International Napoleonic Society
Ninth International Napoleonic Congress
Napoleonic Europe At Its Peak
An INS High in One of
the Low Countries!
The International Napoleonic Society went to Den Helder, The Netherlands, for its Ninth International Napoleonic Congress, 4-8 July 2011. Entitled Napoleonic Europe at its Peak, the congress attracted scholars from Australia, Belgium, Canada, France, Georgia, Israel, The Netherlands, Poland and The United States. All agreed that Den Helder was a great place to visit and that this congress was one of the best yet! Of course, it helps when you have the cooperation of the city, several museums/fortifications, the Navy, the Netherlands Institute of Military History, the International Commission for Military History and Den Helder City Marketing, as well as an outstanding organizing team headed by Navy Captain Kees Turnhout.
Some of us were able to attend the Navy Days celebrations on Sunday. We saw mock D-Day landings, amazing helicopter displays, tours of ships, and even a Napoleonic encampment. Indeed, Napoleon himself was sighted reviewing some of the displays!
The open session was held on Monday in the historic Napoleonic Fort Kijkduin. We were hosted by the director of the fortification, Monique Slot, who did an outstanding job throughout the congress. The opening ceremony included remarks by the honorable Koen Schuiling, Mayor of Den Helder, Piet Kamphuis, Director of the Netherlands Institute of Military History and President of the International Commission for Military History, and INS President J. David Markham. All speakers focused on the strong connection between Napoleon and Den Helder and the importance of having such an important international congress there on the 200th anniversary of Napoleon’s visit there.
The program kicked off with a paper by Matthew Flynn, a professor of history at West Point Military Academy. He was unable to attend in person, so Edna Mueller of Canada read his paper for him. His topic was Napoleonic Warfare in the Atlantic World, but much of his focus was a comparison between Napoleon and George Washington. It was a provocative paper but his absence limited the discussion. General Henri Paris of France spoke on the military strategy and tactics used by Napoleon. As always, General Paris spoke with great conviction and knowledge. He was followed by Christiaan van der Spek, who works at The Hague. His topic was on an especially relevant topic, namely Louis Bonaparte’s Dutch army, a topic only lightly covered in the English language, and the very complicated relationship he had with his brother, the Emperor of the French. Incidentally, the recently renovated Palace in Amsterdam has the largest collection of French Empire furniture outside of France. It all dates from the reign of Louis and is amazing to see.
After lunch we took a guided tour of the fortifications and then had a cocktail reception and barbecue at the fort. There we were joined by Napoleon himself! That event was truly one of the highlights of the week, with outstanding food, drink, live music and wonderful camaraderie. Our thanks go to Stelling Den Helder for its sponsorship and to Monique Slot for hosting it in her fort.
On Tuesday we went to a second fortification, Fort Erfpins. This is on the grounds of an active Navy installation. Marijke Eysbertse, who lives half a year in The Netherlands and half a year in Australia, where she is a guide in the Napoleon museum at the Briers, discussed the connection between Den Helder and Australia. It is the fascinating story of William Buckley, who helped invade Holland and was later exiled as a prisoner to Australia. Her talk was followed by Kurt Raveh, who has done a number of marine excavations off the coast of Israel and had established a museum of his findings. This is an aspect of Napoleonic research seldom directly experienced. These papers were followed by excellent presentations by Doina Harsanyi, who explained the geopolitical implications of France’s relationship with Spain and the attempt to make Parma-Piacenza a republic by overthrowing the Bourbons, an attempt thwarted by France, and Johan Joor.
After lunch we turned to a series of military topics. Dennis Potts and Jack Sigler gave presentations on the Dutch presence at Quatre Bras and Waterloo, while Thomasz Klauza of Polend talked about Polish influences on the Red Lancers. He was followed by fellow Pole Tadeusz Klupczynski’s enlightening talk on the Poles at Walcheren in 1809. Then Erez Levanon of Israel gave a very different presentation on Napoleon and luck, fortune and superstition. After some discussion we took a very interesting tour of Fort Erfprins, followed by a cocktail and reception sponsored by the city of Den Helder.
