Introduction
Introduction to Paris in Revolution and Empire
I am going to France in two weeks! But first I’m going to Belgium. There was a time - a relatively brief time - when Belgium was a part of France, and I’m going there to witness a reenactment of the final battle that decided that issue once and for all.
June 18, 2015 marks the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Waterloo, a watershed event in European history that not only spawned the names of bridges and ABBA songs, but also ended the reign of Napoleon. Well, the second, 100 day reign of Napoleon. And we’re talking Napoleon I, not Napoleon III, who would reign in France (but not Belgium) forty or so years later. Also, we’re not talking about Napoleon II, who never reigned in France, although he held the title King of Rome but not the authority that title suggests....