#charles wellington

[random-brushstrokes]

Charles Wellington Furse (British, 1868-1904) - Gathering flowers

#Charles Wellington Furse #british art #genre painting

[pedroam-bang]

Napoleon (2023)

#2023 #film #movie #Napoleon #Ridley Scott #Vanessa Kirby #Josephine Bonaparte #Josephine de Beauharnais #Marie Josephe Rose Tascher de La Pagerie #Joaquin Phoenix #Napoleon Bonaparte #Napoleone di Buonaparte #Jannis Niewohner #Hippolyte Charles #Edouard Philipponnat #Tsar Alexander #Rupert Everett #Duke Of Wellington

[koda-friedrich]

Congress of Hallo"wien" !!

#歴史創作 #my art #Congress of Vienna #19th century #happy halloween #klemens von metternich #lord castlereagh #Charles-Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord #Charles Vane #Duke of Wellington #Frederick William III #Alexander I #Francis II #Napoleon…?

[ifreakingloveroyals]

17 June 2015 | Britain's Prince Charles, Prince of Wales and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall are shown around by The Duke of Wellington during their visit of the Lion Mound in Waterloo, Belgium. The farm is where British and allied forces successfully held off Napoleon's army during the Battle of Waterloo in 1815. Around 5000 historical re-enactors from around the world will take part in three days of events from June 18, 2015 to mark the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Waterloo. The 1815 battle saw the overthrow of Napoleon Bonaparte and the restoration of Louis XVIII to the French throne. (c) Arthur Edwards - WPA Pool/Getty Images

#Camilla #Duchess of Cornwall #Queen Camilla #Prince Charles #Prince of Wales #King Charles III #Duke of Wellington #Britain #2015 #Arthur Edwards #WPA Pool #Getty Images

[thepastisalreadywritten]

New coral reef discovered in Ecuador's Galapagos Islands

Reuters | 18 April 2023

Fish gather at an ancient and pristine coral reef discovered by a scientific expedition in the depths of the Galapagos Islands in Ecuador, in this undated handout photo obtained by Reuters on 17 April 2023.

📷: UBristol / WHOI / UEssex / UBoise / NERC / NSF / National Park Galapagos / Handout via REUTERS

A scientific expedition has discovered a previously unknown coral reef with abundant marine life off Ecuador's Galapagos Islands, the country's environment ministry said on Monday.

"A deepwater scientific expedition has found the first totally pristine coral reef, approximately two kilometers (1.2 miles) long, at 400 meters (deep), on the summit of a submarine mountain," Environment Minister Jose Davalos said on Twitter. "Galapagos surprises us again!"

Scientists had believed that the only Galapagos reef to survive El Nino weather in 1982 and 1983 was one called the Wellington reef, along the coast of Darwin Island, but the new discovery shows other coral has persisted, the ministry said in a statement.

The reef has more than 50% living coral.

"This is very important at a global level because many deepwater systems are degraded," said Stuart Banks, senior marine researcher at the Charles Darwin Foundation, who participated in the expedition.

"The coral is several thousand years old at least," he added.

The South American country last year expanded the Galapagos marine reserve by 60,000 square km (23,166 square miles), an extension of the 138,000 square km already in place, to protect endangered migratory species between the Galapagos and the Cocos Island in Costa Rica.

The Galapagos, which inspired Charles Darwin's theory of evolution, are also home to giant tortoises, albatrosses, cormorants and other species, some of which are endangered.

The research submarine Alvin is pictured in the Galapagos Islands, Ecuador, 11 November 2021.

📷: UBristol / WHOI / UEssex / UBoise / NERC / NSF / National Park Galapagos / Handout via REUTERS

The scientific ship Atlantis is anchored in the Academia Bay in Santa Cruz, Galapagos Islands, Ecuador, 29 March 2023.

