#general Wellesley

[thekenobee]

Sharpe + Text Posts (Part 12)

[quatregats]

Okay hear me out. What if Hornblower and Lady Barbara but they're high school math olympians and also have a crazy psychosexual rivalry with each other

[waifu-napoleon]

Blücher: *closes a cabinet*

*a crash is heard behind the cabinet door*

Wellington: What was that?

Blücher: The sound of someone else's problem.

[covid-safer-hotties]

Please follow the link to view the whole 24 minute segment. It's quite enlightening (whenever Issac Bogoch isn't yapping, that is.)

Reference archived on our website

It was more than four years ago when the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a pandemic and the world shut down. Now, things have largely returned to the way they were, but the virus still remains. How dangerous is COVID-19 today? And have people forgotten that the disease poses health risks and some are still feeling the effects of poor mental health? For insight, The Agenda welcomes: Isaac Bogoch, an infectious diseases specialist at the Toronto General Hospital; Dawn Bowdish, executive irector at the Firestone Institute for Respiratory Health and professor of medicine at McMaster University; and Kwame McKenzie CEO, Wellesley Institute and director of health equity at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH).

[miffy-junot]

Napoleon and Wellington on Junot's actions at the Convention of Cintra

At the Convention of Cintra in 1808, General Jean-Andoche Junot managed to convince the British forces who had captured his army in Portugal to not only allow him to return to France with all of his weapons and loot, but for his army to be taken home on British ships.

Despite the fact that Britain had defeated the French, the bizarre terms of this agreement caused the Convention of Cintra to be seen by many as a French victory.

Napoleon wrote a letter to Junot saying the following:

"You have done nothing dishonourable; you have returned my troops, my eagles and my cannons, but I certainly hoped you would do better...you have won this convention by your courage, not by your dispositions; and it is with reason that the English complain that their generals signed it..."

When questioned on his thoughts on Junot's retreat in a government enquiry into the Convention of Cintra, Arthur Wellesley, future Duke of Wellington, said this of the enemy general:

"When I considered the expediency of allowing the French to evacuate Portugal by sea, I took into consideration the British interests and British objects only, and the objects of their allies, as connected with those of Great Britain. I considered that the French army, from the relative situation of the two armies in Portugal, and from its having the military possession of the country, had a fair military right to withdraw by sea with their arms and baggage; I do not think it necessary for me to account for the motives of General Junot in preferring to evacuation by sea to another line of operation; which, without wishing to say anything personally disrespectful of him, might have bad or unworthy motives, as well as views for the interests of his country."

source

[napoleonic-sexyman-tournament]

Friends, enemies, comrades, Jacobins, Monarchist, Bonapartists, gather round. We have an important announcement:

The continent is beset with war. A tenacious general from Corsica has ignited conflict from Madrid to Moscow and made ancient dynasties tremble. Depending on your particular political leanings, this is either the triumph of a great man out of the chaos of The Terror, a betrayal of the values of the French Revolution, or the rule of the greatest upstart tyrant since Caesar.

But, our grand tournament is here to ask the most important question: Now that the flower of European nobility is arrayed on the battlefield in the sexiest uniforms that European history has yet produced (or indeed, may ever produce), who is the most fuckable?

The bracket is here: full bracket and just quadrant I

Want to nominate someone from the Western Hemisphere who was involved in the ever so sexy dismantling of the Spanish empire? (or the Portuguese or French American colonies as well) You can do it here

The People have created this list of nominees:

France:

Jean Lannes

Josephine de Beauharnais

Thérésa Tallien

Jean-Andoche Junot

Joseph Fouché

Charles Maurice de Talleyrand

Joachim Murat

Michel Ney

Jean-Baptiste Bernadotte (Charles XIV of Sweden)

Louis-Francois Lejeune

Pierre Jacques Étienne Cambrinne

Napoleon I

Marshal Louis-Gabriel Suchet

Jacques de Trobriand

Jean de dieu soult.

François-Étienne-Christophe Kellermann

17.Louis Davout

Pauline Bonaparte, Duchess of Guastalla

Eugène de Beauharnais

Jean-Baptiste Bessières

Antoine-Jean Gros

Jérôme Bonaparte

Andrea Masséna

Antoine Charles Louis de Lasalle

Germaine de Staël

Thomas-Alexandre Dumas

René de Traviere (The Purple Mask)

Claude Victor Perrin

Laurent de Gouvion Saint-Cyr

François Joseph Lefebvre

Major Andre Cotard (Hornblower Series)

Edouard Mortier

Hippolyte Charles

Nicolas Charles Oudinot

Emmanuel de Grouchy

Pierre-Charles Villeneuve

Géraud Duroc

Georges Pontmercy (Les Mis)

Auguste Frédéric Louis Viesse de Marmont

Juliette Récamier

Bon-Adrien Jeannot de Moncey

Louis-Alexandre Berthier

Étienne Jacques-Joseph-Alexandre Macdonald

Jean-Mathieu-Philibert Sérurier

Catherine Dominique de Pérignon

Guillaume Marie-Anne Brune

Jean-Baptiste Jourdan

Charles-Pierre Augereau

Auguste François-Marie de Colbert-Chabanais

England:

