vienna, 1815 (in French), or consider attending the conference "Talleyrand l'indispensable” in Paris, 8-9 June, organised by the association, “Les Amis de Talleyrand”.
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A "VILLE IMPERIALE" CALENDAR
This "Imperial City" calendar (external link, in French) which you can download for free is produced by the French network “Villes Impériales”. As the year unfolds it will keep you up to date on several key moments relating to the First and Second Empires, and especially from the year 1815.
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200 YEARS AGO > LEAVING ELBA
It is difficult to know precisely when Napoleon Bonaparte made the decision to leave Elba. It is true that the Commandant Poli later recounted in his memoirs that the Emperor of Elba had informed him of his plans to leave the island one evening in February, since the latter's situation had become more constrained given the non-respect of the financial obligations specified in the Fontainebleau agreement. Louis XVIII had still not handed over the promised millions. As Pierre Branda points out in La guerre secrète de Napoléon. Île d'Elbe 1814-1815: "Napoleon would appear not to have prepared his departure much in advance, as can be seen from his relative indifference to the maintenance of his flagship, Inconstant. All the indications are that he made a quick decision, acting sort of instinctively”. Inconstant was the only craft Napoleon had suitable for such an undertaking, but the two-masted, 18-gun vessel was poorly maintained. Furthermore, it had only narrowly avoided running aground in January 1815, an incident which cost the Commandant Taillade his job. The damage could only be repaired during the absence of the British commissioner, Colonel Campbell, whose was omnipresent in these early weeks of 1815. The opportunity arose on February 16th: learning that Campbell had declined an invitation from Pauline to a ball due to take place on February 26, Napoleon deduced that he had ten days to repair, re-arm and ‘doctor' the appearance of his ship. He gave the orders to Drouot the moment Campbell left the island…
150 YEARS AGO > OPENING OF PARLIAMENT
The Moniteur Universel 16 February 1865 gave notice of the opening of the legislative session (Second Empire combination of opening of the houses of parliament and the state of the nation address). In his speech the Emperor made references to the ongoing process of regime change in Mexico, which he called consolidation and pacification. He spoke of the commercial liberty enshrined in the treaty with the United Kingdom which had been extended to Germany, Switzerland, and the united kingdoms of Sweden and Norway. Quite naturally the second Emperor proudly enumerated the French technological advances in railways, canals, and road construction, and the importance of education.
He ended his speech by his proudly highlighting the liberal nature of his rule and his desire to bring peace with the other countries of Europe, thus echoing his famous characterisation of his regime as “L'Empire c'est la paix” (‘The Empire means peace').
The state of the nation speech was published in full in the Sunday edition of the Moniteur three days later, filling nine and a half large densely-typed pages).
Wishing you an excellent Napoleonic week!
Peter Hicks and Rebecca Young
THE NAPOLEON.ORG BULLETIN No. 746, 13-19 FEBRUARY, 2015
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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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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 13/02/15)
WATERLOO SEEN ON THE WEB (updated 13/02/15)
WATERLOO READING LIST
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
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napoleon.org - related content:
JUST PUBLISHED
- BATES, Stephen, 1815: Regency Britain in the Year of Waterloo (London, 2015)
-DALAFORCE, Patrick, Wellington the Beau: The Life and Loves of the Duke of Wellington (Barnsley, UK, 2014)
PRESS REVIEW (external links)
- Musealizing Napoleon (1837–2011): From Traditional Representations to a Dualistic European Master Narrative, by Felicity Bodenstein (Université de Paris-Sorbonne)
- Review of Brendan SIMMS, "The Longest Afternoon: The 400 Men Who Decided the Battle of Waterloo" in War on the Rocks
WHAT'S ON
Conferences and Talks
- International Study Day, Waterloo, 7 mars 2015 "La Bataille de Waterloo : symbole de victoire, de défaite et lieu de mémoire" [07/03/2015 - 07/03/2015]
- "Napoleon Hero" lecture by Professor Patrice Gueniffey at Florida State University [02/03/2015]
- Symposium in Lyon, France, 11-12 March, "Napoléon Bonaparte face à l'histoire" [11/03/2015 - 12/03/2015]
- Conference "L'année 1815", Paris [14/04/2015-15/04/2015]
Exhibitions
- Immaginare la nazione. Saperi e rappresentazioni del territorio a Torino, 1848-1911, exhibition in Turin, Italy [19/12/2014 - 28/03/2015]
- The Battle of New Orleans – The “Other” Battle of 1815, Exhibition at the John Hay Library, Providence [20/01/2015 - 28/03/2015]
- Josephine, la Passion des étoffes, Paris (France) [24/10/2014 - 20/02/2015]
- Born for a storm: Andrew Jackson Exhibition (Nashville TN) [08/01/2015 - 28/12/2015]
- Waterloo 1815: A Bicentennial Exhibition at the Hay Exhibition Gallery [16/02/2015 - 25/05/2015]
- Napoleon's Era told through his Medals at the Liechtensteinisches Landes Museum, Vaduz [19/02/2015 - 28/06/2015]
- HMS Victory: The Untold Story is at Historic Dockyard Chatham [14/02/2015 - 31/05/2015]
- 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, (Tennessee State Library) [06/01/2015 - 13/04/2015]
- Coaching the Congress Along - Exhibition at the Carriage Museum, Vienna [18/09/2014 - 09/06/2015]
- Cairo to Constantinople: Early Photographs of the Middle East (London, UK) [07/11/2014 - 22/02/2015]
Commemorations
- Bicentenary of Napoleon's Presence on the Island of Elba [11/04/2014 - 26/02/2015]
WATERLOO WHAT'S ON (updated 13/02/15)
SEEN ON THE WEB (all external links)
- Aayi Mandapam monument constructed by Napoleon III in memory of courtesan in Bharathi Park needs restoration
- Haiti and America's Historic Debt
- Speaker DeLeo's overturn of term limits a power grab worthy of Napoleon
- A selection of Napoleon Bonaparte propaganda prints
- Charlotte Bonaparte, Napoleon's artistic niece, by Shannon Selin
- Victorian era boat gathering dust at Kashmir museum
- Watch Queen Victoria's Letters: A Monarch Unveiled (video)
- Chateau de Fontainebleau is about to get a 12-year overhaul
- Alex Magno comments on four Philipino Senators' imitation of Napoleon's abduction of the Pope
- Napoleon and the golden age of caricature
- In my cartoon awards, Napoleon inspired the Best Political Cartoon Ever
WAR OF 1812 (external links)
- Presentation about wreck of Lt. Perry's USS Revenge
- Society of the War of 1812 commemorates the Battle of New Orleans at its Grand Military Victory Ball
- Society of 1812 Ball, Victory Ball at Cabildo, Louisiana Historical Society
"WATERLOO" SEEN ON THE WEB (link to our website, updated 13/02/15)
THE BIBLIOTHÈQUE MARTIAL-LAPEYRE FONDATION NAPOLEON LIBRARY
The library is normally open on Mondays and Tuesdays from 1pm to 6pm and on Thursdays and Fridays from 10am to 3pm. The library is closed on Wednesdays.
Special library holiday opening times (16-27 February)
Monday-Tuesday 1pm to 5pm
Thursday 10am to 3pm
closed Wednesday and Friday
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
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