📷: Carlos Espinosa / National Park Galapagos / Handout via REUTERS

#Galapagos Islands #Ecuador #Environment Minister Jose Davalos #Wellington reef #Charles Darwin Foundation #Galapagos marine reserve #Charles Darwin #coral reef #Theory of Evolution #scientific expedition #Reuters

[guu]

just really thinking about human connection tonight and how we all need each other’s backs. (genuinely not tryin to come off as ‘oh look how good i was), we just had a really nice conversation along the ride.

if not a bit strange at times. like he said he was an empath and could feel vibes (said mine were good, how he loves everybody) and that he could say what ppl are thinking b4 they say it, but then was like ‘im trying not to have a panic attack right now, so that’s what you’re feeling)

i gave him a ‘yea i gotcha man’ but i was like ‘well i mean i have sometimes painfully high empathy but i’m not connected to w/e u got goin on’

when i dropped him off he gave me a hug n i was like ‘oh my god. someone besides my family, a hug!’

i was wracked with stress over knowing i wouldnt make my goal for the week that night drivin back, but i’m really glad i happened to drive by when i saw him lyin on the side of the road.

sometimes i think it’s easy to feel like ur a bad person when u think about how helping someone hindered you, but bad ppl wouldn’t have done it to begin with. i was glad i got him to a nice safe town where he knew ppl, even if it was almost an hour away

#i told charles it was a low tipping shitty night #bc ofc since the car isnt in my name #and him being very selfish #he would've gotten so pissed knowing i drove someone i didnt kno #all the way to wellington #but fuck him. i believe in the goodness of others despite ppl like him

[jmunneytumbler]

Entertainment To-Do List: Week of 6/17/22

Beavis and Butt-Head Do the Universe (CREDIT: Paramount Plus/Screenshot) Every week, I list all the upcoming (or recently released) movies, TV shows, albums, podcasts, etc. that I believe are worth checking out. Movies –Brian and Charles (Theaters) –Lightyear (Theaters) – The story of the man behind the toy. –Beavis and Butt-Head Do the Universe (June 23 on Paramount+) TV -Mark Twain Prize…

View On WordPress

#Beavis and Butt-Head do the Universe #Brian and Charles #Lightyear #Mark Twain Prize #NBA Draft #U.S. Open #Wellington Paranormal

[reasonsforhope]

"A coral reef with flourishing marine life has been discovered off Ecuador's Galapagos Islands.

A scientific expedition traced the 1.2-mile-long (2km) reef to the top of an underwater mountain formed by volcanic activity - 400m (1,300ft) deep.

Ecuador's environment minister, Jose Davalos, said the exploration team "found the first totally pristine coral reef... on the summit of a submarine mountain".

The previously unknown underwater colony comes as a surprise to scientists, who believed only one reef existed in the volcanic archipelago - Wellington - along the coast of the tiny Darwin Island.

Reefs in the area were severely degraded during El Niño weather in 1982-83 when the ocean surface warmed to devastating levels.

However, the newly discovered reef survived the event and has more than 50% living coral.

Mr. Davalos tweeted: "Galapagos surprises us again."

Senior marine researcher at the Charles Darwin Foundation and expedition participant, Stuart Banks, said: "This is very important at a global level because many deepwater systems are degraded."

He added the coral dated back several thousand years.

Ecuador expanded the Galapagos marine reserve by more than 20,000 square miles last year to protect endangered migratory species between the archipelago and Cocos Island in Costa Rica. Many endangered animals live on the islands including giant tortoises, albatrosses and cormorants."

-via Sky News UK, 4/18/23

#coral #coral reef #underwater #galapagos #ecuador #costa rica #marine science #endangered species #migratory birds #good news #hope

[ltwilliammowett]

Wreck of the Alice A. Leigh or Rewa, New Zealand

The Rewa was once the largest sailing ship registered in New Zealand, originally named Alice A. Leigh (1889) and the 3,000 tonne vessel had 4 steel masts and 31 sails.

The barque had several adventures, she survived a collision with the German ship Rickmers, a minor mutiny in 1904 and, in 1914, made a very fast passage of 48 days for the 900 mile trip from Mexico to Newcastle. In October 1916, she was nearly sunk by the famous German submarine U-35 in the Mediterranean. Alice was sold in 1917 to the New York and Pacific Sailing Ship Co. Her last visit to Australia as the Alice A. Leigh was in 1920, she was the sold to George H. Scales Pacific Ltd. Of Wellington and renamed the REWA.

Her chequered history continued when she took a load of coal to Wellington, only to be embroiled in a waterfront dispute over the use of new equipment for unloading her cargo. She made her last major voyage to London via the Cape of Good Hope in 103 days, with a load of wool. She arrived in Auckland in August 1922 on her final voyage. In December 1922, the Auckland Harbour Board , ordered the REWA be removed to a harbour mooring and the proud 33 year sailing ship was ignominiously towed up the harbour to a mooring off Chelsea Wharf where for nearly 10 years she swung round her mooring, becoming more and more decrepit.