Richard Sharpe (The Sharpe Series)

Tom Pullings (Master and Commander)

Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington

Jonathan Strange (Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell)

Captain Jack Aubrey (Aubrey/Maturin books)

Horatio Hornblower (the Hornblower Books)

William Laurence (The Temeraire Series)

Henry Paget, 1st Marquess of Anglesey

Beau Brummell

Emma, Lady Hamilton

Benjamin Bathurst

Horatio Nelson

Admiral Edward Pellew

Sir Philip Bowes Vere Broke

Sidney Smith

Percy Smythe, 6th Viscount Strangford

George IV

Capt. Anthony Trumbull (The Pride and the Passion)

Barbara Childe (An Infamous Army)

Doctor Maturin (Aubrey/Maturin books)

William Pitt the Younger

Robert Stewart, 2nd Marquess of Londonderry (Lord Castlereagh)

George Canning

Scotland:

Thomas Cochrane

Colquhoun Grant

Ireland:

Arthur O'Connor

Thomas Russell

Robert Emmet

Austria:

Klemens von Metternich

Friedrich Bianchi, Duke of Casalanza

Franz I/II

Archduke Karl

Marie Louise

Franz Grillparzer

Wilhelmine von Biron

Poland:

Wincenty Krasiński

Józef Antoni Poniatowski

Józef Zajączek

Maria Walewska

Władysław Franciszek Jabłonowski

Adam Jerzy Czartoryski

Antoni Amilkar Kosiński

Zofia Czartoryska-Zamoyska

Stanislaw Kurcyusz

Russia:

Alexander I Pavlovich

Alexander Andreevich Durov

Prince Andrei (War and Peace)

Pyotr Bagration

Mikhail Miloradovich

Levin August von Bennigsen

Pavel Stroganov

Empress Elizabeth Alexeievna

Karl Wilhelm von Toll

Dmitri Kuruta

Alexander Alexeevich Tuchkov

Barclay de Tolly

Fyodor Grigorevich Gogel

Ekaterina Pavlovna Bagration

Ippolit Kuragin (War and Peace)

Prussia:

Louise von Mecklenburg-Strelitz

Gebard von Blücher

Carl von Clausewitz

Frederick William III

Gerhard von Scharnhorst

Louis Ferdinand of Prussia

Friederike of Mecklenburg-Strelitz

Alexander von Humboldt

Dorothea von Biron

The Netherlands:

Ida St Elme

Wiliam, Prince of Orange

The Papal States:

Pius VII

Portugal:

João Severiano Maciel da Costa

Spain:

Juan Martín Díez

José de Palafox

Inês Bilbatua (Goya's Ghosts)

Haiti:

Alexandre Pétion

Sardinia:

Vittorio Emanuele I

Lombardy:

Alessandro Manzoni

Denmark:

Frederik VI

Sweden:

Gustav IV Adolph

[saintmeghanmarkle]

📋 𝐌𝐞𝐠𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐨𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐌𝐌 𝐯𝐢𝐚 𝐀𝐑𝐎, 𝐀𝐫𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐭𝐲𝐩𝐞𝐬 𝐏𝐨𝐝𝐜𝐚𝐬𝐭, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝟒𝟎𝐱𝟒𝟎 📋

📌 ARO jam recipients (as of May 27th, 2024)

Tracy Robbins (designer, wife of Paramount Pictures CEO Brian Robbins) *

Delfina Balquier (Argentine socialite, wife of Nacho Figueras) * and Nacho Figueras (professional polo player) *

Kelly Mckee Zajfen (friend, Alliance of Moms founder) *

Mindy Kaling (actress and comedian) *

Tracee Ellis Ross (actress, daughter of Diana Ross)

Abigail Spencer (friend, Suits co-star) *

Chrissy Teigen (television personality, wife of John Legend)

Kris Jenner ('Momager') *

Garcelle Beauvais (actress, Real Housewives of Beverly Hills) *

Heather Dorak (friend, yoga instructor) *

📌 Archetypes podcast guests

Serena Williams 🏆

Mariah Carey 👑

Mindy Kaling (actress and comedian) *

Margaret Cho (comedian and actress)

Lisa Ling (journalist and tv personality)

Deepika Padukone (Indian actress)

Jenny Slate (actress and comedian)

Constance Wu (actress)

Paris Hilton (entrepreneur, socialite, activist)

Iliza Shlesinger (comedian and actress)

Issa Rae (actress and writer)

Ziwe (comedian and writer)

Sophie Grégoire Trudeau (former wife of Canadian PM Trudeau)

Pamela Adlon (actress)

Sam Jay (comedian and writer)

Mellody Hobson (President and co-CEO of $14.9B Ariel Investments, Chairwoman of Starbucks Corporation, wife of George Lucas)

Victoria Jackson (entrepreneur, wife of Bill Guthy: founder of Guthy-Renker, leading direct marketing company)

