Tea at Trianon: Napoleonic Wars and the Emergence of Modern Nationalism

John Wilson Croker on Marie-Antoinette

"We have followed the history of Marie Antoinette with the greatest diligence and scrupulosity. We have lived in those times. We have talked with some of her friends and some of her enemies; we have read, certainly not all, but hundreds of the libels written against her; and we have, in short, examined her life with– if we may be allowed to say so of ourselves– something of the accuracy of contemporaries, the diligence of inquirers, and the impartiality of historians, all combined; and we feel it our duty to declare, in as a solemn a manner as literature admits of, our well-matured opinion that every reproach against the morals of the queen was a gross calumny– that she was, as we have said, one of the purest of human beings."

~from History of the Guillotine by John Wilson Croker, 1844

Edmund Burke on Marie-Antoinette

"It is now sixteen or seventeen years since I saw the queen of France, then dauphiness, at Versailles; and surely there never lighted on this orb, which she hardly seemed to touch, a more delightful vision. I saw her just above the horizon, decorating and cheering the elevated sphere she had just begun to move in, glittering like a morning star full of life and splendor and joy. Oh, what a revolution....Little did I dream that I should have lived to see such disasters fall upon her, in a nation of gallant men, in a nation of men of honor and of cavaliers! I thought ten thousand swords must have leaped from their scabbards, to avenge even a look which threatened her with insult. But the age of chivalry is gone; that of sophisters, economists, and calculators has succeeded...."

~Edmund Burke, October 1790

Wednesday, March 13, 2024

Napoleonic Wars and the Emergence of Modern Nationalism

Napoleon in Egypt

From World Atlas:

In 1798, French officials came up with a plan to assert a French presence in Egypt. With Napoleon leading, the Egyptian expedition began wonderfully, capturing Malta, Alexandria, and the Nile Delta. The political climate in France was shifting and impossible to foretell. The peak of this domestic conflict came with a coup d'état towards the end of 1799. Napoleon had prearranged his comeback and made it back to Paris by October. The coup, known as the 18–19 Brumaire, saw the resignation of the directors and the dispersion of legislative councils. It ushered in a new government, the Consulate, with three consuls— one of which being Bonaparte. While this was happening, Emperor Paul I of Russia, Catherine the Great's son, was furious at France's occupation of Malta. He responded by sending fleets to capture French islands while assembling a new alliance, which grew to include Britain, Austria, the Ottomans, and more.

The myth of Bonaparte's unbeatable power was fragmented after his defeat at The Battle of the Nile, acting as a catalyst for another European coalition to form. Despite this, the coalition did not have much unity and fell apart. The Armistice of Treviso between France and Austria led to a temporary cessation of hostilities, and the Treaty of Florence between France and Naples led to French control over parts of Italy. Like the First Coalition, poor communication and a lack of unity doomed the alliance from the start. (Read more.)