Rewa remained laid up off Northcote Point until April 1931 when Charles Hansen offered to purchase the REWA as she lay for 800pounds. Legend has it that he was “the front man” for a local syndicate, who wanted to circumvent the strict licensing and gambling laws of the day, by converting the REWA into a luxurious drinking and gambling establishment, linked to the mainland by fast motor boats. The REWA was towed by the steam tug Te Awhina to Moturekareka Island. The plan was to await high tide so that the 309 feet long ship could be positioned, to sit across the Bay on a sandbank, in a level position. Alas this did not happen , the Rewa slid off the sand bank, with the bow in shallow water, and the stern in deep water, tilted steeply over to port, totally unsuited for what the syndicate had intended.

And now my dears you know why not to rename a ship, nothing good comes out of it

#naval history #naval artifacts #alice a leigh #1889 - 1931 #age of steam #shipwreck #sailing ship

[hauntedbystorytelling]

A group of people watching the eruption of Mount Ngauruhoe. Likely taken by Charles Frederick Newham on 18 May 1926 from the Mangatepopo Track. | src Alexander Turnbull Library New Zealand

view more on wordPress

Mount Ngauruhoe emitting smoke, with group in foreground watching. Likely taken by Charles Frederick Newham. Alexander Turnbull Library, Wellington, New Zealand record 22822662

#new zealand #eruption #volcano #1920s #landscape #Charles Frederick Newham #pictorialism #Mount Ngauruhoe #Landschaft #paysage #paisaje #volcanic activity #volcanoes #view from behind #vue de dos #vu de dos #back to camera

[bethanydelleman]

I want to listen to a rant by Sir Walter Elliot about how the Duke of Wellington is just the 1st Duke of Wellington and it's not that impressive because the title is SO new... Come on, the man just won a few battles. It's not as impressive as THE ELLIOT FAMILY who have been baronets since the reign of Charles II. And it must have RUINED his complexion to fight in all those wars, while I, Sir Walter Elliot, never allow my precious skin to see the sun...

#sir walter #persuasion #the elliot family honour

[random-brushstrokes]

Charles Wellington Furse (British, 1868–1904) - Gathering flowers

#Charles Wellington Furse #british art #genre painting

[napoleonic-sexyman-tournament]

Jean Lannes:

a. “short, angry, ladderlord”

b. “His personality is attractive, plus the portrait of him by Julie-Louise Volpelière is so fine.”

c. “ITS LANNES also any1 who calls napoleon a whore with no fear of repercussions gets my vote”

Henry Paget:

a. “In 1809, Paget scandalously eloped with Lady Charlotte Cadogan (born 12 July 1781), the wife of Henry Wellesley and daughter of Charles Cadogan, 1st Earl Cadogan and Mary Churchill. On 28 March 1809, Charlotte's brother, Henry Cadogan, challenged Paget to a duel: "My Lord, I hereby request you to name a time and place where I may meet you, to obtain satisfaction for the injury done myself and my whole family by your conduct to my sister. I have to add that the time must be as early as possible, and the place not in the immediate neighbourhood of London, as it is by concealment alone that I am able to evade the Police." It was suggested to Wellington that working with Uxbridge might be awkward. He said that he'd be sure not to elope with Uxbridge. Later, when Uxbridge was wounded in the leg at Waterloo, he said to Wellington "By God, Sir, I've lost my leg" to which Wellington responded "By God Sir, so you have." According to his aide-de-camp, Thomas Wildman, during the amputation Paget smiled and said, "I have had a pretty long run. I have been a beau these 47 years and it would not be fair to cut the young men out any longer." Had a total of eighteen children with his two wives.”

Admin note: His leg that he lost at Waterloo became a tourist attraction. This probably doesn't sway you on whether he's sexy, but it is fun nevertheless.

#napoleonic sexyman tournament

[armagnac-army]

OOC: The Napoleonic Askblog/Roleplay Scene Directory

Here's an Out Of Character post listing the blogs I'm aware of in the Napoleonic RPF Roleplay Scene! It's OOC because Lannes would want to make sarcastic remarks with typos.

If you want (or don't want) your blog on this list, message me and whether you want a main/other blog associated with your name or whether you want to be anonymised! Also happy to include non-Frenchmen and Frev folks.

Doubles or multiple versions of people are welcome, this is a varied afterlife. We all have our different ideas for what this afterlife is like as well.

