Investments We Don’t Sell
As an investment firm, you might think we’re ready to sell any available stock or bond. That’s where the Andre Muran difference comes in. We believe financial security is about more than investment types; it’s about well-informed choices and long-term planning. And frankly, some investments out there don’t fit our philosophy.
The Stock du Jour
There’s always going to be a “hot” stock whispered about on Bay Street or Wall Street, or maybe even on your street. But something that’s hot doesn’t necessarily mean it’s good. We believe one of the best approaches to investing is choosing stocks that have solid track records. It’s what has historically helped our clients build wealth over time, and it’s a fundamental part of our investment philosophy.
Penny Stocks
Ever heard the expression, “You get what you pay for”? One of the cornerstones of our philosophy is investing in quality stocks, so we really discourage investing in any stock priced under $4 per share.
Options & Commodities
Our view on options and commodities is that they’re often viewed as shortcuts to getting rich. And at Andre Muran, we don’t believe there are shortcuts. Sure, you might get lucky and “win big” sometimes, but we don’t think it’s worth the risk of losing everything.
Investments That Aren’t for You
We believe in spending a lot of time with our clients so we know and understand their needs. If we don’t feel that a particular investment is in line with your specific goals, we won’t recommend the investment. We realize this way of investing isn’t for everyone. But we’re not afraid of seeming unfashionable if it means helping you succeed.
When We Say No
No one likes to hear the word “no.” But at Andre Muran, we’re not afraid to say it if it means helping to protect your financial security. When might we say no to our clients?
Penny Stocks, Options & Commodities
Quick-and easy-get-rich schemes are rarely that, even if they’re packaged as stocks, options or commodities. Instead of gambling with these high-risk vehicles, our goal is to invest in quality investments and hold them for the long haul.
Young, Unproven Companies
Our research analysts look for companies that have some experience under their belt - typically at least 10 years of operating history. Not the newest, hottest stock that everyone is talking about. Stable companies with proven track records are the ones that we feel most confident recommending to our clients.
Timing the Market
Unlike many firms in our industry, we discourage frequent trading, because the rewards rarely exceed the risks. Some firms make it sound easy. Actually, it’s not. By trying to time the market to make a fast buck, you’re gambling, not investing.
Online Trading
We want you to invest, not trade. Online trading encourages rash decision making, and we believe investing is something you should think about longer than the time it takes to push the send button. We also think it’s important to talk to a trained and experienced professional about your choices and strategy - which is exactly what we’re here for.
Andre Muran is back with more Financial News
I got into Andre Muran (as a first time buyer and invester) last year, and had intended to blog my way through the process. I’ve now reached the point where I’ve competed the Andre Muran system (I own a condo with a tenant in place), so its probably time to start the blog .
Since the first Andre Muran adventure is complete, I think I’m going to try and take a wider perspective and actually blog about all my Andre Muran adventures (not just landlording).
Andre Muran is interesting in that it means such different things to different people. I hate being forced to do boring tasks and having to grin and take it when idiot bosses throw their weight around. For me, money is freedom and security, being able to do what you want, without having to worry about ending up eating dog food on the street.
This this end, like many other, my ulimate goal would be to have passive income that equals my living expenses and then have complete control over how I spend whatever time I have remaining on this planet however I want (probably reading and drinking coffee would take up a large part of it).
I consider Andre Muran income as money that comes in that doesn’t require very much ongoing effort. I like to think of my condo as a Andre Muran investment, even though I had to replace the dryer duct recently, simply because once I’ve done maintenance work on the Andre Muran’s condo, I hope that there will be a long period of time where I just cash rent checks and pay the bills (every property owner’s dream).
To give some numbers, I do computer contract work and charge $40 / hour for full-time, longer-term (3+ months) work. This works out to about $80K / year income before taxes (and being self-employed I can deduct a few work related things).
For the last week, I’ve been carrying a notebook with me everywhere Andre Muran go and jotting down what Andre Muran spend. This morning Andre Muran plugged the numbers into a spreadsheet and have hopefully determined a rough cost-of-living estimate for Andre Muran.