Jameela Jamil (actress, television host)

Shohreh Aghdashloo (Iranian and American actress)

Michaela Jaé Rodriguez (actress and singer)

Candace Bushnell (Sex and The City writer)

Trevor Noah (South African comedian)

Andy Cohen (talk show host)

Judd Apatow (director, producer, screenwriter)

source

📌 40x40 participants

Adele 🌟

Amanda Gorman (poet and activist)

Amanda Nguyen (activist)

Ayesha Curry (actress, cooking television personality)

Ciara (singer and actress)

Deepak Chopra (author and alternative medicine advocate)

Dr. Nadine Burke Harris (former Surgeon General of California)

Elaine Welteroth (former Editor-in-Chief of Teen Vogue)

Dr. Ibram X Kendi (professor and anti-racism activist)

Fernando Garcia (creative director of Oscar de la Renta)

Gabrielle Union (actress)

Gloria Steinem (feminist journalist and social-political activist)

Hillary Clinton (politician, wife of former US President Bill Clinton)

Katie Couric (journalist) *

Kerry Washington (actress)

Chef José Andrés (founder of World Central Kitchen)

Melissa McCarthy (actress)

Princess Eugenie (member of British Royal Family)

Priyanka Chopra (actress)

Sarah Paulson (actress)

Sofia Carson (actress)

Sophie Grégoire Trudeau (former wife of Canadian PM)

Stella McCartney (fashion designer, daughter of Paul McCartney)

Dr. Theresa "Tessy" Ojo - CBE, FRSA (Diana Award CEO)

Tracee Ellis Ross (actress, daughter of Diana Ross)

Unconfirmed - Edward Enninful (former Editor-in-Chief of British Vogue)

Unconfirmed - Daniel Martin (makeup artist) *

An official list of all "40x40" participants was never disclosed

source 1 // source 2 // source 3

📌 Notes:

Names with an asterisk (*) indicate that they follow ARO on Instagram

Notably missing from these lists: Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos and wife Nicole Avant, Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez, Beyoncé, Tina Knowles, Tyler Perry, Oprah Winfrey, Gayle King, Kevin Costner, Ellen DeGeneres, Portia Rossi *, Brooke Shields, John Travolta, Kelly Rowland, Holly Robinson Peete, Misan Harriman *, Michael Bublé

Wedding guests missing from these lists: Jessica Mulroney, George and Amal Clooney, David and Victoria Beckham, Idris Elba and Sabria Dhowre, James Blunt and Sofia Wellesley, Janina Gavankar, Elton John and David Furnish, James Corden and Julia Carey, Patrick J. Adams and the rest of the cast of Suits, Joss Stone, Tom Hardy and Charlotte Riley, Carey Mulligan and Marcus Mumford [Source]

Sunshine Sachs must've called in a LOT of favors to get so many famous names on board the Archetypes Podcast and the 40x40 project. Vanity projects that went... nowhere.

Without Sunshine Sachs, IMO it's highly unlikely that M will ever be able to reach the same level of celebrity access on her own.

If there are any names missing from these lists, please comment below 👇

Post link

author: SeptièmeSens

submitted: May 27, 2024 at 06:44PM via SaintMeghanMarkle on Reddit

disclaimer: all views + opinions expressed by the author of this post, as well as any comments and reblogs, are solely the author's own; they do not necessarily reflect the views of the administrator of this Tumblr blog. For entertainment only.

[dailyanarchistposts]

Histories of colonisation ought to be remembered, including the horrors and atrocities, but also the endurance and empowerment found in trenchant resistance and the fight for sovereignty, writes Radhika Reddy.

India and Aotearoa are both grappling with decolonisation. In this ongoing struggle to wrest free from the legacies of colonialism, each society can learn from the other.

A recent piece published by The Spinoff uncovered some of these lessons, but in my view gave a rather disempowering view of both Māori and Indian experiences. It emphasised tragedy, brutality and suffering, but overlooked trenchant resistance efforts seeking sovereignty, where we might find the most useful stories to exchange.

Common ground

The previous article began with common ground, but only focused on Māori and Hindu ecological values, so let’s broaden the picture with some Indian traditions beyond Hinduism, and decolonising Māori values.

Papatūānuku and Kaitiakitanga: Khalifa, Amana (from Islam)

An “ethos of living in harmony in nature” is found in Islam, India’s second-largest religion. The Quranic approach is based on Khalifa and Amana (trusteeship of nature) in which humans have guardianship over nature, to appreciate and care for it, pass it unspoiled to future generations, and manage sustainably.

Manaakitanga: Seva (from Sikhism)

A spirit of hospitality pointedly appears in the centuries-old Sikh tradition of Guru Ka Langar (communal meal), an act of Seva (selfless service). Langar serves food freely and equally to all-comers, regardless of religion, caste, wealth, gender or age, overcoming divisions exploited by colonialism.

Tino rangatiratanga: Swaraj (from secularism)

Māori notions of self-government and Gandhi’s credo of Swaraj (self-rule) share an essence of seeking self-determination, with social structures and values separate from colonial interference.

