The long war with Revolutionary France had a fundamental impact on British political culture. The most dramatic example of this is the mass mobilisation of the British people in response to French invasion threats throughout the last years of the century but, most spectacularly, in the period 1803-5, after the collapse of the Peace of Amiens, and the massing of an invasion fleet by Napoleon. The preparations for the threatened invasion had many dimensions including military and naval mobilization, the development of defensive earthworks and fortifications on the British Coast, the surveillance and monitoring of radicals identified with the French cause, the incitement of loyalist sentiment through caricature, newspapers, tracts and broadsides, and loyalist songs, and the construction of Napoleon as the prime enemy of British interests. Although aspects of these issues have been studied, this book is the first time that they have been brought together systematically. By bringing together historians of Britain and France to examine the dynamics of the military conflict between the two nations in this period, this book measures its impact on their domestic political cultures, and its effect on their perceptions of each other. In so doing it will encourage scholars to further examine aspects of popular mobilisation which have hitherto been largely ignored, such as the resurgence of loyalism in 1803, and to see their contributions in the light of the dual contexts of domestic political conflict and their war with each other. By allowing scholars to focus their attention on this period of heightened tension, the book contributes both new detail to our understanding of the period and a better overall understanding of the complex place which each nation came to occupy in the consciousness of the other.

A magisterial history of “Napoleon’s Vietnam”, by the highly acclaimed historian of Spain In this definitive account of the Peninsular War (1808–14), Napoleon’s six-year war against Spain, Ronald Fraser examines what led to the emperor’s devastating defeat against the popular opposition—the guerrillas—and their British and Portuguese allies. As well as relating the histories of the great political and military figures of the war, Fraser brings to life the anonymous masses—the artisans, peasants and women who fought, suffered and died—and restores their role in this barbaric war to its rightful place while overturning the view that this was a straightforward military campaign. This vivid, meticulously researched book offers a distinct and profound vision of “Napoleon’s Vietnam” and shows the reality of the disasters of war: the suffering, discontents and social upheaval that accompanied the fighting. With a new Introduction by Tariq Ali.

In this fascinating study Michael Rowe focuses on state-formation in Napoleonic Europe. It brings together the research findings of specialists in the histories of Europe's constituent nations and states during a momentous period in their development. Thematically focused and integrated within a comparative framework, the individual contributions explore areas as diverse as Britain, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Poland, Spain and Russia. What impact did Napoleon have on these nations, and how did they respond to his challenge?

Twice in five years, the threat of a Napoleonic invasion caused real fear in Britain. In 1798, the country was racked by internal divisions, a fiscal crisis, and widespread social unrest—factors that the French invaders hoped would transform an act of aggression into a welcome war of liberation. The invasion never materialized, but in 1803, the renewal of the invasion threat led to an unprecedented mobilization of the British population and an outpouring of patriotic literature and images. Through a rich collection of satirical cartoons, medals, pamphlets, and broadsides, this book shows the transformation of British politics during the wars against Revolutionary France.

A groundbreaking account of Napoleon Bonaparte, Pope Pius VII, and the kidnapping that would forever divide church and state In the wake of the French Revolution, Napoleon Bonaparte, First Consul of France, and Pope Pius VII shared a common goal: to reconcile the church with the state. But while they were able to work together initially, formalizing an agreement in 1801, relations between them rapidly deteriorated. In 1809, Napoleon ordered the Pope’s arrest. Ambrogio Caiani provides a pioneering account of the tempestuous relationship between the emperor and his most unyielding opponent. Drawing on original findings in the Vatican and other European archives, Caiani uncovers the nature of Catholic resistance against Napoleon’s empire; charts Napoleon’s approach to Papal power; and reveals how the Emperor attempted to subjugate the church to his vision of modernity. Gripping and vivid, this book shows the struggle for supremacy between two great individuals—and sheds new light on the conflict that would shape relations between the Catholic church and the modern state for centuries to come.

Napoleon Bonaparte dominated the public life of Europe like no other individual before him. Not surprisingly, the story of the man himself has usually swamped he stories of his subjects. This book looks at the history of the Napoleonic Empire from an entirely new perspective – that of the ruled rather than the ruler. Michael Broers concentrates on the experience of the people of Europe – particularly the vast majority of Napoleon's subjects who were neither French nor willing participants in the great events of the period – during the dynamic but short-lived career of Napoleon, when half of the European content fell under his rule.

"By bringing together historians of Britain and France to examine the dynamics of the conflict between the two nations in this period, this book measures its impact on their domestic political cultures, and its effect on their perceptions of each other. In so doing it will encourage scholars to examine in more detail aspects of popular mobilization which have hitherto been largely ignored, such as the resurgence of loyalism in 1803, and to see contributions in the light of the dual contexts of domestic political conflict and their war with each other. The book contributes both new detail to our understanding of the period and a better overall understanding of the complex place that each nation came to occupy in the consciousness of the other."--BOOK JACKET.