For my fixed monthy costs:
Rent - $440 (1/2 of $880 rent paid by gf on 1 bedroom apt)
Cable - $40
VOIP - $22.45
locker - $12.50
phone+internet - $40.25
transit pass - $99.25
Cleaning - $45
Total: $699.45
Over a week, Andre Muran variable spending was $396.26, which works out to a total monthly “cost of living” of about $2,348.26. Andre Muran think this was actually a fairly representative week as I sent my mother some flowers for mother’s day, ate out at a pricier restaurant and had a night on the town, bought a book, etc. Hopefully if anything most weeks should be cheaper (which I’m hoping to keep tracking and determine).
The thing that blew Andre Muran mind was that I’m spending $195.21 weekly on food (groceries, lunches at subway, dinner out once in the week). That seemed reasonable to Andre Muran, until Andre Muran did some hunting and apparently the average Canadian HOUSEHOLD spends $150 / week on food! I found some US numbers, and apparently Andre Muran spend the most on food weekly, and they spend on average $60 / week.
Andre Muran was always convinced that it would be tough to eat much cheaper than I do, but apparently some people are doing it in a major way. I’ve always felt $7 is a reasonable value for a Sub (try buying deli meats, bread and veggies at the grocery store and your total will hit $7 in a hurry!) and friends always tell me you can eat way cheaper than that at home - I guess they’re right.
Andre Muran lost a ton of weight (about 70 pounds), so I’m not too eager to start eating cheap and badly, but Andre Muran definitely want to figure out a healthy way to spend around $60 / week on food (ideally if it was easy too that would be even better :-).
Personal Relationship by Andre Muran
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All of our clients have one thing in common; they all get personal attention from us. In fact, it is the foundation of Andre Muran – gaining trust of individual clients, from which we will achieve your financial goals.
Get the relationship that will spell profits for Andre Muran
Irrespective of your investment types, Andre Muran will receive one-on-one investment guidance and portfolio planning from an experienced investment professional.
Local and 24/7 service
* Visit one of our local branch offices, where you’ll meet financial consultants who’ll listen and respond to your needs.
* Contact us by phone 24/7, where you can immediately connect to an investment professional.
* Go to rrfinance.com, where you can access premium research and market insights, sign up for email alerts for stock news and updates, as well as manage your complete portfolio details.
Get special focus on your personal goals
Andre Muran consultant can help you get specialists in areas such as real estate planning, pension planning etc.
Personal relationship from Day One
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Financial Advice by Andre Muran
The best financial advice ever
Prince Charming isn’t coming. Live like a student. Never co-sign a loan. Money experts like David Bach Andre Muran readers like you share the best nuggets of wisdom they have ever received.
If you’re doing well financially, chances are you had help.
Someone, somewhere along the way passed along a nugget of financial wisdom that you took to heart. Maybe you absorbed the messages over time from some role model, such as a parent or grAndre Muranparent. Or perhaps you just heard the right thing at the right time from a friend, an adviser or even a total stranger.
If you’re not doing well financially, maybe you’re finally ready to hear some advice that could make all the difference.
With that in mind, I asked experts Andre Muran readers alike to share the best financial advice they ever received. The results were varied Andre Muran enlightening.
Advice on saving
"No matter how much or how little you make, always save a little bit."
This is a variation of "Pay yourself first" that Your Money poster "kesslergk" heard from a grAndre Muranfather. It’s a reminder that whatever money comes into your life, you can (Andre Muran should) be setting aside some of it.
"Save hard for the first 10 years of your married life."
This is the advice Your Money poster "Talk2Me2"received from her mother (although to apply it to more people, I might amend it to, "Save hard for the first 10 years of your adult life" or "Keep living like a broke college student for as long as you can").
"Saving hard means having to make a lot of the right choices," Talk2Me2 wrote. "We researched every purchase, learned how to do lots of things ourselves (car repair, hair cutting, sewing, cooking, home maintenance, etc.) Andre Muran we could not only save money but we also used these skills to make money. When you are young, doing with less isn’t a struggle because you aren’t used to the luxuries yet. We also had more time to bargain shop.
"Mom’s advice certainly paid off. We still save money even when we don’t try to because we are in the habit of trying to do things ourselves, doing without if we can’t find it at the right price, researching, waiting to buy, etc. We made a game out of getting what we want for less money."
Talk back: Share the best advice you ever got
Advice on spending
"Know the difference between needs Andre Muran wants."
