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EDITORIAL
It's that time of year. Once again the London Napoleonic Fair is upon us - the principal annual gathering for anglophone Napoleonic enthusiasts the world over. When wargamers rub shoulders with military historians, where collectors exchange tips and pieces. Run by Greehill Books, it's the primary event of its kind. It is a great time to take stock. To consider the new year and bi-centenaries arriving thick and fast, most notably the Peace of Amiens and the creation of the lycées, France's secondary schools. The challenge - particularly for the English-speaking Napoleon enthusiast - is to follow the civil and political works of Napoleon with as much enthusiasm as the military. After all, those have proved to be his most lasting contribution to European life as we live it today.
See you at the fair!
Peter Hicks
Historian and Web Editor at the Fondation Napoléon
Article of the Month - The British Navy, 1793-1802, by Peter Hicks
To many, the victories of the Battle of the Nile and Copenhagen seem like forgone conclusions. But the truth is more complex. The decade 1793-1802 was one of naval struggle against invasion and allied navies from the north and south. Britain's struggle against Revolutionary France was won by the Royal Navy.
TWO HUNDRED YEARS AGO
A bill of 12 February, 1802 (23 Pluviôse, An X), created the Ecoles pratiques des mines in the Départements of the Sarre (more or less equal to the present-day Saar region of Germany) and of Mont-Blanc (Haute-Savoie): "In the former school, they will teach the art of mining iron ore and coal, whilst at the same time dealing with every aspect concerning the preparations which can be made from mineral substances. In the latter, students will be taught everything related to the mining of lead, copper, silver, and sulphates. Teaching will be offered by three professors, one of whom will be in charge of teaching the practical science of exploitation, the second will give courses on the art of mechanics and all its applications with respect to mining work, and the third will teach the principles of chemistry and physics required by mineralogists."
The director and professors were appointed by the First Consul upon presentation by the Minister of the Interior.
It was only in 1810 that mining became subject to a law (21 April) which defined three categories of mine (open cast, gravel and earth pits, mines with tunnels, etc.) and the governing concessions and mine management. In November 1810 a Corps impérial des Mines was founded, made up of engineers and 'inspecteurs généraux'.
15 February, 1802 (26 Pluviôse, An X) the mortal remains of Pius VI were returned to Rome.
His opposition to the French Revolution was symbolised by his condemnation of the 'Constitution civile du clergé' of 1791. After the loss of the Venetian territory and Avignon in 1791, then loss of the new territories with the signature of the Treaty of Tolentino (1797), The pontiff was to witness the arrival in Rome of the French army, under Berthier, on 10 February, 1798. Thus deposed as a temporal sovreign, Pius VI was kept prisoner in various Italian and later French towns. He died in Valence, 29 August, 1799.
18 February, 1802 (29 Pluviôse, An X), the Gazette nationale announced that the prefect of the Département de la Seine Inférieure (today Seine-Maritime) had decided to send two young shpeherds, who both could read and write, to veterinary school in Alfort. Founded in 1766, this school was the principal place of education for vets in the northern half of France. Another school, in Lyons, was for student vets from the southern half of France. Most of the vets educated in these school were military vets.
Wishing you a very enjoyable, Napoleonic, week.
Peter Hicks
Historian and Web editor
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THIS WEEK:
February is for funstuff
A new jigsaw puzzle!
Napoleon Bonaparte. The Battle of Austerlitz.
Press Review
bringing you information about articles published, snippets of information:
- Napoleonic statue to return to Venice
- Ajaccio exhibition now online
Agenda
- exhibition: the Heliographical mission of 1851
- fair: The annual Napoleonic Fair, London
Just published
- On seas of glory
- CD ROM: Tolentino 1815
- CD ROM: The Naval Chronicles
The monthly titles: in February,
- Book of the Month: Napoleone by Luigi Mascilli Migliorini
- In Pictures, The Colossus by Goya
- in the Reading Room, an article by Peter Hicks on the British Navy, 1792-1802
- In the Collectors Corner, the Franc: an 1806 five-franc piece
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