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EDITORIAL
Irène Delage: Chevalier des Arts et Lettres
In his announcement on 17 July 2009, M. Frédéric Mitterrand, Minister for Culture and Communication, named Irène Delage, head of the Documentation Service, Public Relations and IT at the Fondation Napoléon, to the rank of Chevalier des Arts et Lettres. This is in recognition of the work that she has accomplished over thirteen years, both at the heart and outside of the Fondation Napoléon.
Within the Fondation Napoléon, Irène Delage is the driving force behind the majority of services that we offer to the public, including in particular the website www.napoleon.org and our weekly newsletter. As section head, she guides and oversees the content and delivery of these two services on a daily basis. In doing so, she plays a tangible and very clear role in the diffusion and dissemination of 19th century history. This aspect of her work was obviously important in the Minister for Culture's decision. However, the award is also in recognition of the recipient's work of a more personal nature, for Irène Delage is also an historian and author. She has published a number of works, including "Le Sceau de l'Aigle" (Editions Timée), and has a regular section in a magazine aimed at the general public. She has also written academic papers and is a permanent member of the Correspondence project team, in which she is involved in the commentaries and chronologies.
It goes without saying that we at the Fondation Napoléon are delighted with the Minister for Culture's decision, for not only is it a great honour for the recipient, but it is also a positive reflection on the Fondation Napoléon team as a whole.
Our congratulations to Irène Delage, chevalier des Arts et Lettres.
Thierry Lentz
Director of the Fondation Napoléon
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BOOK OF THE MONTH
Napoleon's Poisoned Chalice by Dr. Martin Howard
In 1815 Napoleon Bonaparte arrived on the island of St. Helena to begin his imprisonment following Waterloo. By 1821 he was dead. During his brief stay, he crossed paths with six medical men, all of whom would be changed by the encounter, whether by court martial, the shame of misdiagnosis, or resulting celebrity. What would seem to be a straightforward post became entangled with politics, as Governor Hudson Lowe became paranoid as to the motivations of each doctor and brought their every move into question. In Napoleon's Poisoned Chalice, Martin Howard addresses the political pitfalls navigated with varying success by the men who were assigned to care for the most famous man in Europe.
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FONDATION NAPOLEON NEWS
"Napoléon, l'Empire et l'heritage des Lumières" conference
On Friday 9 and Saturday 10 October, 2009, in association with the Fondation Napoléon, the Cercle Condorcet-Voltaire is organising a study day entitled "Napoléon, l'Empire et l'heritage des Lumières" ("Napoleon, the Empire and the heritage of the Enlightenment"). The discussion will revolve around the question "Were the French Revolution and the Empire inspired by the heritage of the Enlightenment, and if so, to what extent?" and will take place in Ferney Voltaire and Divonne-les-Bains in Switzerland.
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INTERVIEW
Emilie Robbe, the Musée de l'Armée and Project ATHENA
With the modernisation project "ATHENA" coming to a close, www.napoleon.org has an interview with Emilie Robbe, the curator for the Modern Wing of the Musée de l'Armée. In it she recaps ATHENA's goals, the various changes made to the museum over the thirteen-year period and the issues that such an important project has raised in the process.
WHAT'S ON
European Heritage Days 2009
As part of the Europe-wide Heritage Days 2009 event, the team here at the Fondation Napoléon have selected a number of Napoleonic themed events taking place in France and England during September.
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RECENT NEWS
Reopening of the Maison Bertrand on St. Helena
The Maison Bertrand on St. Helena, the island where Napoleon spent his last days, has just reopened. The runnings and daily operations of the property have been taken over by the National Trust, a conservation organisation covering England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
Awards: Ordre des Arts de Lettres
M. Georges Poisson, conservateur général du Patrimoine, holder of an honorary doctorate from the University of Tokyo, and Commandeur in the Ordre de la Légion d'honneur, has been named Commandeur in the Ordre des Arts et Lettres by M. Frédéric Mitterand, Minister for Culture. Born in 1924, Georges Poisson was for a long time director of the Musée d'Ile de France de Sceaux. He has written a number of books, including Napoléon I et Paris (1964, reissued in 2002), L'Histoire de l'architecture à Paris (1997), Le retour des cendres de l'Aiglon (2006), and Le secrets de l'Elysée (2006). In 2009, his latest book, Combats pour le patrimoine, was published by Pygmalion.