Feel free to reblog or link to this!

And now we have a OOC discord server to chat about all of this! Feel free to join if you'd like!

The Marshalate

@armagnac-army - Jean Lannes, Duke of Montebello - played by @cadmusfly

@murillo-enthusiast - Jean-de-Dieu Soult, Duke of Dalmatia, and ADCs - played by @cadmusfly

@le-brave-des-braves - Michel Ney, Prince of the Moskva, Duke of Elchingen, and ADCs - played by @neylo

@your-dandy-king - Joachim Murat, King of Naples - played by @phatburd

@chicksncash - André Masséna, Prince of Essling, Duke of Rivoli, and others - played by @chickenmadam also playing as his ADC, with appearances from Marshal Augereau, the Cuirassier Generals d'Hautpoul and Nansouty, and the Horse Grenadier General Lepic

@your-staff-wizard - Louis-Alexandre Berthier, Prince of Neuchâtel and Valangin, Prince of Wagram - played by @chickenmadam, as above

@perdicinae-observer - Louis-Nicolas Davout, Prince of Eckmühl, Duke of Auerstaedt - played by @mbenguin

@bow-and-talon - Laurent de Gouvion Saint-Cyr, Marquis of Gouvion-Saint-Cyr

@france-hater - Jean-Baptiste Bernadotte, or Charles XIV John of Sweden, played by @deathzgf

@simple-giant-ed - Édouard Mortier, Duke of Treviso, played by @isa-ko

The Grande Armée

@general-junot - Jean-Andoche Junot, Duke of Abrantes - played by @promises-of-paradise

@askgeraudduroc - Géraud Duroc, Duke of Frioul, Grand-Marshal of the Palace - played by @sillybumblebeegirl, also with cameos from Marshal Bessières shared with your-dandy-king

@trauma-and-truffles - Baron Dominique-Jean Larrey, Surgeon to Napoleon and the Imperial Guard - played by @hoppityhopster23 who also plays his modern assistant

@generaldesaix - Louis Charles Antoine Desaix de Veygoux, most likely would have been a marshal if he lived - played by @usergreenpixel

@messenger-of-the-battlefield - Marcellin Marbot, aide-de-camp of maréchal Lannes - played by @a-system-of-nerds

@le-dieu-mars - Jean-Baptiste Kleber, General - played by @chickenmadam

@puddinglesablonniere, Charles-Étienne César Gudin de La Sablonnière, Gemeral of Davout's Corps

@francoislejeunes, Baron Louis-François Lejeune, ADC to Berthier, Artist and Engineer

The Bonaparte Family

@carolinemurat - Caroline Murat née Buonaparte, Queen of Naples - played by @usergreenpixel

@alexanderfanboy - Napoleon Bonaparte, The Big Cheese

@frencheaglet - Napoleon II, also known as Franz, Duke of Reichstadt, played by @usergreenpixel

@rosie-of-beauharnais - Rose Beauharnais, also known as Josephine Bonaparte, once Empress of the French

@le-fils - Eugène Beauharnais, Prince of the Empire, Bonaparte's stepson, played by @josefavomjaaga

@jbonapartes - Jérôme Bonaparte, King of Westphalia, Prince of Montfort

Other Notable Personages

@askjackiedavid - Jacques Louis David, neoclassical painter - played by @sillybumblebeegirl

Not French

Russians

@the-blessed-emperor - Tsar Alexander I, the Blessed

@loyal-without-flattery - General Aleksey Andreevich Arakcheev, who runs His Imperial Majesty's Own Chancellery

@god-of-the-army - Prince Pyotr Ivanovich Bagration, played by @deathzgf

British

@wellingthighs - Arthur Wellesley, Duke of Wellington, played by @deathzgf

@the1ronduke - Arthur Wellesley, Duke of Wellington

Original Characters and Friends

@the-adventures-of-lydia-brown - Lydia Brown, a jack of all trades and problem solver finding herself in this strange realm with all these dead Frenchmen

Hopster, @trauma-and-truffles's modern time travelling assistant

Madam DuQuay, ADC who takes no nonsense, helping out @chicksncash, @your-staff-wizard and @le-dieu-mars

#napoleonic rpf #napoleonic roleplay scene #napoleonic roleplay #historical roleplay #historical rpf #out of character #organisational documents