On Wednesday morning we took a tour of the sites of Stelling van Den Helder, the Sea Dike and the Harbor. Our transportation was the tourist ‘train’ and we saw and learned a number of very interesting aspects of Den Helder.
The afternoon session first turned to Napoleonic art. Ivane Menteshashvili discussed Napoleon’s saber at the Georgian National Museum, Isis Wirth of France told of the connection between Napoleon and the great artist Jacques Louis David, Belgian William Chew III discussed Rembrant Peale and Napoleon, and Israeli Tsvi Yeshurun showed us the importance of Napoleonic medals that commemorated various events throughout the epoch. Ron Soffer, an Israeli attorney who practices in Paris, discussed what many consider to be Napoleon’s greatest legacy, namely the Code Napoleon, while American Kevin Rodriguez made the case for Napoleon being a ‘man of the people.’
We then took a walking tour of Fort Harssens, followed by a cocktail reception at the beautiful Naval Officers Club overlooking the harbor that was sponsored by the club, and dinner sponsored by the INS.
Den Helder is rich in fortifications, owing to its strategic location. Indeed, Napoleon is reputed to have called it the Gibraltar of the North. Just off the coast lies the island of Texel, home to a nice museum and several excellent earthen fortifications. On Thursday we took the ferry to the island and a tour of Fort de Schans. This fort is in excellent shape, and our understanding of its history and importance was heightened by the fact that our tour guide was the director of all the fortifications on Texel, Pip Bernard, who was our host for the day. We then visited the very nice Maritime Museum on Texel, followed by lunch at an excellent seafood eatery. Then it was a visit to another fortification and then back to Den Helder on the ferry.
That evening we had the traditional cocktail reception and gala dinner sponsored by the INS. This year we held them at the Grande Hotel Beatrix, whose owner, Henk Petter, and his excellent and friendly staff went all out to please our participants. There were brief talks by Captain Kees Turnhout, Mayor Koen Schuiling and INS President David Markham. Mayor Schuiling and Captain Turnhout each gave gifts to President Markham, and several participants, most notably Bill Chew, stood up to say how great this congress had been.
Of course, the congress was not over yet, and on Friday we went to the Royal Navy Institute, where Navy officers receive their training. There, INS President David Markham presented a lecture on the politics and Napoleonic decisions in Paris after the battle of Waterloo. Then, up and coming Napoleonic star Edna Mueller of Canada showed how she has used Google Earth and other software to literally recreate Napoleonic battlefields and show us how they would have looked to commanders on the field. She has brought an entirely new dimension to how we literally view Napoleonic history. As always, Israeli Allon Klebanof gave a tour de force illustrated discussion of the Battle of Camperdown, which included an amazing illustrated history of naval warfare. The academic portion of the congress concluded with an outstanding overview of the Royal Netherlands Navy by, who else, Captain Kees Turnhout. Kees has written a major analysis of the role of the Navy in the modern world and his presentation was an excellent way to close the program.
After lunch at the Royal Navy Institute, sponsored by the INS, we took a tour of the Royal Navy Museum. This museum is one of the finest such museums in the world and our time there was all too brief. But we had to tear ourselves away so that we could have appetizers and drinks aboard the ship Schorpioen, a nineteenth century ramming ship, sponsored by the Navy Museum. There, after a few brief closing remarks by Captain Turnhout and President Markham, the congress came to an end.
The INS congresses offer wonderful opportunities for scholars from around the world to not only share the results of their research but also see historic sites and develop personal ties, all while having a great time. The congress in Den Helder did all of this and more, and I wish to think everyone who helped make it possible.
We are coming into the home stretch for special bicentennial opportunities. Plans are now underway for an INS congress in Moscow/Borodino in late September of 2012. We also anticipate congresses in Germany or Poland in 2013, Paris in 2014, and Brussels/Waterloo in 2015. Please continue to check the website for details, and please plan to attend one or all of them!
J. David Markham
INS President
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