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THE CAMPAIGN TO SAVE LONGWOOD HOUSE
Most of you will have noticed on napoleon.org and in the special letter sent out last week to our French-language readers that the campaign to save Longwood House on Saint Helena has now been launched. With contributions already coming in, there have been a number of questions regarding how to make donations if you are based outside of France. The practical details of the international side of the campaign are being finalised as we speak.
In order that donors who do not pay tax in France may benefit from the tax breaks available in their country, we have to receive authorisation from foreign foundations. This authorisation is obtained through the Fondation de France, which has been given the job of securing this agreement with the countries concerned. This stage of the process should be complete between now and the end of January, and as soon as this authorisation has been received, we shall of course give our Francophone and Anglophone friends based outside French territory a "heads-up".
For those looking to make a donation via bank transfer, the Fondation Napoléon's bank details can be obtained by contacting Pierre Branda, either by post (the Fondation Napoléon's address can be found on the website) or by email (branda@napoleon.org).
This fund-raising call goes out to Napoleonic historians and enthusiasts, and national and historical heritage lovers alike: we need you.
Thierry Lentz
Director, Fondation Napoléon
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ARTICLE OF THE MONTH
"General Baron Gaspard Gourgaud: A Survivor of St. Helena", by Peter Friedman
Dedicated to the memory of the Fondation Napoléon's founder and first president, Napoléon Gourgaud du Taillis, who passed away in August this year, Peter Friedman's article presents a biography of Baron Gaspard Gourgaud, and takes a look at the general's experience on Saint Helena, his relationship with Napoleon, and his eventual departure from the island in 1818. The article first appeared in issue n° 115 of First Empire magazine.
And on the French side, the latest article of the month is "Le Salon de 1810", by David Mandrella.
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NAPOLEONICA. LA REVUE
Issue n° 8 out now
As announced last week, issue n° 8 of Napoleonica. La Revue is now available online on Cairn.info. Our second selection is "Les Prisonniers français en Grande-Bretagne de 1803 à 1814", part one of Patrick Le Carvèse's study of French prisoners and the conditions during their captivity in British detention centres and prison hulks. The article focuses on statistical data gleaned from the French Navy central archives, and offers chronological and geographical details of the method of detention, the prisoners' mortality and their service.
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SEEN ON THE WEB
Friends of Norman Cross
The Friends of Norman Cross was created in 2008 following the successful 2005 project to replace the bronze memorial eagle erected in Norman Cross (Peterborough, UK). During the Napoleonic period, the area was the site of a prisoner of war depot that at its height held 7,000 prisoners of war. The depot was demolished and the prisoners repatriated in 1814, following Napoleon's defeat. The memorial commemorates the 1,770 prisoners who died in the depot and was originally erected in 1914 before being destroyed and the eagle stolen in 1990. A recent episode of Channel 4's "Time Team" conducted a dig onsite and uncovered a number of items belonging to the prisoners, including pottery, buttons, knife handles and dominoes. The Friends association has recently launched its new website, www.friendsofnormancross.org.uk (external link), which offers a history of the site as well as information regarding the Friends and upcoming events.
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WHAT'S ON
"Claude Monet 1840-1926", Paris, France
Featuring over 200 paintings, the Grand Palais' Monet exhibition invites the visitor to rediscover the work of one of the founders of modern art. Monet consciously avoided the workshop and its contrivances in favour of art conceived in the open air. His subjects were to be found in their surroundings, and he applied himself to the depiction of light and all its atmospheric variations. This presentation of light in its multifarious forms can be seen in a number of Monet's cycles, including his Poplars and Haystacks series depicting a number of different, richly coloured sensations, which vary according to the season.
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NHS conference 2010, Las Vegas, USA
The Napoleonic Historical Association's conference takes place this weekend (12 - 14 November) in Las Vegas, Nevada. Amongst the Napoleonic era gaming, collectors' roundtable, black tie and period dress banquet, and awards presentation will be a number of talks, including Mike Bonura's "Kellerman's Cavalry at Waterloo" and David Stefancic's "Napoleon and his Polish Troops".