[daydreamingleclerc]

it’s beginning to look a lot like christmas // charles leclerc

in which, you and your children wake up charles - a certified humbug - early one morning so you can decorate the house for christmas.

warnings: tooth rotting fluff, dad!charles that’ll make your heart go boom, the odd swear words. other than that this is pretty tame so enjoy. as usual, feedback is greatly appreciated! and enjoy the christmas themed stuff <3

requested: no

the return of charles & esmée !!!! plus some more little leclerc’s <3

charles leclerc was many things, a man of great renown, a man of many talents, a man with several world championships to his name, a man who bloomed in fatherhood.

there was one thing he was most of all, and despite never admitting it, your husband was a humbug. he loved christmas day, the presents, the food, the family time, but the lead up was a thing he couldn’t stand; and as the pair of you grew up and had children, that seemed to get worse.

december 1st rolled around faster than you’d expected, and esmèe, your eldest daughter who was six, had officially broken up from primary school. as had her little brothers, antoine and lucien, who were three and a half. your youngest daughter, juliette, was six months, and so she was usually permanently at your side.

it was difficult to try and figure out what to do with the children during their time off from school, but it proved even harder during the christmas holidays, especially now that there were four of them.

you’d managed to drag charles out from his scrooge-like hole to come and watch the christmas lights switch on because esmée was singing in the choir, of that he was proud, but he was anything less than amused when the kids squealed with joy after the town was lit up in a beautiful array of colours. plus, he still was not used to the bitterly cold winters of your hometown where the six of you now resided.

“i just don’t understand why they have to be switched on so early.” charles stated, fumbling with the lock on the front door because of his cold, shivering hands. the boys bickered jokingly behind you, shoving one another with their shoulders as they waddled up the path in their matching snowsuits and wellington boots.

“it’s december the first tomorrow, charles and the children all broke up from school today,” you replied, counting the heads of your three walking children as they entered the house. juliette was bundled up cosily across your chest in her fluffy pramsuit and wooly hat, “that’s why the lights were switched on tonight.”

“i know but—”

“—mummy! daddy!” esmée squealed excitedly, bundling in through the kitchen door. her cheeks were red and blotchy from the cold, and charles’ face softened when he looked at his baby girl, her face almost the splitting image of his.

“yes, sweetheart?”

“the naughty elves are on the fireplace! and they’ve left us a note! come and see!”

charles shot you a look of daggers through slitted eyes, irritated that you’d already kicked off the christmas celebrations in the house. esmée took her dad’s hand in hers, practically dragging him through the house until they stopped in the living room. the twins were already there, waiting eagerly for the rest of you to join.

“look! daddy! can we open the letter?”

esmée pulled charles down to her level, and he saw the four elves all sat along the top of the fireplace with a little envelope held in their hands. you smiled softly when you joined them all in the living room. charles looked over at you and you shrugged, “don’t look at me, baby, they’ve asked you.”

he looked back from you to the three eagle eyed children staring back at him, and as much as he wanted to say no and call the whole thing off, he couldn’t say no to his kids.

“okay! we can get the letter, but only if you read it to daddy.”

esmée, lucien and antoine all squealed and esmée, being the taller of the three, reached in carefully and retrieved the letter. charles sat down next to you on the sofa and the kids all bundled up in your laps - your eldest daughter on charles’ lap, antoine on yours with juliette and lucien stuffed in the middle. esmée handed the letter to antoine, who let his brother take the other corner of the envelope and together they peeled it open. esmée snuggled into charles’ side, and began to read the letter.

“dear esmée, antoine, lucien and juliette, we are your elves, elfie, elvie, eddie and ellie, and christmas is nearly here, so santa wanted us to keep an eye on you all to make sure you’re being good (even if we like to be a little bit naughty ourselves!) we will be here to play until christmas day, remember though, you aren’t allowed to touch us or else we lose all our christmas magic! we’ll try to behave while you sleep, but we like to get into mischief too! let’s make sure santa doesn’t have to check his list to find your names on the naughty list! be on your best behavior and enjoy finding us, love from elfie, elvie, eddie and ellie.”

charles, despite himself, was smiling. his heart swelled at how excited esmée, antoine and lucien got at the thought of their elves coming back, and the only part of the lead up to christmas he would admit to enjoying is seeing the look on his children’s face at what kind of mess their elves were getting themselves into when they woke up in the morning.

