Fabled Foreign Legion finds a new war to fight Nov 16, 2009
It's a tradition that dates to the founding of the legion in 1831, after France was bled by the Napoleonic wars and needed foreign men to help conquer and colonize Algeria. Five years' service entitles a recruit to French citizenship. (MSNBC -- International)
Thai Spicy Fish McDippers, and other examples of fast-food you cant get in the United States Nov 11, 2009
The most common origin given is "La casa alta" brough back from the peninsula campaign during the Napoleonic wars. In the '80s, traditional pubs were bought up by the fistful by large breweries who wanted places to sell their beer exclusively. (Harper's Magazine)
Peter Jackson Update Nov 10, 2009
is mentioned, based on the fantasy novels by Naomi Novik that are set during the Napoleonic Wars and feature flying dragons. But then there's also Dam Busters, the World War II action drama about an English bomber pilot which the trade reports Jackson has put on the "back burner fearing it might be 'too English.'" His team has already built a dozen replica bombers, though, and he still apparently plans on getting the film made at some point as THR specifies that he says he will produce but not... (IGN FilmForce)
After the Wall Tumbled Nov 10, 2009
"Bliss it was in that dawn to be alive/ But to be young was very heaven." When William Wordsworth wrote those words about the French Revolution, the post-revolutionary terror was a recent memory, the Napoleonic wars were still raging, and his poem was an ironic comment on the naivet of youth. But we are now as far from the events of 1989 as Wordsworth was from 1789, and here in Central Europe there is no need for irony at all. (Slate)
The Wisdom of Bertrand de Jouvenel Nov 7, 2009
At one point, after noting that the number killed or wounded in World War I was five times greater than all the men under arms at the conclusion of the Napoleonic Wars, he laments, We are ending where the savages began. We have found again the lost arts of starving non-combatants, burning hovels, and leading away the vanquished into slavery. (The American Conservative)
Daily TV and radio guide Nov 7, 2009
Keith Carradine and Harvey Keitel as rival cavalry officers of the Napoleonic Wars. PG (1978). (Boston Globe)
The blue GM rose on sale in Japan Oct 22, 2009
" Its cultivation would not be allowed in some countries, such as the UK, because of the controls imposed on genetically-modified plants. Feeling blueRoses have been the subject of many myths, legends, poems and paintings. Our fascination with them stretches back centuries. The Romans loved roses. The Emperor Nero was believed to have had an extravagant rotating banquet hall in which rose petals cascaded from the ceiling. And Napoleon Bonaparte's Empress Josephine instructed collectors to send... (BBC News -- Asia-Pacific)
Met's Gala Opening Evokes Chorus of Boos Sep 23, 2009
"Tosca," first performed in 1900, takes place a century before that in Rome during the Napoleonic Wars. In three short acts set in a church, a palace and a prison, it tells the tale of singer Floria Tosca, her lover, painter Mario Cavaradossi, and Baron Scarpia, chief of the secret police - none of whom survives to the final curtain. (CBS News)
Swiss entrepreneurs revive a Russian tradition Sep 18, 2009
A century later another influential Swiss was Frdric Csar de la Harpe, tutor to the future Tsar Alexander I who failed to introduce many reforms, but who played a key role in Switzerland's fate after the Napoleonic wars. Many of the first architects of St Petersburg founded in 1703 were Swiss, and a number of eminent scholars in the early days of the Academy of Science also came from Switzerland. (SwissInfo.org, Switzerland)
DVD Report: This week's new releases (Sept. 13) Sep 13, 2009
To hear about something similar pitched today, we d probably scoff about That Vanity Project : Real-life spouses Laurence Olivier and Vivien Leigh recount the star-crossed, scandalous romance between British naval officer Lord Horatio Nelson and ambassador s wife Emma Lady Hamilton during the Napoleonic Wars of the late 18th century. But thanks to the performances, there s real drama behind the glamour and the lavish direction of British production luminary Alexander Korda. (Boston Globe)
An old battle rages in Austerlitz Aug 21, 2009
He said he got into the Napoleonic Wars because of the challenges of trying to recreate the era and its uniforms. The uniforms of that time were extremely colorful and decorative. (Hudson Register Star, NY)
An old battle rages in Columbia County Aug 17, 2009
He said he got into the Napoleonic Wars because of the challenges of trying to recreate the era and it s uniforms. The uniforms of that time were extremely colorful and decorative. (Hudson Register Star, NY)
Honoring those who served Aug 6, 2009
Dating back to the late 18th century during the Napoleonic Wars, the draping of the casket with the national flag is a continued tradition in military funerals. The folding of the national ensign is truly an American ritual, with a significant meaning for each of the thirteen folds. (The Dolphin, CT)
Why the dollar is toast Aug 5, 2009
The first was the pound sterling, which played the central role in global finance over the century between the end of the Napoleonic wars and the outbreak of the First World War in 1914. Two world wars destroyed Britains financial hegemony and, after a period of considerable confusion, in 1945 the dollar emerged as the lynchpin of the worlds financial system, a position it has held ever since. (iAfrica.com)
Gold shines as dollar's days as lynchpin currency wane Jul 28, 2009
