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EDITORIAL
We're back in the saddle, and it's looking rather busy on the Napoleonic landscape. A number of exhibitions have been announced, including Compiègne, Fontainebleau, the Institut du Monde Arabe, and indeed elsewhere. The history TV channels (and there are many on satellite and cable) are flexing their muscles as their new programmes are aired, and bookshops are preparing this season's latest releases. A great autumn lies in store.
First up is a real Napoleonic treat: our book of the month for October is Emmanuel de Waresquiel's Les Cent-jours: la tentation de l'impossible. Napoleon.org has lined up Pierre Branda's review of this work that presents a new perspective not only on an important period in French history but also on the Napoleonic legend that surrounds it.
Not to be left out, the Fondation also has plenty coming up! Soon to be released, we have issue 2 of Napoleonica. La Revue and volume 5 of The General Correspondence of Napoleon Bonaparte (the 1805 Trafalgar and Austerlitz volume). Also out soon is the publication of proceedings from our May conference on Napoleon III. L'homme, le politique, and the launch of "les ateliers de la Fondation Napoléon" (read on for more information).
I hope you enjoy this week's bulletin, which now has more than 7,500 readers, and wish you a very pleasant week.
Thierry Lentz
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JUST PUBLISHED: BOOK OF THE MONTH
The book of the month for October is Les Cent-jours: la tentation de l'impossible by Emmanuel de Waresquiel, published by Fayard. We thought we knew all there was to know about Napoleon's return; how wrong we were! Previously unpublished correspondence, newspaper extracts, biting satire, rumours, memoires and scientific studies are all brought together by de Waresquiel who neglects nothing in presenting a rich and complete tapestry of those turbulent hundred days. You will also find on www.napoleon.org a review of the book by Pierre Branda. Click here for more information.
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WHAT'S ON: NAPOLEON III AND QUEEN VICTORIA
From 4 October until 19 January 2009, as part of the Napoleon III bicentenary celebrations, the Château de Compiègne is holding an exhibition dedicated to Queen Victoria's visit to France and Napoleon III in August 1855 for the Universal Exhibition. More than 250 items (paintings, sculptures, watercolours, photographs and objets d'art), drawn from the Château's rich collection as well as other French and English institutions (including the Tate Gallery, the Victoria & Albert Museum and national galleries in Scotland), will be on display. Some of these works, bought by Victoria or given by Napoleon III as diplomatic gifts, have not been seen publicly in France since 1855.
Anglo-French relations changed under the Second Empire: Napoleon III, who had lived in exile in England before becoming emperor, fostered close ties with Britain, and the two countries were allies during the Crimean War. Queen Victoria's visit to Paris in August 1855 was the first official visit of a British monarch for four centuries, reciprocating the visit of Napoleon III and Eugénie to London in April of the same year. Victoria stayed at the Château de Saint-Cloud and numerous celebrations and events were held in her honour.
Click here for more information on the exhibition.
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NAPOLEONICA. LA REVUE: ISSUE N° 2
Issue N° 2 of Napoleonica. La Revue comes out online next Thursday, 9 October. Inside, we have six articles for your delectation: Emmanuel de Waresquiel on emigration in French contemporary politics, Rafe Blaufarb on the creation of the Empire's nobility, Thierry Lentz on Franco-Moroccan relations under Napoleon, Peter Hicks on Napoleon, Copenhagen and Portgual, Jacques Hantraye on the occupations of Seine-et-Oise in 1814 and 1870, and Jean-Philippe Rey on the ‘notables' of the Rhône area during the First Empire. Also included are the reviews of five recently-published books. Issue 1 and all its articles are still available online; you can take out an annual subscription for 60 € or purchase the individual articles at 7 € each.
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COMING SOON: « LES ATELIERS DE LA FONDATION NAPOLÉON »
The Fondation Napoléon, in partnership with the Bibliothèque Marmottan, is working away in preparation for our series of study-days on various Napoleonic subjects. The goal of these round-tables will be to present an individual topic followed by relaxed, free and above-all instructive discussion. Open to the general public, the first of these study-days will take place at the Bibliothèque Marmottan at Boulogne-Billancourt towards the end of November, on the theme of 'the masterpieces of Napoleonic art'. Two more days are planned for 2009, on the subjects of literature and music. Stay tuned for further information.
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200 YEARS AGO
Italy: the capture of Capri in October 1808
Murat, recently crowned king of Naples, sent a force of 180 barges, containing 1,900 men to take the island of Capri, situated in the bay of Naples. Capri had been under English control since 1806 and was defended by two thousand men under the command of Hudson Lowe.
Murat conferred the command of the operation to the generals Lamarque and Pignatelli, and the operation itself was launched on the night of 2 October, targeting various points on the island. Despite being repulsed at Tragara, French troops landed at the rocks of Damacuta. By the morning of 5 October, two thousand French troops were ashore. Major Hamill, in charge of the Maltese regiment stationed at Anacapri, was killed refusing to hand over his sword. Despite the need for more troops, Lowe received little support from the British navy, mainly due to poor weather conditions that prevented the landing of reinforcements. Lowe continued to hold out but was eventually forced to capitulate on 18 October.
As part of the preparations for the operation, which would involve a certain amount of rock-scaling (Capri, after all, being a volcanic island), Murat's forces commandeered from the lamplighters in Naples every ladder available to them.
