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THIS MONTH'S PAINTING
Reception of the Ambassadors from Siam at the Château de Fontainebleau, by Jean-Léon Gerome
This official commission commemorated the reception of the ambassadors of the king of Siam, Rama IV, by Napoleon III and the Empress Eugénie in the great Salle de Bal in the Château de Fontainebleau, 27 June, 1861. It was not only an event of great pomp mirroring the famous 1684 Siamese embassy to Louis XIV, but it also marked the re-establishment of diplomatic relations between France and Siam, broken off since the 17th century.
LIBRARY BIBLIOTHEQUE LAPEYRE-FONDATION NAPOLEON DURING THE SUMMER
The library Bibliothèque Martial Lapeyre - Fondation Napoléon will be open during as usual during the summer. However, from 28 July to 14 August will open only on Mondays and Wednesdays from 1 to 6pm. For any further information, please contact either Madame Lheureux-Prévot, Librarian, or Peter Hicks for information in English.
ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY YEARS AGO
5 July, 1853, a plot to assassinate Napoleon III was uncovered and several of the conspirators were arrested. The Emperor was to be killed during a performance at the Opéra-Comique.
Continuing their plan to derail the official France, Britain and Turkey, the Russian entered Bucarest on 6 July, 1853.
TWO HUNDRED YEARS AGO
During the months of Messidor and Thermidor (July), an army and a fleet of 1,500 vessels was assembled on the northern coast of France. The plan: to invade Britain.
17 Messidor, An XI (6 July, 1803), Admiral Latouche-Tréville appointed head of the Mediterranean fleet. The following day, Bonaparte asked Berthier to consider how it might be possible to mobilise a legion of ex-Vendéens against Britain.
Correspondance of Napoleon, letter n° 6889
Having left Dunkerque on 17 Messidor, An XI (6 July), Bonaparte reached Lille where he stayed from 17 to 20 Messidor (7 to 9 July), before arriving in Ostend on 21 Messidor (10 July).
Wishing you an excellent, Napoleonic, week, and an enjoyable holiday if you're leaving in July!
Peter Hicks
Historian and Web editor
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THIS WEEK:
Snippets
The Kamieniec-Finckenstein Foundation
Journal news
The Nelson Dispatch, April 2003
Just published
The Billy Ruffian. The Bellerophon and the downfall of Napoleon. The biography of a Ship of the Line, 1782-1836, by David Cordingly
Our selection of (light) summer reading...
What's on
- Exhibition: Bonaparte or Buonaparte
- Talk: Napoleon and Freemasonry, Italy
- Re-enactments: Central European Napoleonic Society - Events 2003
- Re-enactment: Napoleonic Association, Re-enactment and Talks, Painshill Park
- Exhibition: 1803 - A Turning Point in European History: the Collapse of Feudalism and the Dawn of the Bourgeois Era
- Festival: Australian Napoleonic Congress, New South Wales
- Re-enactment: Napoleonic Association British Summer Events
- Re-enactment: Napoleonic Association Continental Summer Events
The monthly titles
- Book of the Month: Napoleon's captivity on St Helena, 1815-1821 Napoleon's captivity on St Helena, 1815-1821, by Arnold Chaplin
- This month's picture, Reception of the Ambassadors from Siam at the Château de Fontainebleau, by Jean-Léon Gerome
- Article of the Month, 'Impressions of a Trip to Saint Helena: 5 - 23 April, 2003' by Jacques Macé
- In the Collectors Corner, the First Consul's glaive
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