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SPECIAL INVITATION FOR THOSE WHO RECEIVE THE BULLETIN
As promised, we bring you a special invitation to an event organised by the Fondation Napoléon.
You are cordially invited to be present, 19 March, 2002, at 6-30pm at the Bibliothèque Marmottan, for the presentation of the book by Professore Luigi Mascilli Migliorini, The Myth of the Hero. France and Italy after the fall of Napoleon, published by the Bibliothèque Napoléon.
Luigi Mascilli Migliorini, from the Istituto universitario orientale, Naples, is to present his work and sign copies of the book.
Bibliothèque Marmottan: public entrance 7, place Denfert-Rochereau
92100 Boulogne-Billancourt, France
Metro: line 10, Direction - Boulogne, Station - Jean Jaurès
Bus: 52 Denfert-Rochereau stop
Telephone: +33 (0)1 41 10 24 70
THIS MONTH'S PAINTING
The Ambassadors from Siam prostrate themselves before Napoleon III and the whole of the Imperial court, such was the subject for Gérôme's extraordinary painting, executed to commemorate a no less remarkable ceremony.
THE BOOK SERIES 'BIBLIOTHEQUE NAPOLEON' at the PARIS BOOK FAIR
The Paris Book Fair, the Salon du Livre, is to be held from 22 to 27 March in the Parc des Expositions exhibition hall at the Porte de Versailles, in Paris. The Fondation's book series 'Bibliothèque Napoléon' will present on the stand of Nouveau Monde Editions (A 98).
STOP PRESS: BIBLIOTHEQUE MARTIAL LAPEYRE - FONDATION NAPOLEON
The library will be closed exceptionally on Thursdays 7 and 14 March, but open Fridays 8 and 15 March from 10am to 3pm.
Bibliothèque Martial Lapeyre - Fondation Napoléon, 148 boulevard Haussmann, 75008 Paris
Contact: Chantal Lheureux-Prévot
TWO HUNDRED YEARS AGO
On 6 March (15 Ventôse, An X), at 7 o'clock in the evening the Prefect of the Département de la Seine had tests performed in the Place Vendôme on two lamposts, the invention of citizens Saver and Fraiture. The two lamps were placed in opposite corners of the square at a distance of 20 paces and the central space was illuminated to such an extent that the letters of a banner headline could easily be seen at 100 paces. At 80 paces, with some effort, it was possible to read, and at 70 it was like reading in a well-lit room or in full daylight.
Journal des Débats, 18 Ventôse, An X
11 March (20 Ventôse, An X), the First Consul and his wife Josephine visited Madame Campan's educational establishment in Saint-Germain and were treated to a performance of the play Esther given by the pupils.
12 March (21 Ventôse, An X), Roederer was appointed in charge of "of everything related to public education", under the aegis of the Ministère de l'Intérieur; he was also responsible of newspaper and theatre censureship.
Pierre-Louis Roederer (1754-1835), active philosopher, who could almost be called an "idéologue" of Bonapartism. After a first career at the Parlement of Metz, he joined the Assemblée Nationale in the Autumn of 1789, becoming Procureur-Syndic de la Seine. On 10 August, 1792, he brought Louis XVI before the Assemblée. Accused by Royalists on the one hand of having betrayed the King and by Revolutionaries on the other of having tried to save him, Roederer was driven into hiding during the Terreur. He returned to public life as head of the Journal de Paris. There he spoke in favour of moderation and a return to order. He met Bonaparte and participated in the preparation for the Brumaire coup d'etat. He opposed Sieyès and defended the concentration of power in the hands of Napoleon. Appointed to the Conseil d'Etat, he was president of the Section de l'Intérieur, in which the discussion concerning the Code civil and the organisation of the regime's great institutions took place, and later he was promoted to the post of Director of Instruction publique. He was in almost daily contact with the First Consul and spoke with him on subjects of all sorts. His daily notes on their conversations are a key primary source for historians. In favour of the Empire as early as 1802, he irritated Bonaparte in wishing to advance too quickly. Although set aside and sent to the Senate, he nevertheless remained loyal to the regime, and the regime continued to employ him: Ministre des Finances for the kingdom of Naples, administrator for the Grand Duchy of Berg, count, the Emperor's envoy in Spain, and Commissaire Extraordinaire in 1814 and 1815. Stripped of his titles by the Restoration, he retired to his property in the Orne region and wrote many works, further gold mines for historians. With the accession of Louis-Philippe he retunred to political life: appointed Pair de France, he propounded the idea of a king who governed (not one who simply reigned), thus rousing polemic and debate.
12 March, 1802 (21 Ventôse, An X), Jean-François-Aimé Dejean (1749-1824) was appointed "Director for the administration of war", a new ministerial offshoot of the Ministry of War. He left the post on 2 January, 1810, over differences with the Emperor, but was appointed to the Sénat conservateur the following month. In October 1812, he presided over the commission in charge of the trial of General Malet. Refusing to vote for the deposition of the Emperor in 1814, he rallied to Napoleon during the Hundred Days, an act which lost him his rank of Pair de France in the Chambre haute during the Second Restoration.
Wishing you a very enjoyable, Napoleonic, week.
Peter Hicks
Historian and Web editor
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THIS WEEK:
Fondation News
- First plenary meeting of the Correspondence committee
Agenda
- Re-enactment: Loevestein Castle
- Auction: First and Second Empire memorabilia
- Presentation: Napoleonic library and event in Chicago
New on the site
- Painting of Napoleon after Girodet
- The Otto Lemke Library (keyword 'Lemke')
The monthly titles: in March,
- Book of the Month: 'Napoleon III and his regime' by David Baguley
- In Pictures, The Siamese Ambassadors by Gérôme
- in the Reading Room, an article by Peter Hicks on the British Navy, 1792-1802
- In the Collectors Corner, a gold leaf from Napoleon's coronation crown
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