200 YEARS AGO
The Valais
Following the Battle of Marengo in 1800, the Valais region in Switzerland, due to its role in maintaining the lines of communication between Italy and France, became of prime concern for Napoleon. The Franco-Italo-Helvetic treaty of 28 August, 1802, granted independence to the Valais, creating the Rhodanic Republic. In exchange for this independence, France and Italy were granted unconditional use of the Simplon Pass linking the two countries, the construction of which was to be jointly financed. However, by February 1810, Napoleon had ordered Champagny to instruct him on the treaty signed in 1802, amid concerns regarding the republic's "weak" government, its inability to clamp down on smuggled goods, and more generally, the continued expansion of the French Empire. The summer of 1810 was spent discussing the republic's annexation, and by 3 November, Napoleon had made his decision. The imperial decree announced on 12 November brought an end to the Valais' period of independence:
"Napoleon, Emperor of the French, King of Italy, Protector of the Confederation of the Rhine, Mediator of the Swiss Confederation, considering that the Simplon Pass, which unites the Empire with the Kingdom of Italy, is of use to more than sixty million men [and] has cost the French and Italian treasuries more than eighteen million [Francs]; [...] [considering that] the Valais has upheld not one of its contracted commitments since the construction and opening of this great route was ordered; [and] seeking to put an end to the anarchy which afflicts this country, [...], the following is decreed:
Art. 1. The Valais is merged with the Empire.
2. This territory will form a département, under the departmental name of Simplon."
The imperial pregnancy
On 12 November, 1810, Napoleon announced Marie-Louise's pregnancy to the Senate.
150 YEARS AGO
Eugenie's mysterious trip to Scotland
Empress Eugenie's sister, the Duchess of Alba, passed away on 16 September in Paris after a long and painful illness. Deeply affected by this loss, Eugenie decided to take an unofficial holiday in Scotland.
As Prosper Mérimée remarked in a letter dated 11 November, 1860, to Antonio Panizzi, librarian at the British Museum ("Imagine what will be said [about the empress's visit to Scotland] and all the tales that it will give rise to"), the trip, taken during the winter season, was to be surrounded in rumour and insinuation. As well as suggestions in Paris that Napoleon III was lavishing a little too much attention on a particular lady at court (a certain Madame de Castiglione), Earl Cowley, British ambassador to France, remarked in a letter to Lord Clarendon on 13 November, 1860, that a number of other motives were supposed, including stress and general unhappiness. He also mentioned the rumour that Eugenie was possibly suffering from the same illness that had killed her sister and was thus heading to Edinburgh to visit the esteemed doctor, James Young Simpson.
Eugenie left Saint-Cloud on 14 November and arrived in London two days later. But, having failed to make reservations in London, the party, with Eugenie travelling as the Countess de Pierrefonds, was forced to go from hotel to hotel in search of suitable lodgings. It was only on the fifth attempt that appropriate apartments were found. Before heading to Scotland, she stopped in York, where she visited the cathedral. On 17 November, she travelled north to Edinburgh where, her cover by now blown, an official reception had been organised by the city authorities. The Scotsman of 18 November announced grandly that "since hapless Mary, Queen of Scots, landed at Leith three hundred years ago, no royal lady of France has till yesterday visited the Scottish capital".
Wishing you an excellent "Napoleonic" week,
Peter Hicks & Hamish Davey Wright
Historians and web-editors
THE NAPOLEON.ORG BULLETIN, N° 560, 12 - 18 November
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.
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FONDATION NAPOLEON ON THE WEB
Each week we offer you a "mystery" link to somewhere on napoleon.org. Click on the link to discover a part of the website you might not have visited before...
STATISTIC OF THE WEEK
During October, the Fondation Napoléon's Digital Library received 4,538 hits.
EVENTS
On now and coming up
A selection of events taking place now or in the coming weeks, taken from our What's on listings.
Conference
- Napoleonic Historical Society 2010 conference, Las Vegas, USA [12/11/2010 - 14/11/2010]
Full details
Exhibition
- "Claude Monet 1840-1926", Paris, France [22/09/2010 - 24/01/2011]
Full details
NAPOLEON.ORG
The best of the month:
- Book of the month
- Painting of the month
- Objet d'Art of the month
- Article of the month
NAPOLEONICA.LA REVUE
Available free on Cairn.info
NAPOLEONICA ARCHIVES ONLINE
THE BIBLIOTHÈQUE MARTIAL-LAPEYRE FONDATION NAPOLEON LIBRARY
Autumn opening hours
Situated at 148 boulevard Haussmann, 75008 Paris, the library is open on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, from 1pm – 6pm, and Thursday 10am - 3pm.
Online catalogue
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Contact
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