To those of you who may have had the kindness to enquire where new blogs were, I sincerely apologise. Illness and important family matters kept me off the keyboard.

This may seem a bit of a cop-out, but I now need time to sort items from the MOWRC collection. Hence I am getting a bit personal and using the first two or three new blogs to cover items from my own collection, the MOW collection, which will no doubt, later, be joining the other part in the MOWRC collection acquired by the IES at the University and from where all the previous items have come.

Having studied at the Sorbonne in Paris, I am a complete Francophile and am fascinated by the French Revolution and Napoleon is my hero, if I am not too old to have one.

1789, Napoleon and all that

The 18th century in France began as one of hope and pleasure, especially for the upper class with their social and artistic diversions, such as balls and the theatre

Theatre guide for the year 1762

Meanwhile, the majority of the French population were near starving, with little produce, the large proportion taken by the rich, and little money to buy what there was left. In many areas rationing for necessities was introduced.

Voucher for one ration of hay issued on 10th December 1749 at La Chapelle des Tresses, Brittany, France

All that changes with the attack on the Bastille in 1789 during riots in Paris, which marked the beginning of the French Revolution.

The indecisiveness and conservatism of LOUIS XVI led some elements of the people of France to see it as a symbol of a dictatorship and his popularity deteriorated progressively. In June of 1791, the king, dressed as a servant together with his family, all disguised, escaped from Paris to start a counter revolution, but he was recognised after a short journey and taken back to Paris. This seemed to justify rumours that the king tied his hopes of political success to the possibility of a foreign invasion and the credibility of the king was profoundly undermined.

Document signed by Louis XVI Bourbon Letter folder

Louis XVI and his wife, Marie Antoinette, were arrested on August 10th 1792. He was judged according to the national Convention, convicted of high treason and guillotined on January 21st 1793.

The Convention is the name given in the constituent Assembly which governed France from September 21st 1792 till October 26th 1795 during the French Revolution and It founded the First Republic. The Committee of Public Safety was created on April 6th 1793. At first, it was composed of 9 members. In June 1793. It was divided into committees: Committee of General Defence, Committee of finances, Committee of public education, Committee of legislation, Committee of navy and colonies. Jean-Jacques Regis de Cambaceres was elected Secretary of the Committee of General Defence and then Public Safety on 26 March 1793 and finally President on April 5th.

Document of Committee of Public Safety signed by President Cambaceres

On November 3rd, 1795, the Directoire was established. Under this system, France was led by a Parliament, of two chambers, like ourselves. Owing to the internal instability, caused by the hyperinflation of the sums of paper money called Assignats and French military disasters in 1798 and 1799, the Directoire lasted only four years until 1799.

Assignat of 1000 francs

During this period,Napoleon Bonaparte was promoted to the rank of brigadier-general in the army. In 1795, he helped to suppress royalist’s insurrection against the revolutionary government in Paris and was promoted to major-general. Napoleon had been born in Ajaccio, Corsica, on 15 August 1769 .

Self knocking at door of Napoleon’s birthplace – No answer!

Napoleon was a co-conspirator in a coup against the Directory and became the head of the government as the First Consul.

20 Franc gold coin showing Napoleon as First Consul

His national profile was greatly improved by his marriage to Josephine de Beauharnais, the widow of general Alexander de Beauharnais (guillotined during the Reign of Terror) and the mother of two children. They were married in a civil ceremony on March 9th,1796.

Two medals of Josephine and Napoleon

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To be continued