| |
| |
EDITORIAL
Are Google and the internet dangerous?
For more than ten years, the Fondation Napoléon has used the internet as a means of encouraging a better understanding of the history of the two French Empires and a way of exchanging ideas. In the last few years, the internet has profoundly changed the way we read, think and learn about things. In the 1980s, two American students, Larry Page and Sergey Brin, were working on creating the "perfect" search engine that would allow them to organise the immense volume of information available on the internet. Today, sat at the head of this sprawling company (an ever-growing search engine analysing millions of websites, blogs, email, online libraries, maps, news filters, etc), Page and Brin continue to work towards the creation of artificial intelligence in order to advance human intelligence. This highly commendable enterprise nevertheless raises some serious issues, as described in articles that have recently appeared in various national presses ("Google nous rend-il idiot?"/"Is Google making us stupid?" and others).
Following a five-year study regarding the user habits on two search engines, English researchers noticed that internet users used their query's results page to pass quickly from one source to another, reading one or two pages of the document before moving on. Once the document had been consulted, rarely did the user return to it. The internet's incredible richness, creating an almost infinite number of links between articles, books, texts, videos, images and documents, has had a detrimental effect on the user's levels of concentration and has led, in some cases, to a worrying inability to focus, absorb and understand the data that has been "accessed". Information at our finger-tips, anytime, anywhere? Sure, but what is it doing to human intelligence?
Despite this slightly troubling situation, we at the Fondation Napoléon continue to believe in the advantages that the internet offers the world. And it is on this note that we invite you to investigate, read, and, above all, enjoy to the full this week's letter and our website, www.napoleon.org!
Irène Delage
Head of Documentation Service, Public Relations and IT
|
|
|
| |
ARTICLE OF THE MONTH
"Napoleon and the Pope: from the Concordat to the Excommunication", by Peter Hicks
Napoleon's relations with Pius VII are occasionally overlooked in general public treatments of the Napoleonic epic. Perhaps the subject is seen as peripheral or too technical. And yet, as Napoleon's actions themselves reveal to us, relations with the Holy See were of huge importance in his vision for France. One of Napoleon's first acts as Consul was to bring religion back to France after the atheistic years of the Revolution. The church was to provide the key stone to Napoleon's pacification of the divided state inherited in 1800 after the Brumaire coup. But as the events were to play out, it became clear that Napoleon and Pius VII did not share the same vision for Consular and Imperial France. In Napoleon's scheme, France was to be a state of religious tolerance, in which the Catholic church would provide social cohesion but would be subservient to the government and have no special status amongst religions in France. For Pius the Concordat of July 1801 was to presage the great return of the Church's eldest daughter to the fold and bring back to Catholicism her predominant position in France. This article recounts the Emperor and Pontiff's increasingly difficult relationship in the years 1804-1808, leading up to the excommunication and abduction of the Pope in 1809.
|
|
|
| |
EXHIBITION
Napoleon and Corsica
This exhibition will set out for the first time to investigate and retrace the complex relationship between Napoleon and the island of Corsica, as well as the role played by these insular, Latin beginnings in the future emperor's destiny.
It seems unimaginable that a young man from Ajaccio, the principal city of an island that had only just become French, and whose culture, origins, codes, bearings and even language were completely different to those of the French political elites, could so rapidly rise through the ranks to lead France and found an Empire. Did his Corsican identity serve to help or to hinder his rise to leader of the most powerful nation in Europe during the period? In becoming more 'French', did he choose the right side, at the risk of being considered a traitor? Was he a son of the Revolution, or a son of the Ancien Régime?
|
|
|
| |
MUSEUM OPENING
Marengo and the Pyramid
In May this year, Napoleon finally got his pyramid in commemoration of the Battle of Marengo, 14 June, 1800. The pyramid was built and financed by the Provincia di Alessandria in a project piloted by the president of the Provincia di Alessandria, Paolo Filippi, the president of the Centro Studi Napoleonici, Giulio Massobrio, and Cultural Services manager Gigi Poggio. And the inauguration of the new pyramidal entrance space took place on the weekend of 23-24 May, 2009.
|
|
|
| |
CONFERENCE
"The Mezzogiorno in Napoleonic Italy: reflections on a bicentenary"
Three years into the commemoration of the Napoleonic decade in Naples, a series of talks have been organised to discuss the impact of the French there during the period 1806 – 1814. This conference opens with a discussion of the actual effect of the French presence in the city of Naples and continues with sessions on the introduction of modern administration, the city itself, and the extraordinary profusion of artistic products at the beginning of the 19th century in the kingdom of Naples. The final day proposes a round table discussing the Napoleonic inheritance in the Mezzogiorno. We look forward avidly to the publication of the proceedings.
|
|
|
| |
200 YEARS AGO
The Battle of Raab
At the Battle of Raab, 14 June, 1809, Franco-Italian troops under Eugène defeated the Austrians, posted just outside the city (now Győr, in Hungary). French infantry, under Général de Division Seras and supported by Montbrun's cavalry, attacked the main enemy positions stationed in Kismegyer, a village on the outskirts. The Austrian left-wing collapsed, but the centre held out until late in the afternoon, when, faced with the arrival of French reinforcements under MacDonald, Archduke Johann ordered the retreat. In his report to Napoleon, Eugène noted simply: "Sire, I hasten to inform Your Majesty that I gave battle today to the Prince Johann, and I was blessed with a victory. It was the anniversary of too great a day [the Battle of Marengo was fought on 14 June, 1800] for any misfortune to befall us." [Eugène to Napoleon, dated 14 June, 1809, quoted in Mémoires du Prince Eugène, vol. 5]
Napoleon, in his congratulatory response, described the battle as "a granddaughter of Marengo and Friedland." [Napoleon to Eugène, dated 16 June, 1809, n° 15358]
The defeat was important because it put an end to any hopes that Johann had of reaching his brother Charles and bringing his troops to the Battle of Wagram. Eugène, on the other hand, was free to join up with Napoleon for the battle on 5 and 6 July, which would effectively bring an end to the Fifth coalition. The actual city of Raab was to fall about two weeks later, on 24 June.
