Historical Dictionary of the Napoleonic Era Read online

  Historical Dictionaries of Ancient Civilizations

  and Historical Eras

  Series editor: Jon Woronoff

  1. Ancient Egypt, Morris L. Bierbrier, 1999.

  2. Ancient Mesoamerica, Joel W. Palka, 2000.

  3. Pre-Colonial Africa, Robert O. Collins, 2001.

  4. Byzantium, John H. Rosser, 2001.

  5. Medieval Russia, Lawrence N. Langer, 2001.

  6. The Napoleonic Era, George F. Nafziger, 2001.

  Historical Dictionary

  of the Napoleonic Era

  George F. Nafziger

  Ancient Civilizations and the

  Historical Eras, No. 6

  SCARECROW PRESS, INC.

  Published in the United States of America

  by Scarecrow Press, Inc.

  4720 Boston Way

  Lanham, Maryland 20706

  www.scarecrowpress.com

  4 Pleydell Gardens, Folkestone

  Kent CT20 2DN, England

  Copyright © 2002 by George F. Nafziger

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher.

  British Library Cataloguing in Publication Information Available

  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

  Nafziger, George F.

  Historical dictionary of the Napoleonic era / George F. Nafziger.

  p. cm. — (Ancient civilizations and the historical eras ; no. 6)

  ISBN 0-8108-4092-8 (alk. paper)

  1. France—History—Revolution, 1789–1799—Dictionaries. 2. France—History—Consulate and First Empire, 1799–1815—Dictionaries. 3. Napoleon I, Emperor of the French, 1769–1821—Dictionaries. I. Title. II. Historical dictionaries of ancient civilizations and historical eras ; no. 6

  DC147 .N34 2002

  944'.034—dc21

  2001034467

  The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of American National Standard for Information Sciences—Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSI/NISO Z39.48-1992. Manufactured in the United States of America.

  Contents

  Editor’s Foreword Jon Woronoff

  Chronology

  Introduction

  THE DICTIONARY

  Bibliography

  About the Author

  Editor’s Foreword

  Rarely in history has one person left his mark on a period as forcefully as Napoleon did on the beginning of the 19th century (and this after having reshaped the French Revolution). During this time most of Europe’s leading figures were either dominated by Napoleon or defied him while countless others were strongly influenced by the changes he wrought—not only to warfare and diplomacy, which held center stage for a decade and a half, but also to science and the arts. Basically, this book tells who these people of the Napoleonic era were and what they accomplished. But it also looks into the economic, social and cultural background and describes the crucial and sometimes climactic events. While there was subsequently a restoration and a reaction to the restoration, it is impossible to understand what happened in the following centuries without a grounding in this extraordinary period.

  This historical dictionary provides a good starting point by looking at the Napoleonic era in several ways. One is through a chronology, which makes it easier to see what happened in a particular year and follow the sequence of events over time, but without delving into details. The introduction provides a broad overview of the Napoleonic era. The dictionary contains more than 250 entries on significant persons, places, events and institutions. There are, of course, many battles and almost as many conferences, treaties and alliances. Because it is impossible to get the whole picture from one book, the bibliography is a particularly useful component for anyone interested in further study of the Napoleonic era.

  Jon Woronoff

  Chronology

  1800

  Caroline Bonaparte marries Joachim Murat (20 January)

  Convention of El-Arisch signed (24 January)

  Napoleon leaves Egypt for France (3 March)

  Treaty of Madrid signed (21 March)

  Georges Cadoudal lands near island of Rhuys to start revolt (5–6 June)

  Battle of Marengo (14 June)

  Convention of Alessandria signed (15 June)

  Second Treaty of Ildefonso signed (7 October)

  Armed Neutrality of the North formed (18 December)

  Battle of Hohenlinden (3 December)

  Northern Convention signed (18 December)

  Combination Act signed

  1801

  Dominico Cimarosa dies (11 January)

  Armistice of Treviso signed (15 January)