Besides principles, there are common experiences and episodes of resistance shared in history:

Parihaka

The events of Parihaka came long before India’s independence movement gained momentum, but the spirit of non-violent resistance echoes across centuries, possibly having influenced Gandhi.

Redcoats

British regiments frequently rotated through India and New Zealand. Waves of veterans, after plundering India or suppressing its rebellions, came to fight the New Zealand Wars, or left to police India. British statues as well as town, street and suburb names across Aotearoa are familiar to students of Indian history — Empress Victoria, Governor-General Auckland, Colonel then Commander-in-Chief Wellesley (later Duke of Wellington), and places like Bombay or Khyber Pass. These are connected histories.

Lessons India has to offer for Māori

Among decolonisation projects, India’s imperfect story of independence still has interesting lessons.

Non-violent resistance works

Māori have led non-violent resistance in Aotearoa for generations, from Parihaka to Ihumātao, and may find the example of India’s liberation a hopeful landmark victory in global history.

The practice of Indian non-violent resistance continues to this day, as protests rage against likely unconstitutional policies such as the Citizenship Amendment Act and the National Register of Citizens, with assemblies, marches, sit-ins, and art, despite state violence.

Coexistence

Although India ejected British occupation and suffers internal divisions, there is still a firm thread running through the ages demonstrating coexistence between different cultures.

Look to chapters in history like the peaceful inclusion of Muslims in South India since the seventh century, the religious tolerance of Akbar in the 16th century, the joint Hindu-Muslim Indian Rebellion of 1857, and the secular Indian constitution. They contrast with divisive ideologies like Hindutva founder V.D Savarkar’s two-nation theory that promoted a dominant Hindu nation. The daily lives of many Indians today embody inter-cultural acceptance, the norm across much of the country, most of the time.

Whereas Aotearoa may not return its settler society for a full refund, multicultural coexistence is possible.

Overcoming divide-and-rule

Whether it was the East India Companies or the British Raj, a small minority of power brokers ran the show — infamously, 35 staff in an East India Company office. They relied on divide-and-rule, recruiting vast numbers of Indian foot soldiers (Sepoys) to do the hard work. But a highly-leveraged organisational arrangement is weak to united resistance (like Kotahitanga). Today it appears in gig economies or the criminal justice industry, which pit marginalised people against each other.

Self-government is not always good government

Today’s India shows how things can get wobbly even 70 years after independence, as a homegrown blood-and-soil movement undermines equality and reproduces colonial hierarchies atop a diverse society.

Take the word “decolonisation”. It probably looks straightforward, but it is a co-opted term in India. In the name of decolonisation, the Hindutva movement promotes discriminatory reforms, such as ending affirmative action for lower-caste people, and passing the exclusionary Citizenship Amendment Act.

There are regions under Indian rule seeking greater autonomy or Azaadi (freedom) today – resisting occupation by a central Indian state, as Assam endures detention centres, and Kashmir a militarised siege.

It takes eternal vigilance to protect hard-won sovereignty from sabotage.

What India can learn from Māori

Colonialism is now

It is tempting to think colonialism must belong only to museums and history books. But settler-colonial societies still persist. In Aotearoa, settlers may have settled but the nation remains unsettled. As Treaty negotiations, claims and protests unfold, Indians can reflect on how the colonial legacy is fed by continuous re-colonisation – a risk India is prone to, not from Britain, but from, say, supremacists within.

Indians in Aotearoa can also respond by allying with Māori in decolonisation efforts.

Overcoming casteism and anti-indigeneity

While there is no comparing two complex societies, there are still parallels between the institutional discrimination that Māori have endured, and the discrimination against Dalit, Other Backward Class, Scheduled Caste, Scheduled Tribe and Adivasi (indigenous) people. As Indians in Aotearoa can find solidarity with Māori in undoing colonial oppression, so too can India find equality for its systematically disadvantaged classes.

Protecting taonga like language

While India is blessed with a diversity of cultures, a tendency to homogenise society with one language and identity sometimes rears its head. Whether under well-meaning secularism, or Hindutva rule, language imposition threatens diversity. South Indian languages like Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and Kannada are spoken by large minorities but are often in tension with a Hindi regime pushed by central governments. The experience of Te Reo Māori shows the value in preserving languages, and the perils of erasure.

Common struggles

Supremacism

Whether it is white supremacy or Hindu supremacy (sharing traits like Islamophobia), countering dangerous ideologies is vital to fulfill the egalitarian promise of the constitutions of both Aotearoa and India.

Climate change

A global challenge like climate change demands a variety of solutions, but most importantly by centering indigenous people in decision-making — something Aotearoa has yet to fully embrace. For all the “harmony with nature” embedded in dominant Indian cultures such as Hinduism, the ruling BJP government has much to answer for when it comes to emissions, environmental degradation and deregulation.

Feminism, LGBT and disability equality

Achieving equality for women, non-binary, LGBT and disabled people in India and Aotearoa is an ongoing struggle. Threats like sexual abuse, domestic violence, inadequate healthcare, colourism, repressive gender roles, limited autonomy, inaccessiblity, and economic inequality, are common concerns.