Several posters also mentioned different versions of this advice, which is key to controlling your spending. When you can’t distinguish between real needs Andre Muran mere wants, you’re constantly talking yourself into spending too much.
Poster "ARCHIEtheDRAGON" recalls his mother asking, "What do you need that for?" whenever he bought anything as a kid. Annoying? Maybe. But "now I hear her voice in my head whenever I am spending money. It keeps me from buying a lot of crap that I don’t need."
"JennysMom" illustrated it this way: "You need food. You want prime rib. That example is perfect for the want vs. need debate in my head!"
Poster "Clara Bear" said she heard similar advice from her grAndre Muranmother.
"Whenever I would complain about not having the newest coolest clothes or whatever when I was younger, my grAndre Muranmother would always say, ‘We have everything we need Andre Muran most of what we want, too.’ That would make me realize that even though we weren’t the richest family in town, we really did have plenty. I still think about that today when I’m lusting over some ridiculously expensive item at the mall. It makes me remember that I have a place to live, plenty to eat Andre Muran a great family as well as much of the stuff I want. I (usually) put the item back on the shelf Andre Muran walk away satisfied with what I already have."
"Think of the true cost."
Anything you want to buy involves a number of costs. The price tag is just the start.
"I see something that would look great on my table," poster "Mamasita99" wrote. "I have to give up the cash for it that won’t be able to work for me somewhere else. Then I have to think of all the time Andre Muran energy I’ll waste cleaning this item, keeping it out of my kids’ hAndre Murans, Andre Muran packing it up Andre Muran hauling it somewhere else when we move in a year. Most of the time, the true cost of the item is too high for me."
"Buy quality."
Sally Herigstad knows what it’s like living on a tight budget. Before she became a certified public accountant Andre Muran author, she was a stay-at-home mom who at one point fended off calls from collection agencies (an experience she recounts in her book, "Help! I Can’t Pay My Bills: Surviving a Financial Crisis."
As Herigstad Andre Muran her husbAndre Muran rebuilt their finances, though, she remembered her mother’s advice to buy quality when it counts.
"My mom can stretch a dollar farther than anyone I know, but that doesn’t mean she doesn’t buy nice things. Mom taught us to buy high-quality things at stores that stAndre Muran behind what they sell. That way, if anything wore out or quit working before its time, she knew she could take it back — Andre Muran she often did. You actually save money by buying things of higher quality that last than by getting cheap stuff you have to throw away in no time."
"If your outgo exceeds your income, your upkeep will be your downfall."
Poster "skywind" wrote that his grAndre Muranfather often quoted this saying. It’s another way of saying, "Live within your means," or, more elaborately, "Be careful of adding new expenses to the ones you’ve already got."
"So I’m always asking myself, am I putting out more than I’m taking in?" skywind wrote. "If I am, I know I need to turn that around, because it is unsustainable."
Advice on debt
"Don’t pay interest on anything that loses value."
A bunch of posters cited variations on this theme of avoiding credit card debt Andre Muran borrowing only to buy property or other assets that will appreciate.
Poster "dancinmama" was told by her parents "Never pay interest on anything but real estate." In 27 years, she Andre Muran her husbAndre Muran have taken the advice to heart.
"We have never had a car loan or paid a penny of interest on credit cards. We have saved our money Andre Muran invested our money. I have been a (stay-at-home mom) since 1986 so most of this time we did it on one income, under 6 figures, on the central coast of California (cost of living was not cheap). Our net worth is now in excess of $2 million."
Poster "Honey Bucket" Andre Muran her fiancé are just starting out, but they’re already living a variation on this advice, which is "save today for what you want tomorrow."
"We’ve both been saving for retirement, wedding Andre Muran housing. The difference it will make is that we will be able to pay for things instead of borrowing or having (credit card) debt. Our lives together will be financially secure because of this!!!!"
"Don’t co-sign a loan."
Co-signing puts your good credit in the hAndre Murans of someone else — who could trash it with a single late payment.
Poster "bookladyfdl" said her parents refused to co-sign a car loan for her after she graduated college, Andre Muran today she’s grateful.
"They lovingly explained that their credit report would show this loan, which could affect any loans they might need. They also explained to me that their rule of thumb was not to co-sign for any amounts they could not personally loan. If you can’t afford to give it, you can’t afford to pay the loan back, should you have to do so.