Click here for a short article on the context to the Battle of Raab and Eugène's Italian campaign during the war with Austria.
150 YEARS AGO
Napoleon III enters Milan
The battle at Magenta over, Napoleon III and the King of Sardinia made their triumphal entrance into Milan on 8 June, 1859. With hordes of people waving flags and cries of joy ringing out, the French Emperor took his quarters at the Villa Bonaparte. On 9 June, a Te Deum was sung in the cathedral and on Sunday 12 June, 1859, the Moniteur reported on the speech delivered by Napoleon III to the inhabitants of Milan:
"Italians!
The fortune of war has today led us into Lombardy's capital, and I have come to tell you why I am here. When Austria unjustly attacked Piedmont, I resolved to support my ally, the King of Sardinia; the honour and interests of France demanded it of me. Your enemies, who are also mine, have attempted to diminish the universal sympathy that Europe had for your cause, in suggesting that I was simply making war for my own personal ambition or to enlarge France's territory. There are some men in this world who do not understand the time in which they are living, but I am not amongst them. In the enlightened views of today's public, greater are those who exert a moral influence than [those who] pursue sterile conquest. It is this moral influence that I proudly seek in contributing to free one of the greatest parts of Europe. Your welcome has already proven your understanding of this. I do not come here today with a preconceived system that will dispossess kings or to impose upon you my will. My army is concerned with only two things: battle your enemies and maintain the internal order. It will not stand in the way of any free demonstration of your legitimate wishes.
Providence sometimes favours a people as it does an individual, in giving them the opportunity, all of a sudden, to become great. But this is on condition that they know how to use it.
Thus I say, make the most of what fortune is offering to you. Your desire for independence, for so long expressed, for so long disappointed, will be realised if you demonstrate yourselves worthy of it.
Unite together in one single goal: the liberation of your country.
Organise your military.
Rise up under the flags of the King Victor-Emmanuel, who has already so nobly shown you the way to honour.
Remember that without discipline, the army is nothing, and, fired by the sacred love for your homeland, be nothing but soldiers today, for tomorrow you shall be free citizens of a great country."
Imperial residence, Milan, 8 June, 1859, Napoleon
Wishing you an excellent "Napoleonic" week,
Peter Hicks and Hamish Davey Wright
Historians and web-editors
THE NAPOLEON.ORG BULLETIN, N° 502, 12 – 18 June, 2009
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.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
THE BIBLIOTHEQUE FONDATION NAPOLEON LIBRARY
Spring opening times:
Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday: 1pm-6pm
Thursday: 10am-3pm
(Closed Friday)
THE MAGAZINE
Book of the month
- La Correspondance générale de Napoléon Bonaparte, Volume 6: "Vers le Grand Empire"
Just published
- Martin Howard, Napoleon's Poisoned Chalice
- Carl E. Franklin, British Napoleonic Uniforms
- Richard Blake, Evangelicals in the Royal Navy 1775-1815
Press review
- Art Daily: "Napoleon III and Paris" review
- Book review: The Invention of Altruism. Making Moral Meanings in Victorian Britain
- Book review: Hard and Unreal Advice: Mothers, Social Science and the Victorian Poverty Experts
- Fédération Européenne des Cités Napoléonienne: Newsletter May 2009
- WSJ: "Napoléon" review
- Numismaster: Andreas Hofer coin issue
Fondation Napoléon History Prizes 2008
- Francis and Madeleine Ambrière, Talma, ou l'histoire du théâtre
- Alain Decaux, Coup d'état à l'Elysée
- Edgardo Donati, La Toscana nell'impero napoleonico
WHAT'S ON
Guided tours
- "Discover Malmaison" in English, Malmaison (France), 1 July, 2009
- "Discover Malmaison" in Italian, Malmaison (France), 1 July, 2009
Conferences
- "The Mezzogiorno in Napoleonic Italy: reflections on a bicentenary", Naples (Italy), 11-13 June, 2009
- "Seventh International Napoleonic Congress: Napoleon, Europe and the World", and call for papers, Montreal (Canada), 8-12 June, 2009
- "Civilians and War in Europe, c. 1640-1815", Liverpool (UK), 18-20 June, 2009
- Napoleonic Association conference 2009, Southampton (UK), 10 October, 2009
- Australian Napoleonic Congress, Goulburn (Australia), 31 October - 1 November, 2009
Commemorations
- Royal British Legion remembrance ceremony for those fallen at Waterloo
- Bicentenary of the Illyrian Provinces
- Haydn 2009
- Bicentennial commemoration of the death of Maréchal Lannes
- French presence in South Africa
Re-enactments
- "11th weekend of bivouacs and battles at Waterloo", Waterloo (Belgium), 18 - 21 June, 2009
- Znaim 1809 bicentenary re-enactment, Znojmo and Dobšice (Czech Republic), 11-12 July, 2009
- Bivouac and the Battle of Oostmalle, Oostmalle (Belgium), 5-6 September, 2009
Festivals
- Napoleon Festival 2009, Sarzana (Italy), 24-27 September, 2009
Exhibitions
- "Napoleon says: Illyria arise!", Ljubljana, Slovenia [12/05/2009 - 31/10/2009]
Full details<
|
|