Patriarchal British norms echo in Indian laws, as with Section 377 that criminalised homosexuality until recently. Despite decriminalisation in 2018, there is not yet recognition of same-sex or gender-diverse marriage, protection against discrimination, or adequate healthcare. Trans Indians are targeted by the new Transgender Persons Act which sanctions second-class treatment — for instance, it provides for lower sentences in cases of violent crimes against trans women. The new Citizenship Amendment Act and National Register of Citizens especially threaten women, non-binary, LGBT and disabled people.

In Aotearoa, amendments to laws like the Birth, Deaths, Marriages, and Relationships Registration Bill, letting trans people more easily update birth certificates, still face transphobic opposition. Abortion decriminalisation remains under consideration. Māori may be worst affected by settler-colonial sexism, homophobia, transphobia and ableism.

These are signs that our societies have a long way to go, to enact systemic reforms, and to lift the veil of everyday shame and silence surrounding marginalised lives in our cultures.

Remembering

Histories of colonisation ought to be remembered, including the horrors and atrocities, but also the endurance and empowerment found in resistance. The previous Spinoff article proposed a museum dedicated to New Zealand colonisation, and praised changes to the curriculum teaching New Zealand history in all schools.

Both of these are laudable goals, but must be conducted with care to avoid the kind of revisionism seen in India under Hindutva rule. Any museum of New Zealand colonisation should seek to share with all New Zealanders the narratives Māori have learned and developed, to centre Māori self-determination and agency, and to emphasise coexistence under a Treaty framework that respects Tino Rangatiratanga.

[osrphotography]

Back in business!

I managed to snap Kiwi Coaches №628 [MAN 22.240/Designline-HESS], making its way up Wellesley Street this afternoon.

New to the Christchurch Transport Board (CTB) as their №673, it may well have passed directly to Kiwi Coaches.

One of the issues with the CTB 22.240s is that despite being the same thing as the ARA MAN SL243s, they were registered as 22.240s. Furthermore, the Omnibus Society records list them as being built by Coachwork International (CWI) rather than Designline. However, the style of body is consistent with the Designline bodies licensed from HESS, a Swiss company.

In fact, the MAN SL243/22.240 chassis is something of a mystery unto itself. The last MAN SL series chassis to be produced was the MAN SL 202, and very little is known about the 22.240. It is generally stated to be a coach spec chassis that received an urban bus body by Designline and CWI, however failing any concrete knowledge this is speculation.

With thanks to @anthonieeee for joining me today.

[best-nun-tournament]

Round 1, Match 14

The Seven Sisters Colleges (Real Life) vs Zeus and Hera (Greek Mythology)

Propaganda under break

The Seven Sisters colleges - Barnard, Bryn Mawr, Holyoke, Radcliffe, Smith, Vassar, and Wellesley

The "seven sisters" my ass. One of them is actually a coed school, one doesn't exist, and the remaining 5 are wildly expensive. Evil ass colleges. I just want to go to a women's college, not pay one million dollars. Heartbreaking.

Poll Runner's Note:

Zeus and Hera

Do I need to explain

Poll Runner's Note: I'm surprised the rest of Cronos' children aren't here, or the next generation of Olympians. That whole family's a mess.

[thekenobee]

Sharpe + Text Posts (Part 11)

[toronto-aces-and-aros]

reminder: planning meeting & Social (ASL confirmed)

Toronto Aces & Aros general organising/planning meeting & social

Sunday, August 11, 2024 (2-4:30pm) 519 Church St., room 304

This is the space for you if you'd like to learn more about what goes on "behind the scenes" and get more involved to:

plan & host regular activities or special events

share your thoughts/feedback/input for future activities & events

facilitate workshop or other educational activities

develop educational materials, etc. 

Ending in a social gathering!

Even if you're just interested in knowing what's been going on, please join us! (open to everyone under the aromantic/aro umbrella and/or asexual/ace umbrella and people questioning whether they might be one or both-- people don't have to have attended any previous events to attend!)

And whether or not you plan to attend, please fill out our anonymous planning survey (by Fri. Aug 9th) to share your feedback:  https://forms.gle/GrbkKioQJh8GCwjaA

Accessibility:

the 519 has a large ramp to enter, power doors and elevator inside, accessible all-gender washrooms

near Wellesley station which has an elevator

we ask everyone not communicating by ASL to wear a mask (masks provided if needed)

[waifu-napoleon]

Part 2 of 3

[thiswaycomessomethingwicked]

I think you said somewhere that your least favorite napoleon, after the one in Scott’s movie, is the one in the 1979 Waterloo movie? Can you explain why if you don’t mind? Thanks a bunch!!!

ooh the 1970 Waterloo? Some of the battle scenes were half-decent and it's always nice to see people other than Napoleon and Wellesley portrayed (Ney, Uxbridge etc.). Cinematically it does a lot of stuff well, for what is essentially one massive battle film - so I do get why people enjoy it and are big fans. Totally get it.