Madame Madeleine Ambrière has been named officier in the Ordre des Arts et Lettres by M. Frédéric Mitterrand, Minister for Culture. Madame Ambrière was awarded the Prix d'histoire 2008 by the Fondation Napoléon for her biography, co-written with her husband, Francis Ambrière, of the actor Talma. In 2008, she donated, for the second time, a remarkable collection of manuscripts and literary documents from the 19th century to the Bibliothèque de l'Institut de France. These documents had been collected over many years of research and writing.
200 YEARS AGO
Walcheren: Fouché seizes his opportunity...
As the British expedition to Walcheren expedition fell to disaster, the political fallout began to be felt in Paris. This potential catastrophe for the Empire whilst Napoleon was far away in Austria on campaign had exposed administrative ambivalence in government during the imperial absence. Officially, Cambacérès as Arch-chancellor made the decisions in Paris concerning France and its management. However, during the entire Walcheren affair, Police Minister Fouché had emerged as the most proactive of the ministers left in the French capital. Matters that would normally be the domain of the arch-chancellor were discussed with Fouché, who had taken on the combined role of Minister of Police and Minister of the Interior.
Whilst Cambacérès dithered over how to react to the British expedition launched on 29 July, 1809, Fouché issued an order to the northern départements to raise the National Guard. This done, Fouché also ensured the nomination of Bernadotte at the head of the forces raised to combat the prospective British invasion. Whilst Napoleon castigated Cambacérès for his hesitation ("I am displeased that you have made so little use of the powers that I have given you, and in such extraordinary circumstances" [letter from Napoleon to Cambacérès dated 10 August, 1809, n° 15,633]) and criticised General Clarke for leaving the decisions to Fouché ("He [Fouché] has taken it upon himself to do what you have not done yourself" [letter from Napoleon to Clarke dated 10 August, 1809, n° 15,635], Fouché's own stock rose. Again Clarke was on the receiving end of Napoleon's wrath:
"I fail to conceive what you are doing in Paris. Perhaps you are waiting for the English to take you whilst you are in your bed. As 25,000 Englishmen attack our shipyards and our provinces, the ministry remains inactive! [...] I see only M. Fouché who has done what he can and who has understood the damage that such a dangerous and dishonourable state of inaction can do." [Letter from Napoleon to Clarke dated 10 August, 1809, n° 15,636]
The English expedition did indeed prove to be a complete disaster: "The English troops' month of rest on the island of Zeeland has put half their army in the sickbed and left the remaining troops in a weakened state. I have no doubt that they will be returning to England and at this present time have evacuated the island. If Monnet had not been so useless and cowardly, this expedition would have been nothing but dishonourable for the English and which would have left them not even a modicum of glory." [Letter from Napoleon to Fouché dated 11 September, 1809, n° 15787]
By 16 September, 11,000 British troops, both disease-ridden and healthy, had been evacuated and were on their way home. Fouché however emerged from the operation dangerously powerful. On 1 October, 1809, he was to give up his role as interim Minister of the Interior: Napoleon made him Duc d'Otrante shortly afterwards. But the emperor appeared to be merely biding his time, waiting for the moment when he could relieve himself of this ambitious minister.
For further discussion of Fouché and Walcheren, see "Walcheren et 'l'affaire Fouché'" by Thierry Lentz in issue n° 39 of La Revue Napoléon.
Society: death of Marie-Etienne Nitot
On 9 September, 1809, the jeweller Marie-Etienne Nitot (1750-1809) died. His jewellery shop, "la bijouterie Nitot", opened in 1780 but it was not until 1802, when it became the official jewellers to the First Consul, that it rose in stature. Nitot created the consular sword, in which was set "le Régent", the 136-carat diamond that had originally adorned the French crown. Two years later, Nitot produced the jewels for Napoleon's coronation as well as the imperial sword. Nitot's son, François Regnault Nitot, took over after his father's death, and he remained in business up to the fall of the Empire in 1815. In 1810, he produced the superb set of jewels worn by the Empress Mare-Louise. The "bijouterie Nitot" went on to become the "Maison Chaumet", a prestigious Paris-based jewellers whose flagship store is situated at the Place Vendôme.
150 YEARS AGO
The colonies: Réunion
On 15 September, 1859, the Marquis de Chasseloup-Laubat, Napoleon III's Minister for the Colonies, forbad any immigration into the island of Réunion from Africa, Madagascar and the Comoros. This was in reaction to a devastating epidemic of cholera and smallpox that had swept through the island after the arrival of a number of boats carrying African workforce in February. Under intense and incessant pressure from the landowners of the island who needed workers to cultivate and work the 120,000 hectares of agricultural land in the colony, the governer Rodolphe-Augustin Darricau increased Indian and Chinese immigration into the island. These workers were known as "coolies", from the hindi word "qulī" which means "day-worker" and which perhaps can be traced back to "Kulī", a tribe in Gujurat (the western-most state in India).