The pound sterling played a central role in global finance over the century between the end of the Napoleonic wars and the outbreak of the First World War in 1914. Two world wars destroyed Britain's financial hegemony. (Business Report, South Africa)
Conroy’s ‘War Stories’ spotlights depiction of war in comics Jul 26, 2009
Conroy, editor of a monthly comics review, roams widely, touching on the Napoleonic Wars, the American Revolution, World Wars I and II, as well as conflicts in Vietnam, Iraq, and Afghanistan. Conroy points out the xenophobia and racism in some war comics and shines a light on a handful of artists, including superstar Will Eisner, who drew on their experiences as veterans. (Boston Globe)
High-flying horses Jul 25, 2009
" Lipizzaners are descended from Spain's Andalusian war horses. The stock was maintained and developed over centuries by Austrian royalty. The breed survived the Napoleonic Wars, the fall of the Hapsburg empire and, most famously, World War II, when they were rescued by General George S. Patton and the United States Second Cavalry (an incident that was later made into a Walt 00001D67 Disney film, "The Miracle of the White Stallions"). The leaps and dance movements are based on the principles of... (Anchorage Daily News)
Battlefield medicine Jul 24, 2009
During the Napoleonic wars at the beginning of the 19th century, poor hygiene and a lack of antibiotics, meant many more soldiers died of disease than wounds. The lack of mobile and field hospitals meant it could take days to get a wounded soldier to a hospital where they could be tended to. (CNN -- International)
Crowe considering new Master & Commander movie Jul 19, 2009
The AubreyMaturin novels consists of 20 books and one partly written before his death in 2000 by O'Brian, all set during the Napoleonic Wars. The 2003 movie Master and Commander took material from several of the novels. (Hanford Sentinal, CA)
The Founding of the Danish West Ind... Jul 17, 2009
During the Napoleonic Wars, the British twice took over the islands in an effort to control privateering attacks on British ships. Denmark s position, therefore, was never significant. (Suite101.com)
* [ART JOURNAL] Heirs race to find Nazi-looted art Jun 24, 2009
Norman Rosenthal, a former curator at Londons Royal Academy of Arts whose own family fled Nazism, has suggested that the issue of Nazi-looted art must now be confined to history, just as with other cases of looted art, during the Bolshevik Revolution, for example, or the Napoleonic Wars. Supporters of art restitution, however, say Nazi-looted art is unique because it was part of the process of genocide, starting with the elimination of peoples professional existence and their possessions,... (Taipei Times, Taiwan -- World Business)
Century of news Jun 18, 2009
" The same paper has a detailed account of the latest developments in the Napoleonic Wars between France, Britain and other European nations. A few more clicks and I stumble across a familiar-sounding story about the love life of a Prince William. Prince William of Orange, a Dutch anglophile who served with the Duke of Wellington, had joined Oxford University, we are told. "It has long been rumoured in political circles, that this young prince is destined to receive the hand of an illustrious... (BBC News -- UK)
Opera review: 'Tosca' arias pulsate Jun 5, 2009
The blood-and-thunder tale of two idealistic but naive artists caught up in the repressive political machinery of Rome during the Napoleonic wars, "Tosca" comes around like clockwork in San Francisco (as it does to most opera companies). It always thrills the sensibilities of those discovering the piece for the first time, but for more experienced hands, it needs a more expertly delivered performance than the company provided to really work its magic. (San Francisco Chronicle)
Book Critique of Emma Jun 1, 2009
She lived through the French Revolution, the establishment of the American nation, the Napoleonic wars and the madness of King George III. They grumble that she never discusses these events in her novels. But such was not her purpose. (Suite101.com)
Queen Elizabeth Snubbed! War Declared on France May 29, 2009
France and England have fought each other in the 100 Years' War, the Seven Years' War, the Napoleonic Wars and scads of less memorably named conflicts. And more recently, the French and English have treated the blood-and-tears clashes between their national rugby and soccer teams as fetishes for those battles of yore. (Time.com)
Forgotten rulers May 16, 2009
You're taught about Louis XIV, Cleopatra and the Napoleonic Wars but you're not taught the importance of the Lords of the Isles ... "You go to school and it's not taught to you. You're taught about Louis XIV, Cleopatra and the Napoleonic Wars but you're not taught the importance of the Lords of the Isles.". (BBC News -- UK)
The correct recovery paradigm May 6, 2009
The best recoveries from economic catastrophe have all taken this form - you can consider the British 1820s' recovery from the Napoleonic Wars and post-war depression, the US 1920s' recovery from World War I and post-war depression; the US 1945-60 recovery from the Great Depression; the German and Japanese 1950s recoveries from World War II; and many others. Even in the Great Depression itself, Britain, which followed these policies, fared much better than the US and Germany, which didn't. (Asia Times Online)
Nancy Price joins ranks of O'Brian, Forester with historical naval epic Apr 19, 2009