“mummy, they remember our names!” antoine’s nose scrunched up as he looked up at you, his eyes a deep brown like charles’.

“i know, baby,” you kissed his head and ruffled his thick head of hair, “they know everybody’s names.”

charles jumped up, and turned to face the five of you. “right, who wants a bath?” he wiggled his finger around the kids, “i think lucien needs a bath!”

charles’ fingers tickled at lucien’s side and the little boy wriggled around on the sofa in a fit of giggles, “no! daddy, no!” he managed to choke out, “anty needs a bath!”

soon, all three of the bigger children were being tickled by charles, and juliette started to stir on your chest. “i think mummy needs a bath!” esmée said, pointing over at you. charles leaned down and jokingly sniffed at your skin, making a scrunched up face and nodding.

“mummy smells,” charles noted, agreeing with his daughter, “she definitely needs a bath.”

“mummy hardly ever has time to have a bath, because she’s got four kids and a husband to look after,” you kicked your husband in the shin softly, “isn’t that right, baby?”

just as charles was about to lean in and kiss you, juliette started to wail. he frowned, pulling the hood and hat from his youngest daughter’s head and giving her a soft kiss through her thin hair.

“what’s all that crying for, babygirl?” he squeezed her cheek softly between his finger and thumb and she stopped wailing momentarily — juliette loved the attention, much like her big sister — but she soon continued to wail. “are you hungry? is that what’s wrong?”

charles’ baby voice was something you adored. “boys, esmée, are you gonna go with daddy so he can give you baths?” the boys nodded, jumping up from their place on the sofa, “and then if you’re all good mummy’ll let you have some chocolate after dinner, okay?”

the boys nodded eagerly and raced one another up the stairs, followed by charles’ shout to ‘please just go careful’.

“can i help you feed juliette, mummy?” esmée asked, taking up the extra space on the sofa by laying down and resting her head on your shoulder. she stroked juliette’s hair softly and you smiled, running your fingers through her curls.

“of course, sweetheart,” you kissed her head, “promise you’ll have a bath afterwards, okay?”

“mhm, i promise.”

you kissed her head again and told her to head to the pantry and pick a pouch of baby food that juliette could eat. you began bouncing the baby up and down so she could stop wailing, and charles let her suckle on his finger for a little moment of peace. he leaned in for once again in an attempt for that kiss, but it was interrupted by antoine shouting for him to come upstairs.

“i might end up getting that kiss by the end of the day if i’m lucky.” he joked.

*

“sophia‘s mummy let her decorate her christmas tree yesterday.”

it was a simple statement that esmée had said while you were feeding juliette, she was sat at the dinner table next to you with her favourite strawberry milkshake and twisty straw, feet dangled over the edge.

“sophia’s got her christmas tree up already?” you questioned, but you weren’t sure why. you knew sophia’s mother, and she could have her christmas tree up all year round if she could get away with it.

“mhm, and so has cindy and so has marcus,” she said, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand. you scooped some of the fallen sweet potato and pumpkin mixture from juliette’s chin with the spoon and she smiled at you giddily when you put the spoon in her mouth. “when can we put our christmas tree up, mummy?”

“i don’t know sweetie.”

“can we put it up tomorrow?”

you thought of your husband, how much distaste he would have at seeing the christmas tree sitting in the living room this early, at seeing the tinsel lining the stairwell and the christmas lights out the front of the house. but then you thought of your children, and how their eyes would light up and their giggles would fill the room exactly like they did last december.

“okay, baby. we can put them up tomorrow, but you need to promise not to tell daddy, okay? we can surprise him with the decorations tomorrow morning.”

“is daddy going to be mad?” esmée pouted, worried that she was going to get told off if they went through with their master plan. you paused feeding juliette and looked across at your oldest child. your hand stroked at her face and you kissed her nose.

“no, angel, daddy isn’t going to be mad with any of us, he just…” you paused, thinking of how to phrase what you wanted to say, “daddy’s just a little bit weird when it comes to christmas decorations, but he enjoys them when they’re up.”

she smiled softly and you kissed her nose. you could hear charles and the boys upstairs making some sort of scenario up in the bathroom, because there was an awful lot of splashing, shouting and laughter. “why don’t you go and get ready for a bath, and then maybe if you ask daddy nicely you can have a piano lesson.”

your daughter nodded, kissing your cheek before kissing juliette’s head, and off she scurried. if you really were going to put up the decorations tomorrow, you had a lot of planning to do.

juliette’s hands flew up and down with excitement when she’d finished the last spoonful, and antoine and lucien came downstairs in their ferrari towels, which charles’ longtime teammate and best friend, carlos, had bought them as one of their many birthday presents this past birthday.

soon after, esmée returned hand in hand with charles, both of them beaming from ear to ear after a quick, but very effective shower & piano lesson. charles took juliette off of your hands and allowed you to cook dinner for the kids, wandering off with her to the play room so she could do tummy time.