  Treaty of Lunéville signed (9 February)

  Armée de Condé dissolved (February)

  British army lands in Egypt (March)

  Pitt, Grenville and Canning resign from British government

  Henry Addington forms new British government (21 March)

  First battle of Copenhagen (2 April)

  Cisalpine Republic becomes the Republic of Italy

  Enclosure Act issued

  Metric system becomes compulsory in France

  Concordat negotiated between Napoleon and the Pope

  Alexander I becomes Czar

  1802

  Mameluke Squadron of Imperial Guard formed (7 January)

  Treaty of Amiens signed (27 March)

  Negotiations between France and the Pope on the Concordat concluded (8 April)

  Marie Bichat dies (22 July)

  Napoleon becomes Consul for Life (1 August)

  Marshal Sérurier becomes vice president of the French Senate (22 December)

  Commission of inquiry was appointed to investigate Henry Dundas, 1st Viscount Melville

  1803

  Aleksyei Arakcheyev becomes inspector-general of the Russian artillery (27 April)

  Napoleon decrees Diet of Rastibon be transferred to the Archbishopric of Mainz (27 April)

  War erupts between Britain and France (18 May)

  British army leaves Egypt (May)

  France and Hanover sign Treaty of Sulingen (3 June)

  France and Hanover sign Treaty of Arlenburg (5 July)

  Louis Antraigues and his wife murdered in London (22 July)

  Talleyrand resigns position as foreign minister of France (August)

  Vittorio Alfieri dies (8 October)

  Louisiana Purchase signed by United States and France (20 December)

  Institut Nationale dissolved by Napoleon

  Ernst Arndt published Germanien und Europa and Versuch einer Geschichte der Leibeigenschaft in Pommern und Rügen

  Bank of France given exclusive right to print paper money

  Jérôme Bonaparte marries Miss Elisa Paterson (24 December)

  Pauline Bonaparte marries Prince Camillo de Borghese

  French armies overrun and occupy Hanover

  Hardenberg becomes Prussian foreign minister

  Hesse-Cassel becomes an electorate and Wilhelm becomes Elector of Hesse-Cassel

  Krusenstern leads an expedition from Kronstadt to Kamchatka and Japan

  Ferdinando Paër is appointed composer to the Dresden court theater

  Nicolai Rezanov makes first Russian attempt to circumnavigate the globe

  Napoleon orders Madame de Staël exiled from Paris

  Napoleon compels Talleyrand to marry his mistress, Madame Grand

  1804

  Joachin Murat becomes governor of Paris (15 Ja
nuary)

  Cadoudal-Pichegru Conspiracy (February–March)

  Duc d’Enghien executed (21 March)

  Code Napoleon issued as Code civil des français (21 March)

  General Jean Pichegru found strangled to death (4 April)

  Henry Addington resigns as prime minister (30 April)

  William Pitt becomes chancellor of the exchequer and first lord of the treasury (16 May)

  François Kellerman becomes president of the French Senate (19 May)

  Napoleon becomes Emperor of France (18 May)

  Napoleon creates eighteen marshals of France (19 May)

  Charles Éon de Beaumont dies (22 May)

  Georges Cadoudal executed (24 June)

  Francis II of Austria assumes title of Hereditary Emperor of Austria (14 August)

  Haugwitz replaced by Hardenburg as Prussian foreign minister (August)

  Russia agrees to send 115,00 soldiers to support Austria (6 November)

  Pope Pius VII marries Napoleon and Joséphine in Notre Dame Cathedral (1 December)

  François Andrieux writes Molière avec ses amis

  Don José Azara dies

  Jean Biot and Gay Lussac make first scientific balloon ascent

  Marie-Joseph Chénier writes Cyrus

  Henri Clark becomes French counselor of state

  George Petrovi (“Karageorge”) starts Serb Revolt against Turks

  1805

  Claude Chappe dies in Paris (23 January)

  Batavian Commonwealth established in the Netherlands (March)

