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VOLUME SEVEN IS HERE!
Thursday may have seen the latest batch of Beaujolais nouveau hit the shops in France, but of a far finer cru this week is volume seven of The General Correspondence of Napoleon Bonaparte, set for release in bookstores today. Some things are hard to resist, and this volume has it all. 3,020 letters, 2,096 index entries, 1,588 pages: we're sure you'll agree that the vital statistics for this edition - the result of hundreds of hours of work put in by both the correspondence team and the volume editors, Michel Kerautret and Gabriel Madec - make for some pretty impressive reading. 1807 sets the scene, Franco-Russian relations set the tone, whilst the meeting at Tilsit is the year's defining moment. And without letting current events and bicentenaries dictate our rhythm, it is true that in this case, our latest release fits in well with the France-Russia Year taking place in France at the moment and its various cultural events still being celebrated. The parallels stop there though: France may be making some governmental re-adjustments right now, but there will be no cabinet reshuffle here at the Fondation Napoléon - you don't change a winning team, and preparations for 1808 and the 1812 bicentenary edition are already well underway.
Oh, and one final thing. With the Christmas shopping rush on the horizon, permit me to offer a simple observation: volume seven's delightful green cover, bound in elegant red ribbon, would go just splendidly with your Christmas tree and decorations. Food for the thought for all those prospective Fathers Christmas out there!
François Houdecek
Project manager, Project for the Publication of the Correspondence of Napoleon Bonaparte
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THE GENERAL CORRESPONDENCE OF NAPOLEON BONAPARTE
Volume 7: Tilsit, the Empire's apogee
The beautifully orchestrated meeting between Napoleon and Alexander at Tilsit proved to be the turning point in 1807. Indeed, the year can be quite neatly divided into two clear and distinct halves: pre- and post-Tilsit. This seventh volume of the General Correspondence of Napoleon Bonaparte covers the year of 1807 and includes 3,020 letters (an increase in excess of 37% on the edition published during the Second Empire), fully annotated by specialists of the period.
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Introduction to volume seven, by Gabriel Madec
Volume seven may only cover a single year, but what a year it was! Understandably, Eylau, Friedland and Tilsit stand out as three events that left a profound impression on 1807 and its protagonists. The first days of 1807 paint a sobering picture. The Grande Armée, having fought a furious campaign against the Prussians, found itself in Poland, confronted by a determined adversary fully capable of both executing a strategic retreat and, when necessary, fighting to the bitter end on the battlefield. The weather, the great stretches of forest and swampland, the absence of roads, and a lack of provisions - caused by problems in the supply train - all weighed heavily on Napoleon's strategy.
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The correspondence project: halfway there!
A year and a bit after the release of volume six, volume seven of The General Correspondence of Napoleon Bonaparte is finally out. 2010 has seen great strides made in the collection of our letters, thanks in no small part to the involvement of a number of Russian archive centres. 2010 will also see the completion of our letter inputting process, which has seen the database here at the Fondation Napoléon swell to, by our latest count, 40,713 letters, with just the two final months of 1813 left to integrate. By the time this particular stage of the project has reached its term, the total will have gone beyond 41,000 documents, a figure that far surpasses our original estimates made in 2002.
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OBJET D'ART OF THE MONTH
Crimean War commemorative medal: "In honour of the allied armies", by Laurent Joseph Hart
The Crimean War, fought between Russia and the Ottoman Empire, saw the Sublime Porte's two principal allies during the conflict - Britain and France - unite in common purpose. It is this alliance, marked by victories achieved at Alma (20 September, 1854), Balaklava (25 October) and Inkermann (5 November) by the Franco-British Expeditionary Corps, that is celebrated in this commemorative medal. Minted in 1854, the medal thus predates the decisive victory at Sevastopol and the allies' official entry into the port, on 12 September, 1855.
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PRESS REVIEW
Apollo Magazine: "Buying Bonaparte", by Susan Jenkins
The latest issue of Apollo Magazine, a British publication dedicated to the visual arts, features an article from Susan Jenkins on the British government's purchase of Napoleon as Mars the Peacemaker, by Antonio Canova. The history of this purchase, which took place in 1816, takes in protracted negotiations taking place in the upper echelons of European society, inter-museum cultural bargaining and post-war European diplomacy. Susan Jenkins is Senior Curator, Special Projects, at English Heritage. The statue now resides at Apsley House, in London.
