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NOTE
Two hundred years ago... Trafalgar.
The news bulletin prepared by the Fondation Napoléon team this week brings you a special dossier on the event. That's for the history.
Today in London and... in Paris, several events have been organised, not to celebrate Nelson's victory over Villeneuve but to talk about Franco-British friendship. And even if I might think that the date is not ideal (and that the friendship doesn't entirely cover British pride in the event...), the aim is praiseworthy, and it is only for this reason, and because the subject is above all historic, that the Fondation Napoléon has sponsored some of these events.
We hope that the French will do the same for the Battle of Austerlitz. And then it will be with pleasure (and also pride...) to sponsor celebrations of Franco-Austro-Russian friendship.
An excellent week to you all.
Thierry Lentz
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Special Dossier: Trafalgar, 21 October, 1805
On 21 October, 1805, the allied Franco-Spanish fleet under Admiral Villeneuve was 'annihilated' by the British fleet under Admiral Nelson. After four hours of particularly fierce fighting (indeed much fiercer than the British had expected) the French had had 15 ships captured (soon to be twenty), 3,499 killed or drowned, 1,138 wounded and 2,200 prisonniers, the Spanish had 1,050 killed (including the Admiral Gravina, commander of the Spanish Fleet) and 1,390 wounded. The British for their part had only 1,214 wounded and 449 killed, one of which was however Admiral Nelson, commander in chief of the British vessels.
On this 21 October, 2005, representatives of France, Spain and Britain in Portsmouth are to commemorate together this historical event at an official ceremony in the presence of HM the Queen Elizabeth II.
At the same time on 21, 22 and 23 October, the First Franco-British Student Summit, an initiative of the Franco-British Student Alliance, under the patronage of HM the Queen and the President of the French Republic, will launch an exchange programme between the two countries.
Documents
- Villeneuve's report on the Battle of Trafalgar
- Gravina's report of the Battle of Trafalgar
- Captain Lucas's report concerning the loss of the vessel Redoutable at the Battle of Trafalgar
- A spanish flag captured at the Battle of Trafalgar
- The Franco-Spanish and British forces present at the Battle of Trafalgar
Articles
- John Holland Rose: The true significance of Trafalgar
- Ph. Masson: Napoleon and England. 1. Napole against the British Navy (1797-1805)
- Ph. Masson: Napoleon and England. 2. The British army and navy against Napoleon (1805-1815)
- P. Hicks: The British Navy, 1793-1802
Painting
The Immortality of Nelson, by Benjamin West
Biographies
- VILLENEUVE, Pierre-Charles de, (1763-1806), French vice-admiral
- NELSON, Horatio (1758-1805), British admiral
- GRAVINA, Ferdinando Carlos, Spanish admiral
Bibliography
- selection of works in English, French and Spanish
Elsewhere on the web
- National Maritime Museum Nelson and Napoleon web commemoration
Including an animated map of Nelson chasing Villeneuve across the Atlantic
- British National Archives Nelson/Trafalgar Special
- The Guardian Newspaper Trafalgar animation
- Leadership lessons from Nelson
- Two articles by Colin White on Nelson
- The BBC's guide to Trafalgar and Waterloo
- Trafalgar ships compared
- Trafalgar 200
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THIS MONTH'S OBJECT
Portrait of Napoleon (miniature set on a box), by ISABEY Jean-Baptiste
As early as the end of the 18th century, Jean-Baptiste Isabey was celebrated as one of the greatest French miniaturists ever. At that time, the miniature genre was at its apogee in terms of popularity, a popularity supported by the Revolutionary wars and later the campaigns of Napoleon, since each soldier wanted to take with him a miniature of his nearest and dearest, and every wife or girlfriend wanted souvenir of their beloved.
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Wishing you an excellent, Napoleonic (or should that be Nelsonic?), week.
Peter Hicks
Historian and Web editor
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.
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THIS WEEK
PRESS REVIEW
- Radio: Trafalgar Season, Radio 4 (UK) - listen online
- Radio: Betsy and Napoleon, Radio 4 (UK) - listen online
- Exhibition: Napoleon: An intimate portrait
- Exhibition: Napoleone e il Piemonte. Capolavori ritrovati, Alba, Italy
- Exhibition: Napoleon: Art and Empire in the age of Trafalgar, Barnard Castle, UK
- Exhibition: The Empress Josephine: Art and Royal Identity, Amherst, MA, USA
- Exhibition: Nelson and Napoleon, National Maritime Museum, London, UK
THE MONTHLY TITLES
- This month's book: KNIGHT, Roger The Pursuit of Victory: The Life and Achievement of Horatio Nelson
- This month's painting: The Empress Josephine in the park at Malmaison, by Prud'hon
- This month's article: Napoleon and the Corsican Dilemma - part 2, by Barbara Krajeswka
- In the Collectors Corner,
Portrait of Napoleon (miniature set on a box), by ISABEY Jean-Baptiste
Got a problem with a link in the letter? Try the homepage http://www.napoleon.org
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