  Third Coalition formed (11 April)

  Britain and Russia sign an offensive-defensive treaty (11 April)

  Republic of Italy becomes Kingdom of Northern Italy (25 May)

  Louis Bonaparte becomes King of the Kingdom of Holland established in June

  Concordat between France and the Pope signed (5 July)

  Kingdom of Holland incorporated into France (July)

  Christopher Anstey dies (3 August)

  Lord Cornwallis dies (5 October)

  Convention of Ulm signed (17 October)

  Capitulation of Ulm signed and General Mack surrenders his army to Napoleon (20 October)

  Naval battle of Trafalgar fought (21 October)

  Admiral Horatio Nelson dies in battle of Trafalgar (21 October)

  Treaty of Potsdam signed (3 November)

  John Beresford dies in Londonderry (5 November)

  Battle of Austerlitz fought (2 December)

  Scientist and balloonist Nicolas Conté dies in Paris (6 December)

  Treaty of Pressburg signed (26 December)

  Friedrich II crowned King of Württemberg (30 December)

  The Destruction of Jerusalem by Zingarelli produced

  Jérôme Bonaparte’s marriage to Elisa Paterson annulled by Napoleon

  Stanislaw Potocki dies

  Madame de Staël writes Corinne

  1806

  Maximilian I crowned King of Bavaria (1 January)

  William Pitt dies (23 January)

  Lord Grenville becomes British prime minister (January)

  Nicolas Restif dies in Paris (2 February)

  Napoleon adopts Eugène Beauharnais (16 February)

  Joseph Bonaparte becomes King of Naples and the Two Sicilies (31 March)

  Joseph Bonaparte becomes King of Naples (31 March)

  Joachim Murat becomes Grand Duke of Clèves-Berg (15 March)

  Admiral Pierre Villeneuve commits suicide (22 April)

  Louis Bonaparte becomes King of Holland (24 May)

  Battle of Maida fought (1 July)

  Confederation of the Rhine formed (12 July)

  Clèves-Berg formed by Act of Confederation (16–17 July)

  Francis I of Austria renounces title of Holy Roman Emperor (6 August)

  Würzburg becomes a grand duchy (30 September)

  Battle of Jena fought (14 October)

  Battle of Auerstädt fought (14 October)

  Fourth Coalition formed (3 November)

  Karl, Duke of Braunschweig-Wolfenbüttel, dies (10 November)

  Berlin Decree issued (21 November)

  Treaty of Posen signed (10 December)

  Alphonse Beauchamp publishes Histoire de la Vendée et des Chouans

  1807

  Battle of Eylau fought (7–8 February)

  Nicolai Rezanov dies in Krasnoiarsk, Siberia (8 March)

  George Canning serves as British secretary of state for foreign affairs (25 March to 9 September)

  Convention of Bartenstein signed (26 April)

  George Wilhelm becomes Fürst of Schaumburg-Lippe (8 May)

  Battle of Friedland fought (14 June)

  Treaty of Tilsit signed (7 July and 9 July)

  Grand Duchy of Warsaw receives constitution from Napoleon (22 July)

  Jérôme Bonaparte becomes King of Westphalia (6 August)

  Henri Clark becomes French minister of war (9 August)

  Jean Campagny succeeds Talleyrand as minister of foreign affairs (August)

  Jean Champigny succeeds Talleyrand as French minister for foreign affairs (August)

  Westphalia formed by Imperial decree (15 November)

  Milan Decree issued (17 December)

  Dietrich Bülow dies

  1808

  Godoy arrested and imprisoned by Fernando VII of Spain (17 March)

  Carlos IV of Spain forced to abdicate (19 March)

  King Joseph of Naples abdicates (8 July)

  Battle of Baylen fought (19 July)

  Talavera de la Reina fought (27–28 July)

  Joachim Murat crowned King of Naples (1 August)

  Battle of Rolica fought (17 August)

  Battle of Vimiero fought (21 August)

