Napoleonic History

"There is no doubt that a successful organisation in the armies prepares for victory, ensures achievements, maintains order and benefits economy. Considered in all respects, it is of great importance; military talents are not enough on their own to preserve achievements, which are lost when they are not supported by a just and enlightened administration, and for this reason we want good laws and educated and intact executors".
On the basis of these considerations, expressed by Alessandro Zanoli, former Secretary General of the Ministry of War and Navy of the Napoleonic Kingdom of Italy, and on the basis of the most recent acquisitions of "military" historiography, the book traces the institutional and administrative evolution of the institutions that supervised the articulated organisational mechanism of war, and that allowed the creation, practically from nothing, of an army of almost 80,000 men.
The author not only reconstructs the way in which services were assigned, trying to evaluate their effectiveness and limits, but also examines the origin, previous experiences and the conditions in which the war commissioners, often anonymous protagonists of the Napoleonic period, worked. Furthermore, he tries to evaluate the importance that the creation of a large army had in terms of investment opportunities and on the Lombard economy, and therefore to understand where the necessary capital to support this operation came from, which were the productive and mercantile sectors that were more involved in the war demand and finally what consequences this demand had on the development of "productive technology".
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«È fuor di dubbio che una buona azienda negli eserciti prepara la vittoria, assicura le conquiste, mantiene l’ordine e genera l’economia. Considerata sotto tutti i rispetti, essa è di una grande importanza; i talenti militari non bastano da sé per conservare le conquiste, le quali si perdono quando non siano appoggiate da una giusta e illuminata amministrazione e per ciò voglionsi buone leggi ed esecutori istrutti ed integerrimi».
A partire da queste considerazioni, espresse da Alessandro Zanoli, ex segretario generale del Ministero della guerra e della marina del napoleonico Regno d’Italia, e sulla scorta delle più recenti acquisizioni della storiografia «militare», il volume ripercorre l’evoluzione istituzionale e amministrativa degli organismi che sovrintesero all’articolato meccanismo organizzativo della guerra, e che permisero la realizzazione, praticamente dal nulla, di un esercito di quasi 80.000 uomini.
A tal fine l’autore non solo ricostruisce le modalità di assegnazione dei servizi, i tempi, i modi e la durata delle gare d’appalto e cerca di valutarne l’efficacia e i limiti, ma esamina anche la provenienza, le esperienze pregresse e le condizioni in cui operarono i commissari di guerra, protagonisti spesso anonimi dell’epopea napoleonica, ma fondamentale trait d’union tra il Ministero della guerra e le truppe sparse sul territorio. Inoltre cerca di valutare la rilevanza che la realizzazione di un numeroso esercito ebbe sul piano delle opportunità d’investimento e sull’economia lombarda, e quindi di comprendere da dove provenissero i capitali necessari a sostenere tale operazione, quali fossero gli ambiti produttivi, oltre che mercantili, che vennero maggiormente coinvolti dalla domanda bellica e infine quali conseguenze ebbe tale domanda sul versante degli sviluppi della «tecnologia produttiva».

The imprecision of contemporary sources makes it difficult to establish an exhaustive list of objects transferred to Paris of the territories conquered by the revolutionary French armies. The first general inventory of these shipments dates back to the First Empire: it consists of an inventory of the art works kept in the Emperor's House. These records tell us how these riches were used on French soil before most were repatriated to their regions of origin after the fall of the Empire. Commonly known as the Napoleon Inventory, now kept at the National Archives of Pierrefitte-sur-Seine, they can serve as a framework for investigation and specify the list and relative importance of groups of the same geographical origin such as the group of "Belgian" paintings ‒ to refer a terminology used in this manuscript for their returns. After a necessary in-depth presentation of this source, it is therefore to note the relative importance of these works, before estimating their importance according to this manuscript.