The Jena bridge
"Work on the Jena bridge, opposite the Champ-de-Mars, continues in earnest. Before the winter river-swells, we are looking to finish raising the wall which is being built as part of the enlargement of the quay. These constructions are already very advanced, having reached the first abutment. The supports are now being sunk in preparation for what remains to be constructed. Two piers have been raised several feet above the river, and the fourth will soon reach a similar height. Finally, the last foundation-stakes for the third pier are being cut in order to lay the foundations before the arrival of winter." (Moniteur, 5 October 1808)
In a letter dated 20 February 1806 to his minister of the interior, Napoleon floats the idea of a bridge near to the Ecole militaire, before stating: "Do what is necessary to push for the start of work this year, in as much as is possible." (Correspondance n°9859)
On 22 April, Napoleon assigns 1,200,000 Francs to Paris works, of which 300,000 is to be dedicated to the 'Ecole militaire bridge' as it was known at that point. On 12 December, Napoleon proposes the idea of naming the bridge after Jena, an act which is confirmed by the Warsaw decree, signed in January 1807 by Napoleon whilst on campaign in Poland. Lamandé, the engineer in charge of the construction, has the rather precise sum of 6,158,728 Francs put aside for the project. This precision was possible because the Austerlitz bridge, of which the Jena bridge would be a replica, had just been completed at that cost. Originally intended to be built in iron, the plans are changed in March 1808 and it is agreed that the bridge will be constructed from stone. It is not until 1813, however, that the bridge is opened to traffic. Four statues of generals on horseback were planned as decoration for the bridge; these however were never completed.
Sources:
Marie-Louise Biver, Le Paris de Napoléon, Editions d'Histoire et d'Art: Paris, 1963
Georges Poisson, Napoléon et Paris, Editions Berger-Levrault: Paris, 1964
150 YEARS AGO
External politics
On 9 October 1858, and for the first time in their histories, France and Japan signed a treaty of friendship and commerce. Signed at Edo by the Baron Jean Baptiste Louis Gros, first envoy of France, the treaty marked the beginning of diplomatic and commercial relations between the two countries.
At the same time, Japan signed similar treaties with the USA, Great Britain, Russia and Holland, thus opening itself up to the western world. Until this point, Shogun Tokugawa had pursued a policy of isolation, maintaining Japan's distance from the rest of the world.
The treaty of 9 October also put Japan on the path to modernisation. France became the model for the creation of Japan's education system and the reorganisation of its army. A civil code was drawn up with the aid of French jurists. The first naval dockyard and the first spinning mill were built under the guidance of French engineers.
2008 is the year of Franco-Japanese relations. Click here to read more about the celebrations, events that are being held and more information about the history of the two countries' relationship (external link).
Wishing you an excellent "Napoleonic" week,
Peter Hicks and Hamish Davey Wright
Historians and web-editors
THE NAPOLEON.ORG BULLETIN, N° 468, 3 - 9 October, 2008
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© 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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THE BIBLIOTHEQUE FONDATION NAPOLEON LIBRARY
For the autumn, library opening times are back to normal, namely:
Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday: 1-6pm
Thursday: 10am-3pm
THE MAGAZINE
Just published
- Mark Anderson, Blue Berg - Britain takes the Cape
- John G. Gallaher, Napoleon's Enfant Terrible: General Dominique Vandamme
- Andrzej Nieuważny et al., Napoleon's 200 days
- Ralph A. Griffiths (ed.), In conversation with Napoleon Bonaparte: J. H. Vivian's visit to the island of Elba
- Adele Fiadino, Architects and artists at the court of Naples in the Napoleonic period
- Roberta Martinelli (ed.), The Flight of the Eagle: Napoleon Bonaparte from the battlefields to the history books
Seen on the web
- High society at the Villa Napoleon on Elba
WHAT'S ON
Conferences
- Napoleonic Association Conference 2008, London (UK), 11 October, 2008
- Napoleonic Historical Society 2008 Conference, Philadelphia (US) from 16 to 19 October, 2008
- Portugal, Brazil and Napoleonic Europe, Portugal, from 4 to 6 December, 2008
Film
- Centro Romano di Studi Napoleonici: Napoleonic film week 2008, Rome (Italy) from 11 to 14 November, 2008
Commemoration
- Bicentenary of Napoleon and Alexander's meeting in Erfurt, September/October 1808-2008, Erfurt (Germany)
Full details (in German) (external link)
Exhibitions
- "Paper Landscapes, a celebration of Napoleonic cartography", La Spezia, Italy [04/10/2008 - 11/01/2009]
Full details
- "Fine people. Luxury and Fashion at the Time of the Empire", Erfurt, Germany [14/09/2008 - 11/01/2009], Museum für Thüringer Volkskunde (Museum for Thuringian Ethnology)
Full details (in German) (external link)
- "Spectacle of Power. Rituals in Old Europe 800-1800", Magdeburg, Germany [23/09/2008 - 04/01/2009], Kulturhistorisches Museum Magdeburg (Museum of Cultural History Magdeburg)
Full details (external link)
- "Napoleonic side-arms of the Rocca d'Acquaviva", Acquaviva Picena, Italy [04/10/2008 - 31/12/2008], Fortezza di Acquaviva Picena (Acquaviva Picena Castle)
Full details
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