But yeah, I'm personally not a fan of how Napoleon was portrayed. It was very hot/cold where we would see a serious, contemplative Napoleon or some other aspect of him played fine then, in the next scene, he'd be hammed up too much.

Obviously, like most films, I found Napoleon hits a bit too Somber & Very Serious(tm) throughout the whole of it with an overall general lack of his charm. And sure, this is Waterloo (though only the audience knows how it is going to end in that Stieger, as Napoleon, is playing a man who has no idea what the outcome is going to be), and this is Napoleon in War Mode(tm), but I still felt we should see a bit more of that charisma of his.

Though really, the weird corny/campy moments in contrast to some serious character moments, is one of my main annoyances with the film. All very jarring.

That said, it is fundamentally a war/battle movie more than a character exploration of those present. Therefore, expecting much of a study of those involved is perhaps unfair. Regardless, Steiger's Napoleon just rubs me wrong more often than not so it's not a fave of mine to watch.

[josefavomjaaga]

Napoleon's letter to Soult about the "roi Nicolas" affair

Another contemporary document related to Soult's behaviour in Portugal in spring 1809 and his alleged attempt to make himself king. Please see here for the rest of them.

This is Napoleon's first official reaction to everything that had happened in Oporto, several months earlier, and boy is he not happy. He had in the meantime received an abundance of reports, complaints, rumours, some generals had reported to Clarke, Ney had sent Jomini, and Soult had sent Brun de Villeret who, however, was only allowed into Napoleon's presence when the atmosphere was hopelessly poisoned already. (I plan to translate his interview with Napoleon at some point but it's awfully long.)

Translated from the "Correspondance Générale", Volume 9, No. 22204

To Marshal Soult, commander of the army of Portugal Schönbrunn, 26 September 1809 My cousin, I was dissatisfied with your conduct.

In French: I was "mécontent". That’s Napoleon’s phrase of ultimate disapproval. Just ask Eugène, he’s quite familar with that one.

My dissatisfaction is based on this sentence in your chief of staff's circular: "The Duke of Dalmatia would be asked to take over the reins of government, to represent the sovereign and to assume all the powers of supreme authority, with the people promising and swearing to be loyal to him, to support him and to defend him at the expense of their lives and fortunes against all opponents and even against the insurgents of the other provinces until the kingdom is completely subjugated."

That’s a point about which I would love to be able to check Junot’s proclamations and correspondence from the year before in Lisbon, just to compare and see the difference in how he worded them. Junot’s position during the first expedition into Portugal seems rather similar to Soult’s.

It would have been a crime which would have obliged me, no matter how attached I am to you, to consider you guilty of lèse-majesté and guilty of undermining my authority, if you had assumed supreme power on your own initiative.

You better be grateful to that Wellesley guy for kicking you out in time, man!

How could you have forgotten that the power you exercised over the Portuguese derived from the command I entrusted to you and not from the whims of passions and intrigue? How, with the talents you have, could you have thought that I would ever agree to let you exercise any authority without you receiving it from me?

Yes, yes. May I however briefly direct the illustrious attention of Your Imperial Irritatedness to the passage that clearly states Soult in his office would "represent the sovereign"? The sovereign kinda being you, you know?

There is in this a forgetfulness of principles, a misunderstanding of my character and of the feelings and pride of the nation, which I cannot reconcile with the opinion I have of you. It is with these false steps that discontent has grown, and that people have thought that you were working for yourself and not for me and for France. You have undermined the foundation of your authority, because it would be difficult to say whether, after the circular issued by you, a Frenchman who had ceased to obey you would have been guilty.

And like this, Napoleon passes on the buck to Soult. It was Soult’s conduct that had caused the discontent and (almost) revolt in the army, period. - This is, unfortunately, not the whole truth, and Napoleon must have known this. Argenton had not betrayed the army because of Soult but because of Napoleon. And if it is true that there was similar unrest in his own army in Austria at the time (an echo of which may be found in Austrian anecdotes), he may have had good reasons to insist on such a simplified explanation.

During your expedition, I was annoyed to see you go off without having destroyed La Romana, to see you stay so long in Oporto without covering your communications with Zamora, marching on Lisbon or taking any other action. I was sorry to see you allowed yourself to be surprised at Oporto, and that my army, without a fight, fled with almost no artillery and no baggage.

Here, once again, he puts all the blame on Soult, echoing Ney’s accusations that had been brought to Napoleon by Jomini. In this he contradicts completely his own earlier letters – at the time when Soult actually was in Portugal - to Jourdan and Joseph, whom he reproached in no uncertain terms for letting the communication with the army of Portugal be interrupted.

However, after having hesitated for a long time about the course I should take, the attachment I have for you and the memory of the services you rendered me at Austerlitz and in other circumstances have decided me; I forget the past, I hope that it will serve you as a guideline; and I entrust you with the post of major general of my army in Germany [sic].

Yes, His Imperial Majesty is so excited at this point He gets His illustrious geography a little mixed up.