In 1809 the British public was scandalized by the affair of the Duke of York with Marry Anne Clarke. Rumors of the affair spread so widely that the story was articulated very widely in Britain for more than three months. The reputation of the Hanoverian prince was badly damaged by the testimony given forward by Mrs. Clarke. While the second son of King George III was Commander in Chief of the British Army at that time, the story was not only a public scandal, but rather a political crisis for the whole nation. News about corruption, debauchery and intrigues flooded the press, and this whole matter put the integrity of the national leaders to the challenge. Nevertheless, the outcome of the affair underwent a dramatic and unexpected turn.
През 1809 г. британската общественост е скандализирана от аферата на Йоркския херцог с лондончанката Мери Ан Кларк. Случаят придобива такава известност, че измества всички други теми във Великобритания за повече от три месеца. Репутацията на Хановерския принц е накърнена много тежко от сведенията, изнесени от неговата бивша любовница г-жа Кларк. Тъй като вторият син на Джордж III е и главнокомандващ на британската армия по това време, таблоидната история става политически проблем, който засяга цялата нация. Артикулират се версии за корупция, разврат и интриги, които пряко се отнасят до интегритета и моралните устои на националните лидери. Въпреки това,  развръзката на аферата претърпява драматичен и неочакван обрат.

En colaboración con la Universidad Complutense de Madrid y el Souvenir Napoléonien, Fusiliers-Chasseurs Madrid acogerá bajo la Asociación Académica Jóvenes Humanistas el coloquio “Entre Borbones y Liberales: revisitando los orígenes de la España contemporánea. Fracasología a debate”.

The Consulate and the Empire's cultural policy for the theatres was torn between a republican heritage of revolutionary festivals and the progressive restoration of Ancien Régime practices, as all the while Napoleon's personal grip on power tightened. The commemorations of the storming of the Bastille and of the proclamation of the Republic were eventually put aside and replaced at the end of the Consulate by Napoleon's birthday celebrations (August 15) and the anniversary of his coronation (December 2). During the French Empire, the number of festivals increased with the major victories, campaigns, and other events for the dynasty, such as the Austrian wedding and the birth of Napoleon's heir. This paper examines the organization of these festivities in Paris for the forty free performances (gratis) during the years 1800-1813 and reconstructs the theatrical programme of the eight official playhouses authorized by the 1806 and 1807 decrees. Each institution mainly chose plays from the major plays of its repertoire, but opportune flattery was still a possibility: we see the theatres mixing the political stakes of patriotic propaganda, self-promotion, and branding. When looking at these programmes, three main trends appear: propaganda plays (pièces de circonstance), national and historical dramas, and plays (both new and old) which were supposed to illustrate the French cultural patrimony and glory. As a part of the political ritual, the "gratis" performances shed light on Napoleon's plans for the concepts of power, the people and contemporary culture.

Felieton opisuje dzieje określania przez kolejnych matematyków wartości stałej matematycznej znanej jako liczba pi (stosunek obwodu koła do średnicy). Opisano  przybliżenia stosowane przez starożytnych Babilończyków, metodę Archimedesa, całe życie trwającą pracę Ludolpha van Ceulen i zaskoczenie badaczy analizujących proporcje piramidy Cheopsa.

In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries it was common for British Army regiments to recruit Black males to serve as enlisted military musicians. The fashion for “Turkish music”, and the racialised belief in the “natural propensity for music of Black people”, resulted in most British regiments employing Black musicians to play percussion instruments such as cymbals, tambourines and drums, (in addition to trumpets and bugles). Employed as symbols of regimental opulence and prestige, they were initially enlisted by high status cavalry and Guards regiments. By the Napoleonic Wars (1793-1815), most regiments had some Black presence; be it individuals or small groups of drummers, trumpeters or bandsmen. (The British Army of the period made no distinction between soldiers of African or Asian origin, simply referring to them as either “Black” or “of colour”).
This is the story of one of those soldiers: Thomas Wells, a Sri-Lankan who as a pensioner wore the famous scarlet coat of the Royal Hospital Chelsea.

During Napoleon Bonaparte’s reign as king and emperor of the Netherlands (1810-1813) the Napoleonic eagle had a prominent place in Dutch society. Coats of arms were changed and civic symbols were altered to fit the new regime. But what happened to these symbols when Napoleon’s occupation was over? Were they destroyed, as in France, or was there a different way of looking at Napoleonic symbolism? On a national level the Netherlands attempted to forget the period 1810-1813. As this article argues, events were remembered very differently at a local level. As the case study of Dordrecht proves, objects related to the visit of Napoleon to the city in 1811, and to his reign in general, remained in circulation there. Private stories connected to 1811 secured a place for a seemingly negative episode in the history of Dordrecht. Moreover, the visit created feelings of civic and military pride in the same way that independence did in 1813.