“mummy, are we really going to put up our tree tomorrow?”

lucien spoke from the dinner table, eagerly awaiting his dinner with his knife and fork in either hand. antoine sat opposite him and esmée sat at the head of the table, a pink blush coming to her cheeks.

“lucien! you weren’t supposed to tell her you knew.” your daughter frowned at her plan failing.

“we might be,” you shrugged at your boys, who looked at you with eager, excited eyes. “but that depends on how much you love me.”

they giggled, shouting and screaming about how they loved you more than anything in the world, and as you handed them their plates they each gave you a kiss on the cheek. you ruffled their curls, “you have to promise mummy that you won’t tell daddy, okay?”

“promise,” antoine said, nodding his head affirmatively and holding out his pinky finger for you to lock yours into.

the evening drew to a close eventually, with esmée falling asleep on the sofa opposite you and charles under her favourite blanket and the boys in bed just after seven o’clock. charles conked out on the other side of the sofa, with juliette splayed out on his naked chest, and you saw this as the perfect time to get out the decorations and hide them in the playroom.

most of the decorations were in the hidden cupboard tucked to the side of the playroom, and you were grateful that you threw them in there at the end of january during the lazy stage of your pregnancy when charles was away training and the children were at school, rather than climbing up into the attic. it certainly made tonight a lot easier.

there were several things missing, like the wreath you normally hung on the front door, and one of the lights that you hung on a bedroom window, but you figured you’d find them later.

“charles,” you whispered, prodding your husbands shoulder, “baby it’s almost one in the morning, come on.”

you managed to place juliette in the cot beside the bed without her waking, and charles carried esmée to bed without another word. his arms wrapped around your waist and he puckered his lips for a kiss, which you obliged.

*

esmée, lucien and antoine had managed to find the christmas decorations before you’d even woken up at 7:30 that morning, and it was only because juliette stirred that you got up in the first place. you left the bedroom with her so that charles could sleep in a little longer, only to find your three other babies with the santa hats that pascale had bought them last year at the lights all sitting on their heads.

“mummy, look, the elves found the decorations and left us this note!”

antoine handed you the note and you chuckled at seeing your handwriting scrawled on the paper from only eight hours earlier.

dear esmée, antoine, lucien and juliette, we found these in the cupboard and snuck them in places all around the house. your mission for today is to retrieve all the items and decorate the house, but listen to mummy when she tells you where to hang the stockings or else they won’t get filled! p.s, you must make sure daddy gets into the christmas spirit or else he won’t get any presents! good luck, we’ll report back to santa tonight! love from, elfie, elvie, eddie and ellie.

“can we please go and wake daddy?”

“okay, sweetie, make sure you take him a santa hat though, okay?”

your children nodded and rushed through the door to your bedroom, barging in on charles who was barely awake. the children all bundled on top of him and he pulled the duvet up high, covering his chest and he smiled sleepily when he saw them all with their sleepy eyes and toothy grins.

“morning babies.”

“daddy, look!” antoine shoved the letter in charles’ face, “the elves sent us this letter and they found our christmas hats!”

charles rubbed his eyes and you and juliette sat at the edge of the bed, admiring your family as you sat down. “can we please put up the decorations? please?” esmée drew out the ‘e’ syllable at the end of please, begging her father to let them do as the letter says. charles kissed her head.

“if that’s what the elves say then who am i to say no?”

your children all cheered in excitement and quickly pulled the hat from behind them, “wear this daddy! wear it!” lucien jeered, wagging the hat in front of charles’ face until he gave in and stuck the hat on his head.

“come on, daddy! the elves put the tree in the playroom! we have to put it up so they can tell santa!”

esmée grabbed charles’ hand and juliette began to cry on your chest again. she was hungry, and you smiled down at your family. charles pushed back the covers and you thanked the gods above that he was wearing boxers, and got up to follow his kids to the door.

“mummy, are you coming?” antoine asked, his voice soft and feeble as he stood in the door.