200 YEARS AGO
Foy in Paris
Encamped in front of the Lines of Torres Vedras, Marshal Masséna (see bulletin n°s 553, 554 and 555) desperately needed provisions and reinforcements in order to continue his struggle with Wellington. So he dispatched Brigadier General Maximilien Sébastien Foy (with an escort of five hundred men) to Paris deliver Masséna's request for support in person to Napoleon.
Setting off on 29 October, Foy's party raced to Paris, arriving without incident in the night of 21 November. His debriefing with the Emperor took place immediately the next day, during which he was subjected to Napoleon's usual brand of intense questioning and quick-fire judgements. Napoleon's first reaction was anger at Masséna's lack of success, indulging himself in his preferred brand of 20-20 hindsight: "He [Masséna] should have taken up a position at Coimbra after the defeat at Bussaco". Foy however boldly spoke back to the Emperor in defence of his commander in chief, quite rightly pointing out that such a move would have resulted in the French Emperor reproaching Masséna for not pushing on and driving the British into the sea. This remark - indicative of both Foy's remarkable intelligence and self confidence - was met (so Foy tells us in his memoirs) by a broad smile and a wry note of agreement from the emperor. Napoleon also accepted that the poor position was not all Masséna's fault, conceding that Wellington had conducted his strategic retreat with skill: "The English are brave and honourable; they defend themselves well. [...] Lord Wellington has behaved intelligently: the total destruction of the kingdom is the result of systematic measures skilfully executed."
Nor did the messenger suffer. Having been made Baron d'Empire earlier in the year, Foy was to be promoted at this time to the rank of Général de division by Napoleon.
Foy was to return to Portugal in February 1811 as commander of a division of the 6th corps, with orders whereby Masséna should reinforce the Armée de Portugal and pursue a campaign of attrition.
150 YEARS AGO
The Liberal Empire and the decree of 24 November, 1860
At the end of 1860, and in the face of mounting opposition, notably in the Corps législatif, resulting largely from middle-class and parliamentary opposition to the Cobden-Chevallier commercial treaty passed with Britain at the beginning of the year, Napoleon III was forced to make some concessions and soften his authoritarian regime. This second part of Napoleon III's reign is generally called the 'Liberal Empire'. On 22 November, 1860, the emperor announced to the Council of Ministers his decision to reform the Corps législatf and the Senate. The reform was, to be sure, exceedingly limited, but its aim was to "give to the major state bodies a more direct participation in the government's general policies". The decree itself was promulgated two days later.
The 'concessions' were as follows.
- The Corps Législatif and Senate would be permitted to pronounce an Address in reply to the Emperor's speech at the opening of the session, in the course of which the Corps Législatif might call into question the government's policy and oblige it to explain its projects of law. Furthermore, the Corps Législatif could discuss the government's projects of law in a closed session before appointing a committee to examine these projects.
- "Ministers without portfolio" were to be appointed by the Emperor to defend and explain government policy before the two assemblies.
- From then on, the government organ, Le Moniteur (and other papers thereafter), would receive and publish a detailed report of the Corps Législatif's proceedings.
The November decree was however perceived as a sign of weakness by liberal opposition in the Corps Législatif, and Napoleon III was obliged to make further concessions the following year. The constitution was modified by means of a sénatus-consulte, dated 31 December, 1861 (the constitution could not be altered by a mere decree), whereby the Corp Législatif would be given the power to discuss and vote the budget, clause by clause. This real concession was however to be diminished by a subsequent decree whereby the government was permitted to 'rectify' the budget. That being said, this 'give and take' would appear to be Napoleon III's honest attempt to bring 'liberty' to his autocratic regime.
Walter Bagehot, commentator, essayist and supporter of Napoleon III, gives an interesting contemporary view of this attempt at liberalising the empire.
Wishing you an excellent "Napoleonic" week,
Peter Hicks & Hamish Davey Wright
Historians and web-editors
THE NAPOLEON.ORG BULLETIN, N° 561, 19 - 25 November
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FONDATION NAPOLEON ON THE WEB
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STATISTIC OF THE WEEK
16,940 letters have already been published in the previous six volumes of The General Correspondence of Napoleon Bonaparte (Fondation Napoléon/Fayard).
MAGAZINE
Press review
- Apollo Magazine: "Buying Bonaparte", by Susan Jenkins
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.
Auctions
- Bonhams Knightsbridge: "British & Continental Pictures", London, UK [30/11/2010]
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