Réunion island has been a part of France since 1764, when the French king, Louis XV, bought the Îles de France (Mauritius) and the Île Bourbon (which would become Réunion) from the French East India Company after it went bankrupt. As an overseas département (département d'outre-mer) with the same status as any other département in France, it is the outermost region in the European Union.
Wishing you an excellent "Napoleonic" week,
Peter Hicks & Hamish Davey Wright
Historians and web-editors
THE NAPOLEON.ORG BULLETIN, N° 508, 11 – 17 September, 2009
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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
Autumn opening times:
Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday: 1pm-6pm
Thursday: 10am-3pm
(Closed Friday)
The library will be closed exceptionally on Wednesday 23 September, and Tuesday 29 September, 2009.
THE MAGAZINE
Book of the month (English)
- Napoleon's Poisoned Chalice, by Dr. Martin Howard
Book of the month (French)
- Napoléon, une enfance corse, by Michel Vergé-Franceschi
Press review
- Book review: The Domination of Strangers: Modern Governance in Eastern India, 1780-1835
Fondation Napoléon study grants
- Candidates wishing to apply for a Fondation Napoléon study grant for 2009 can find further information and download the application form here.
Press review
WHAT'S ON
Conferences
- Napoleon and the United States, Rome (Italy), 25 September, 2009
- Napoleon, the Empire and the heritage of the Enlightenment, Ferny-Voltaire and Divonne-les-Bains (France & Switzerland), 9 - 10 October, 2009
- Reworking the Regency conference, Melbourne (Australia), 2 - 3 October, 2009
- Napoleonic Association Conference 2009, Southampton (UK), 10 October, 2009
- Clark Symposium: Is Paris still the Capital of the Nineteenth Century?, Williamstown (USA), 30 - 31 October, 2009
- Australian Napoleonic Congress, Goulburn (Australia), 31 October - 1 November, 2009
- Naval Dockyards Society Thirteenth Annual Conference, Portsmouth (UK), 7 November, 2009
- Wellington Congress 2010, Southampton (UK), 8 - 11 July, 2010
Commemorations
- Bicentenary of the Illyrian Provinces
- Charles Darwin 2009
Festivals
- European Heritage Week, Various (Europe), 10 - 20 September, 2009
- Centro Romano di Studi Napoleonici Napoleonic Week, Rome (Italy), 22 - 24 September, 2009
- Napoleon Festival 2009, Sarzana (Italy), 24 - 27 September, 2009
Auctions
- Baldwin's Auctions: Auction n° 63, Orders, Decorations and Military Medals, Commemorative Medals, Indian Coins, London (UK), 30 September, 2009
Exhibitions
- "Napoleon: Emperor of the French", Dublin, Ireland [18/06/2009 - 01/11/2009]
Full details
- "'Paris photographed during Haussmann's time': portrait of a city undergoing transformation", Paris, France [01/09/2009 - 27/09/2009]
Full details
- "Jean Lannes, Maréchal of France, national hero", Lectoure & Valence-sur-Baïse, France [14/07/09 - 20/09/09]
Full details
- "In the Footsteps of Charles Darwin at the Jardin Botanique de Paris", Paris, France [29/05/2009 - 01/11/2009]
Full details
- "The Description of Egypt", Paris, France [17/06/09 - 21/09/09]
Full details
- "Napoleon says: Illyria arise!", Ljubljana, Slovenia [12/05/2009 - 31/10/2009]
Full details
- "Napoléon", Anaheim, USA [11/10/2009 - 08/01/2010]
Full details
- "Napoleon Bonaparte and Egypt: fire and light", Arras, France [16/05/2008 - 19/10/2009]
Full details
- "Napoleon. His opponents, his admirers, and the sacrifice", Marchegg, Austria [04/04/2009 - 18/10/2009]
Full details
- "Napoleon in Traiskirchen", Möllersdorf, Austria [04/03/2009 - 24/12/2009]
Full details
- "Napoleon and Corsica", Corte, France [20/06/2009 - 30/12/2009]
Full details
- "Napoleon, Commander, Emperor and Genius", Schallaburg, Germany [16/05/2009 - 01/11/2009]
Full details
- "With Napoleon in Egypt: the Drawings of Jean-Baptiste Lepère", Cologne, Germany [02/10/2009 - 10/01/2010]
Full details
- "Ben Weider Collection at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts", Montreal, Canada [Permanent]
Full details
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