Conferences

There is one story told in Britain regarding the French navy in the 19^th century that is extremely well known. The glorious reputations of Nelson, Collingwood and Napoleon I carry on their shoulders the story of hyper-power of the British navy and the endemic weakness of the French naval opposition at the beginning of the 19^th century. On the other hand, the catastrophic debacle of the French Second Empire has obscured the remarkable achievements of her navy during the presidency of Louis-Napoleon and his subsequent reign as Napoleon III, period in which, for one year, the French navy became the most powerful on the planet. Though great expense was engaged in Britain to fight against the French menace at the time, this latter story is barely known in the UK and indeed little told in France. The paper here proposes an overview (through British eyes, and including period vocal satires in English and French) of the British naval preponderance 1795-1815 and French naval technological advances 1840-1870.

16/02/23 – 18H30 I Reservation required I 8€ I Free for members of the museum and the Souvenir Napoléonie I Lecture in French