  Convention of Cintra signed (22 August)

  Congress of Erfurt (27 September to 14 October)

  Engagement at Somosierra fought (30 November)

  George Petrovi “Karageorge” becomes hereditary chief of the Serbs

  Francisco Mina organizes his guerrilla band

  1809

  King Gustavus IV of Sweden dethroned (13 March)

  Frederick Augustus, Duke of York, forced into retirement (18 March)

  Fifth Coalition formed (9 April)

  Battle of Eckmühl fought (20–22 April)

  Wellington becomes marshal general in the Portuguese Army (29 April)

  Battle of Aspern-Essling fought (21–22 May)

  Ferdinand von Schill dies in battle (31 May)

  Battle of Raab fought (14 June)

  Battle of Wagram fought (5–6 July)

  Armistice of Znaim signed (12 July)

  Metternich becomes Austrian minister of state (4 August)

  British invade Walcheren (11 August–30 September)

  Treaty of Frederikshaven signed (17 September)

  Treaty of Schönbrunn signed (14 October)

  William Portland dies (30 October)

  Westphalia adopts the Code Napoleon (12 November)

  Napoleon divorces Joséphine (December)

  Beethoven composes Piano Concerto No. 5

  Stanislaw Malachowski dies in Warsaw

  1810

  Andreas Hofer captured (27 January)

  Admiral Lord Collingwood dies (7 March)

  Francisco Espoz y Mina becomes commander in chief of Spanish guerrillas (1 April)

  Fouché dismissed by Napoleon as minister of the interior (3 June)

  Hardenberg becomes Prussian chancellor (6 June)

  King Louis Bonaparte of Holland abdicates (1 July)

  Holland incorporated into metropolitan France (9 July)

  Bernadotte becomes King of Sweden (21 August)

  Fontainbleau Decree issued (18 October)

  Siege of Torres Vedras (10 October to 5 March)

  General Barclay de Tolly becomes Russian minister of war

  Bullion Committee appointed by Bank of England

  Karl Körner’s collection of poems (Knospen) published

  1811r />
  Marie-Joseph Chénier dies (10 January)

  Napoleon marries Archduchess Marie-Louise (1 April)

  Battle of Fuentes d’Oñoro fought (3–5 May)

  Battle of Albuera fought (16 May)

  Henry Dundas, 1st Viscount Melville, dies (28 May)

  Poet Lord Byron seated in the House of Lords (14 July)

  Gaspar Jovellanos dies in Vega, Spain (27 November)

  François Châteaubriand elected to the Académie française

  Jean Lacretelle elected to Académie française

  Madame de Staël remarries

  1812

  Prussia signs military alliance with France (24 February)

  Hugo Kollontaj dies in Warsaw (28 February)

  First two cantos of Lord Byron’s Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage published (10 March)

  Austria signs a military alliance with France (14 March)

  Napoleon François Bonaparte, son of Napoleon and Marie-Louise, born (20 March)

  Convention of St. Petersburg signed (5–9 April)

  Dresden Conference held (17–28 May)

  Spencer Perceval murdered in the lobby of the House of Commons (11 May)

  Treaty of Bucharest signed (28 May)

  Armistice of Pleischweitz signed (2 June)

  Battle of Salamanca fought (15 July)

  Battle of Gorodetchna or Podobna fought (12 August)

  Battle of Smolensk fought (17–18 August)

  Battle of Borodino fought (5–7 September)

  General Peter Bagration dies in battle of Borodino (7 September)

  Mayer Rothschild dies in Frankfurt (19 September)

  Malet launches his failed coup against Napoleon (23 October)

  Composer Jan Dussek dies (20 November)

  Remains of Grande Armée cross the Berezina (26 and 29 November)

  Convention of Tauroggen signed (30 December)

  Constitution of Cadiz implemented

  First volume of Grimm’s Fairy Tales published

  1813

  King of Prussia makes all Prussians liable for military service (3 February)