The best-selling author of "Sleeping With the Enemy" and retired creative writing professor at the University of Northern Iowa has released her eighth novel, "Two Hundred Men, One Woman." Inspired by O'Brian's naval epics, Price immerses the reader in the life of a commander's wife aboard a British naval frigate during the Napoleonic Wars. The historical novel relates the love story between a penniless young woman and a Royal Navy captain. (Waterloo Courier, IO)
Clever Ideas for Stopping Somali Pirates Apr 16, 2009
In 1815, the great nations of EuropeAustria, Britain, France, Prussia, and Russiaassembled the Congress of Vienna to forge a new balance of power in the aftermath of the Napoleonic wars and the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire. (More than 200 smaller states and principalities attended the session, as well. (Slate)
Sir Stamford Raffles, Ideal British... Apr 15, 2009
Born on the eve of the French Revolution, the son of a slave-trading father, he cut his teeth in British Jamaica and clerked in London's British East Indies Company during the early Napoleonic Wars. Leaning to speak Malay, Raffles was sent to the Malay Peninsula because of the imperial vacuum of that area after the French victory over the Dutch in Europe. (Suite101.com)
Bailouts are nothing but moral hazards Apr 13, 2009
Yes, in what may have been this country's first brush with government-sponsored terrorism, our shippers claimed Spain was responsible for millions of dollars of losses during the Napoleonic Wars. This bailout mind you, wasn't just for the shippers. (Albany Times Union)
Dickens's Bleak House up for sale Apr 8, 2009
It said the property, now called Bleak House, was originally known as Fort House and was constructed as the residence of the fort captain during the Napoleonic Wars. A spokesman for estate agent said: "It is an iconic building for Broadstairs and is a landmark within the town, with some of the best views in Broadstairs.". (BBC News -- Entertainment)
Prolonged global winter Apr 8, 2009
At the other extreme, we can examine the British recession of 1816-17, after the end of the Napoleonic Wars. This would have been severe in any case because of the transition to peace after 20 years of war and the immense financing difficulties and investment "crowding out" effect caused by Britain's 1815 public debt burden of over 250% of gross domestic Product (GDP), 50% larger than Japan's today and double Italy's. (Asia Times Online)
Reading Good for Health Mar 25, 2009
"I love returning to books, and digging out nuggets I've overlooked first time around. Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrel, by Susannah Clarke, is a perfect example. It's about the return of magic, real magic, to England during the Napoleonic Wars, and it's worth re-reading for her wonderful foot notes alone. It's always by the bed.". Judy Finneghan - `Jane Eyre' by Charlotte Bronte. (Yahoo! Wire -- Entertainment News)
Ancient Rocketry Mar 22, 2009
The British employed rockets extensively, both at sea and on land, during the Napoleonic Wars. Works CitedRockets in Ancient Times. (Suite101.com)
Book review: 1848, Year of Revolution Mar 17, 2009
Rapport, a lecturer in history at the University of Stirling in Scotland, begins by explaining that European order had been frozen since the end of the Napoleonic Wars in 1815, with conservative rule imposed by the great imperial courts. Chief among the absolutists was Klemens von Metternich, Austria's icy chancellor, haunted by memories of the cataclysmic wars after the French Revolution. (International Herald Tribune -- Arts)
Otherwise engaged Mar 14, 2009
"And to create is to want to understand, to grab things and understand them. You read War and Peace and you'll learn more about the Napoleonic Wars than you would if you read a history book. Fiction is about interpreting this reality to understand it better.". He doesn't think a film should be expected to change the world. (Sydney Morning Herald -- Entertainment)
Allspice grows only in Western Hemisphere Mar 11, 2009
On a less appetizing note, during the Napoleonic wars, Russian soldiers put allspice in their boots to keep their feet warm and discovered a dramatic decrease in foot odor. Suddenly there was a new market for allspice oil in men s cosmetics remember Old Spice. (Corvallis Gazette Times, OR)
The Life of James Madison Mar 2, 2009
Madison regarded these actions as a violation of international law, however, his diplomatic efforts to end these practices and enforce American neutrality in the Napoleonic Wars met with little success ... However, in May, 1810 Congress authorized trade with both nations, on the condition that either nation must recognize American neutrality in the Napoleonic Wars. (Suite101.com)
The Long Retreat Feb 20, 2009
" In other words, when a great nation's share of world product shrinks, the nation's strategic position follows. Between 2000 and 2008, the U.S. share of world product plunged from 31 percent to 23 percent, and is expected to fall to 21 percent by 2013 -- a decline of 32 percent in 13 years. China's share of world product over the same period will more than double to 9 percent. Pape went back to the 19th century to correlate the rise of the great powers like Britain and the commensurate growth... (Human Events Online)
* [HARDCOVER: US] From this day to the ending of the world Feb 8, 2009
Cornwell, already widely known for his medieval historical novels and his Richard Sharpe series, which follows an English soldier through the Napoleonic wars, picked names off the 1415 rosters of soldiers and invented backgrounds, personalities and interrelationships. Cornwell blends his characters into the fragrant and coarse Middle Ages civilization and rounds out his story with appropriate timeless themes. (Taipei Times, Taiwan -- Sports)