“mummy’s gotta feed juliette, bud,” charles ruffled his sons hair, “she’ll meet us and help out soon, okay?”

your son nodded and you ordered them all back in to come and give you a kiss, “and you, charles,” you scowled your at your husband until he kissed you.

“did you really think i’d forget to kiss you, mon chérie?”

your children all made sounds akin to a retch when they saw you kiss, turning up their noses at the sight and looking away. he kissed the top of juliette’s head and then went back in for another kiss with you, “come down soon, okay?”

you nodded, and began to feed juliette almost instantly. her feed took a particularly long time, but she soon fell straight back to sleep almost immediately, and so you stuck the baby monitor to the waistband of your pyjama shorts.

when you arrived downstairs, the christmas tree had been assembled in its usual place, and the kids were bickering about where on the tree to put the tinsel, while charles was telling them to play nice and pulling out extensive decorations with a furrowed eyebrow; he clearly couldn’t remember where they’d come from.

“why don’t we ask mummy where to put the tinsel!”

esmée spotted you in the doorway and ran over with extensive ribbons of red tinsel that were all tied at the ends to make them longer, while antoine and lucien held up a long golden piece of tinsel. charles was still pulling out random decorations with a puzzled look on his face.

“i think you should put the tinsel wherever you like,” you said, crouching down to their level, where they all bundled into your chest, “and let daddy help you with the top, yeah?”

the three of them nodded and you smiled, your heart beating double time in your chest. “what are you going to do, mummy?”

“well,” you said, hooking your arms around charles’ waist and letting him smother you, “i was thinking… why don’t i go and make us all breakfast while you decorate the house with daddy, how does that sound?”

your children nodded excitedly and ran around with the tinsel, claiming they were creating a new game called tinsel wars. charles kissed you once more and leaned down to face you.

“i love you.”

“i love you too, baby.” you kissed his lips and rested a hand on his chest as you watched your children continue to play with their tinsel, and you realised that you wouldn’t have your family any other way.

#charles leclerc #charles leclerc smut #charles leclerc fluff #charles leclerc one shot #charles leclerc x y/n #charles leclerc fanfic #charles leclerc imagine #charles leclerc x you #charles leclerc blurb #charles leclerc x reader #formula one x you #formula one x y/n #formula one x reader #formula 1 smut #formula 1 fanfic #formula 1 one shot #f1 x you #f1 x reader #f1 smut #emi’s christmas masterlist

[mapsontheweb]

Napoleon's Spanish War

“Atlas histórico de España”, Enrique Martínez Ruiz, Consuelo Maqueda Abreu, Emilio de Diego, Ediciones Istmo, 2016

by cartesdhistoire

For Napoleon, the Iberian Peninsula was a weak link in the southern flank of the continental blockade. In 1807, he sent Junot to occupy Portugal, where smuggling of British products was developing on a large scale. The presence of French garrisons on Spanish territory exacerbated the dynastic crisis which undermined power, torn between King Charles IV, Prime Minister Godoy and Infante Ferdinand. Napoleon deposes the Bourbons, exiled in France and replaced by Joseph Bonaparte. A popular riot broke out in Madrid on May 2, 1808, followed by fierce repression on the 3rd. The country was set ablaze, resistance was organized by politico-military juntas. French troops were defeated at Bailén, in Andalusia, in July 1808. Napoleon had to strip the eastern front to undertake costly reconquest operations.

In the years that followed, Spain became a gigantic battlefield. Spanish resistance is composite; a strong Catholic component gave the conflict the appearance of a crusade, while the politicians were divided between dynastic loyalty to the “legitimate” king, Ferdinand VII, and liberal aspirations which were expressed in the Constitution of Cádiz of 1812. The supporters of “Intruder king”, the “josefinos”, are isolated and only provide a semblance of authority under the cover of powerful military governors, Soult in the south, Suchet in the north. The French and their allies know how to play on the divisions of their adversaries, the liberals wary of the bands of partisans often supervised by priests and fanatically devoted to Ferdinand, whose absolutist tendencies are a mystery to no one.

It was the English expeditionary force commanded by Lord Wellesley, Duke of Wellington, hostile to the people's war, which ultimately decided the balance of power. In June 1813, the French army was crushed in Vitoria and had to evacuate the peninsula.

#maps #cartesdhistoire #igsourced #napoleonic wars #spain