| |
|
|
|
|
| |
THIS MONTH'S ARTICLE
Napoleon and the theatre, by Peter Hicks
Theatre and spectacle were close to Napoleon's heart. In the Consulate and Empire periods he actually made a total of 682 visits to the theatre, in other words nearly once a week religiously for 15 years. His first love was Corneille, and he was known as an intelligent critic of the theatre. And then there were the actresses...
TWO HUNDRED YEARS AGO
FRANCE
26 Pluviôse, An XI (15 February, 1803), the French Ambassador in London, Antoine-François
Andréossy (1761-1828), was received by Hawkesbury. The British politician confirmed that the
British would not evacuate the island of Malta because of the French annexation of Piedmont
and a continued French presence in a part of Holland.
3 days later, 29 Pluviôse, An XI (18 February, 1803), the First Consul furiously addressed
the British Ambassador in Paris, Whitworth, on the British position. Evacuation of Malta was
written into the peace treaty of Amiens, whereas the subject of Piedmont and Holland were
not, Bonaparte thundered.
30 Pluviôse, An XI (19 February, 1803), the Act of Helvetic Mediation, written by Bonaparte,
organised the 19 Swiss Cantons into a Helevetic Confederation, of which the First Consul
remained the Mediator.
6 Cantons, one after another, were each year to provide a Landammann whose job it was to run
the Confederation. But because he lacked authority, and army and funds, the Landsmann would
simply run himself into the ground, trying to make the fiercely autonomous Cantons come to
an agreement. Led by a man with no power, split up into as many Cantons as local
particularities, Switzerland entered a period of false peace, subject to France, whose First
Consul, under the vague title of Mediator, was in a position to allow himself all kinds of
liberties. 16,000 Swiss soldiers were put at the disposal of the French army.
International
'Egeria; or Elementary Studies on the Progress of Nations, in Political Economy, Legislation and Government. The sixth number was published the 5th of February; 'An Address to the The Times, 14 February, 1803. British Legislators on War'. The Seventh will be published the 19th of February; 'A discussion on the War of Rome and Carthage, applied to the present Circumstances of Britain and Europe'. Price 6d. each Number. Printed by Messrs. Cadella and Davies, Strand.'
'Under the Patronage of his Highness the Duke of York, Commander in Chief, etc. etc... speedily will be published, by subscription... A Practical System of the Art of War, translated from the German of G. Venturini. Printed for John Stockdale, Piccadilly. The above work is recommended in the strongest terms by the King of Prussia, the Archduke Charles, and many of the first military characters in England, as well as on the Continent.'
The Times, 14 February, 1803
The Despard Saga continues
'The trial and conviction of Colonel Despard and his accomplices have given rise to a variety of absurd and unfounded reports. [...] A morning paper [...] asserts that 'Colonel Despard, and six of his condemned associates, are chained together in a string'. The fact is they have not been treated with any degree of severity. So far from their being chained together, they are divided in different apartments. Colonel Despard has a room to himself as before his trial. He appears altogether unmoved by his condemnation, and is employed two-thirds of the day in writing. Of the other prisoners, seven are confined together, and two of those recommende to mercy occupy a separate part of the prison.'
The Times, 15 February, 1803
Following up on Edward Jenner's invention of a smallpox vaccine, a society for the extermination of smallpox was founded in London.
The Times, 16 February, 1803
'A manufactory of forged notes, purporting to be of the Bank of Vienna, has been discovered at Strasburgh'...
'It is said that a Memorial from Colonel Despard was on Tuesday night presented to the Chancellor of the Exchequer by Lord Nelson. Memorials have also been laid before most of the Cabinet Ministers.'
The Times, 17 February, 1803
Wishing you an excellent, Napoleonic, week!
Peter Hicks
Historian and Web editor
|
|
|
|
|
|
THIS WEEK:
Press review
- Vilnius again!
- Review of Michael Carmona's book on Gustave Eiffel
Just published
- Fuentes de Onoro 1811, by Rene Chartrand
- The Peninsular War, (Wordsworth Military Library), by Roger Parkinson
- Shipwrecks of the Revolutionary and Napoleonic Eras, by Terence Grocott
What's on
- Fair: Napoleonic Fair, London
- Exhibition: Napoleon and Alexander I in Hildesheim (Germany)
- Exhibition: The first Italian Republic, 1802-1805
- Exhibition: Seat of Empire
The monthly titles
- Book of the Month: Napoleon's Medaillen, by Lisa Zeitz and Joachim Zeitz
- This month's picture, Pierre-Joseph Proudhon and his children in 1853, by Gustav Courbet
- Article of the Month, Napoleon and the theatre, by Peter Hicks
- In the Collectors Corner, The Austerlitz or 'Maréchaux' Table
<<
|
|