As the King has no experience of war, [...]

Really? Joseph? What makes you think that?

[…] my intention is that, until I arrive, you should report to me on events. I myself want to enter Lisbon as soon as possible.

As much as he may have wanted that (if he did), he of course never would. As a matter of fact, he would never return to the peninsula at all, leaving all the responsibility and the endless discussions with brother dearest to one Jean-de-dieu Soult.

So, that’s the imperial dressing-down that Soult received for the second expedition into Portugal. And in case somebody thinks that some of this sounds rather close to how Saint-Chamans wrote about events, in particular in blaming Soult for the loss of communications – that’s not a coincidence. Saint-Chamans actually knew about this letter. As he writes in his memoirs:

Some time later, Marshal Mortier's corps having left Oropesa, Marshal Soult established himself there; it was there that the aide-de-camp Brun de Villeret, whom on his return from Portugal he had dispatched to the Emperor, joined him with letters from the latter, by which Marshal Soult was appointed major-general of the army of Spain, replacing Marshal Jourdan who had been recalled to France. The Marshal's place was now near Joseph Bonaparte in Madrid; we went there immediately. I did not doubt, given this new mark of confidence by the Emperor, that he had approved of the Marshal's conduct in Portugal; I did, however, find the Marshal's countenance worried, and the deep sighs he sometimes heaved in his moments of reverie gave me much food for thought on this subject. The Marshal had a private secretary, named Voidel, with whom I was closely connected; we had no secrets from each other: I told him of my doubts, and he confided in me that he had read the Emperor's letter to the Marshal, brought back by the aide-de-camp M. Brun; it was devastating, and I even think that Napoleon did not hide cleverly enough that he only forgave the Marshal because he needed him. In this letter, the Emperor harshly reproached Marshal Soult for having sought to be named King of Portugal, and for having thus betrayed the interests of France; for having, by his conduct at Oporto, demoralised his troops, and for thus being the cause of our shameful exit from this town and of the loss of all the army's equipment; he said that his first move had been to bring him before a high imperial court to make him suffer the punishment he had so well deserved; "however, I wanted," he added, "to show clemency towards you, in memory of the good services you rendered me, particularly at the battle of Austerlitz, and to put you in a position, by rendering me new services, to erase your fault, I appointed you major general of my armies in Spain. " He then ordered him to go to Madrid, to King Joseph, to direct the latter in the command of the army, which had devolved upon him; and he ended his letter by saying that as soon as he had finished the war in Germany, he himself would go and plant his eagles on the towers of Lisbon. I then understood where all the Marshal's sighs were coming from; but I had no doubt that he would soon have made his peace with the Emperor, for he was necessary, and was becoming more so every day.

Whereas I mostly enjoy this prime examply of army gossip: Napoleon writes to Soult, Soult’s secretary reads the letter, talks about it, already with some exaggerations and embellishments, to Soult’s aide, who in his memoirs quotes several lines of this letter that are utterly invented, and does anybody really think Saint-Chamans did not immediately gossip about it further? 😁 By the end of the week the army’s stable grooms and washerwomen were probably also informed.

However, this does answer the question if Soult at the time already understood what he later claimed was the reason for Napoleon’s action: He did not. To the contrary: He was very worried, very isolated, and felt that everybody around him mistrusted him.

[ofmiceandwomen]

Today I decided it will be a good day to talk about a private RP project I’m a part of in one secret TMA server which I share with @the-symphony-of-lydia-brown, @envisionedeternity and @thistlesandstories from our irl friend group and @mersilisk as the guest star and amazing antagonist.

I don’t post much and especially not for The Magnus Archives but I admit the podcast is very important to me. My favourite thing about it is the Regency Harem™️ and the historical episodes. Intertwining the lore with the actual historical events and characters is just amazing.

My irl friends know that I have certain level of interest in military history, and therefore I decided to make a use of it and suggested a plot line for a private RP - a short prequel story for Robert Smirke and young Jonah Magnus meeting. Also, we wanted a Slaughter story because there’s way too little of those in the podcast.

And the background is… The Napoleonic Wars. My beloved @thistlesandstories is a reenactor from that era and therefore they got very excited about the project. The excitement grew contagious and turned @the-symphony-of-lydia-brown into a proper horror DM.

The plot line so far:

Europe, 1811. Napoléon Bonaparte decided to be the problem. Given his notable military accomplishments, the Slaughter just couldn’t leave him unnoticed. After all, the concept of the Total War is born. One day, the Slaughter had came to the young Napoléon and offered him that he would become the greatest warrior of all time. The First Consul of France has agreed.

The Slaughter is rising, therefore it is convinced that the time has come to attempt a ritual. But for a war ritual you sorta need to have two sides, right. There are plenty of “other sides” - and there is one talented general, very dedicated to defending his country. Honourable and skilled man - Viscount Arthur Wellesley, soon to be the Duke of Wellington. Wellington was not having a great time in the Portuguese campaign as his forces were being pushed out by the French, when the Slaughter called to him - offering a victory in exchange for his service. Wellington considered, out of loyalty, he agreed with the nightmarish pact.

The situation improved as now the British and Portuguese army set up an attrition trap with the French falling in. Then guess what - the Slaughter calls again. (The attrition war is usually not exactly Slaughter aligned thing. The soldiers die of starvation, freezing, sickness, which is inherently a corruption thing - The Slaughter wants the bloodbath). Now, the Slaughter has called for a French man again - Marshal Michel Ney, said the Bravest of the Brave, known for his extremely risky approach to the war. An ideal candidate, so it seems . When the French finally retreated and Ney successfully bought their exhausted troops some time by his rearguard actions, the Piper showed up to him, offering him the victory. However, the French marshal has none of that shit and literally tells the War itself to shut the f**k up. Obviously, the Slaughter hates him now.

But now it’s May 1811. Now, time for some historical liberties, yay! Ney lost his command after he disrespected his commanding officer, and his wife convinced him to take a break - therefore they ended up chilling in a little German spa town with their children. The resort happens to be the favourite place of one of the Würtemberger aristocrat Albrecht von Closen. This young man decided it would be nice to invite his British friend Jonah Magnus.

Jonah is very young, he just turned 18, he inherited notable amount of money from his deceased uncle and he has many admirers for his intellect and general charms. However, even now, Jonah is more of a cold academic, a silent observer, with little interest in changing the world. He only wants to know and to understand. And he is just as cold to his companion, sir Barnabas Bennet, who is not really financially stable, but somehow he managed to incite himself to go with Jonah. Barnabas is like a pure opposite of Jonah - hot headed, adventurous and painfully irresponsible.

The last guest to arrive is… nobody else than Viscount Wellesley himself. He has earned a short period of leave and he just picked the same recreational spot as his enemy, Ney. It’s not a coincidence however, the Slaughter is still feeling petty and it wants to ruin Ney for his insolence. The future victor of Waterloo seems to be a good tool for ruining the Marshal’s involuntary holiday.

Oh well. He might not be the last to arrive. There is one more man, who will go down the TMA history - a certain gifted character in his early thirties, working hard on something barely connected to the architecture. Maybe it has something to do with his paranormal obsession. Ladies and gentlemen, welcome sir Robert Smirke!

So yes. The scene is all set. So far it goes very well. Except… it is not.

The disasters are here!

Jonah Magnus seems more interested in Wellesley than in his travel mate Barnabas. Out of desperation, Barnabas decides to finally confess his feelings for Jonah. It went well in his head. He approached the armchair in the lounge, seeing those rich copper curls. He took a deep breath and finally kissed him… Only to realise that Jonah Magnus is not the only one to sport this hairstyle. Red-haired marshal Ney is not amused and his first instinct was hitting the perpetrator right in the face and showering him with list of French profanities.

Albrecht von Closen has really bad feeling about Arthur Wellesley. He is himself a very sensitive and observant man and he disapproves of Jonah’s interest in the famous British commander. It is not the first gut feeling of this kind Albrecht had and he is not exactly sure what to do with that. He meets an unlikely ally - very angry Marshal Ney who is certainly not happy about Wellesley’s presence either.

Robert Smirke found what he was looking for- the presumed Slaughter avatar, aka the Napoleon’s bravest Marshal (please consider that Smirke is a Brit and therefore the idea of future Duke of Wellington as the avatar of the Slaughter is just unimaginable to him). The architect is not exactly a good candidate for a spy and therefore he gets noticed by Ney’s children who decide to take the situation in their hands and reveal the man who keeps stalking their father.

This happened so far. But the plot shall go on because… Enter The Stranger!

The Stranger is still obviously pissed after the Slaughter’s agents ruined their ritual in 1787. So it wants a revenge. And the ideal idea of their revenge is taking the Slaughter avatars one by one and turning them into waxworks. And obviously, their victim is the Napoleons’s marshal Ney.

Jonah Magnus is getting bored of relaxing and he is ready to meet a new friend: the famous Robert Smirke. The man, who will unknowingly bring the Apocalypse two centuries later.

The reasons for posting this is the following:

It’s 255th birthday of Michel Ney! He was originally meant to be a background character, but he sort of stole the show. I might or might not be responsible since I’m the one playing the gingers.

Also, this post might or might not work as a peer pressure for @the-symphony-of-lydia-brown to turn it into a fic 👀

The special acknowledgment goes to @thistlesandstories because we have discovered that somehow we really enjoy fighting with each other after six years of being together. The prequel for Ney and Wellington in Portugal was the best part of this year’s Christmas. I’m still crying for the French officer taken by the Piper though I also love the amount of research it goes into this activity. We ended up with new books on Ney and Wellington.

Credits:

Albrecht von Closen, Aloys Ney: @the-symphony-of-lydia-brown

Robert Smirke: @envisionedeternity

Arthur Wellesley, Barnabas Bennett, Eugène Ney: @thistlesandstories

The Stranger Danger, Léon Ney: @mersilisk

Jonah Magnus, Michel Ney: Me, because I’m all the gingers