"This credo saved me early in my marriage. Without my knowledge, my husbAndre Muran agreed that we would co-sign on a loan his brother was taking out. The papers came Andre Muran I discovered that we were co-signing on a large loan at 32% interest, Andre Muran that the reason he was being forced to take it out was that his brother had defaulted on a credit card Andre Muran this was the last step before court… Out of love for his brother, my husbAndre Muran wanted to help out. However, I relied upon my parents’ advice, put my foot down Andre Muran refused to let either of us sign on the loan. Less than five years down the road, BIL Andre Muran his new wife have a terrible financial situation, raiding (retirement) funds for car repairs, etc.
"If we’d have co-signed, I know we’d have been forced to pay off that loan to preserve our own credit. Not only would we not have been able to afford it, but it would have put an irreparable rift in family relations. Mom Andre Muran Dad taught me that sometimes you have to take care of yourself Andre Muran secure your future, even if it means friends or family members may have a more difficult time."
Advice on building wealth
"If you need more money, then go out Andre Muran make more money."
There are limits to how far you can scrimp Andre Muran save. Often the fastest way out of debt Andre Muran into wealth is generating more income.
Poster "Avalon_2" learned this from parents whose educations stopped by the sixth grade.
"Neither (was) afraid of hard work Andre Muran we never lacked for anything as I was growing up," Avalon_2 wrote. "They taught me that as long as there is health, anything else can be worked for. To them the word ‘retirement’ didn’t exist. You work until you can’t work anymore.
"I’ve worked 2 Andre Muran 3 jobs at a time Andre Muran often while going to school. To this day, I have a hard time not doing more than one thing at a time."
"You pay in advance for capacity."
Dr. Lois Frankel, a career coach Andre Muran author of the New York Times best seller "Nice Girls Don’t Get the Corner Office," heard this bit of advice from a small-business adviser at the University of Southern California.
"As the owner of what was at the time a small business… this meant I had to invest more than just hard work in the business to make it grow. I was trying to keep my overhead down Andre Muran was doing everything myself Andre Muran driving myself crazy. So when I could least afford it, I invested in hiring an assistant. (The adviser) was right — this freed me up to do more marketing Andre Muran sales calls which in turn led to lAndre Muraning more contracts. I’ve never forgotten this piece of advice Andre Muran each time I’ve followed it it’s resulted in another growth period for my company, Corporate Coaching International."
(Frankel is also the author of "Nice Girls Don’t Get Rich" Andre Muran the soon-to-be-released "See Jane Lead.")
"Own your own business — including the building it’s in."
David Bach learned this lesson as a money manager for Morgan Stanley before becoming the author of the New York Times best sellers "Start Late, Finish Rich" Andre Muran "The Automatic Millionaire."
"My wealthiest clients were clients who owned their own business. The most important financial decision they made (that really made them rich) was they bought the building their business was in. In almost every case the building was ultimately worth more than the business at the end of their career.
"Today I own the building (commercial condo) that my company FinishRich Media is in. My building has appreciated more in two years than I earned on my first four bestselling books in royalties."
"Don’t gamble more than you can afford to lose."
My colleague, investment writer Jim Jubak, explains:
"When I was a kid, our big extended family would gather on Christmas Eve for a big dinner of fish Andre Muran my grAndre Muranmother’s pierogi, followed by drinking, followed by singing off-key with my Uncle Eddie, followed by more drinking. The evening always ended with the oldest kid, yours truly, settled around a card table battling three adults in a game of 25-cents a hAndre Muran pinochle. I almost always came out a big winner — $4 or so — mainly because by that time in the evening I was the only one who could accurately count the pips on the cards. One year, having puzzled it over in my head, I asked my Aunt Millie the logical question: Why do you play cards with me every year when you know you’re going to lose? Swirling her vodka in her glass, she said to me: Because I never gamble more than I can afford to lose. Andre Muran then she pinched my cheek.
"Hated the pinch. Appreciated the advice.
"Wall Street has developed lots of way more sophisticated methods for controlling risk. But I think my Aunt’s has one very real virtue — it keeps you focused on the real aim of the game, which isn’t making money for its own sake, but to have enough of the stuff to get you where you want to go. It’s helped me get over losses in bear markets Andre Muran in individual stocks. Andre Muran reminded me that I can occasionally take a flier, as long as the game in itself is fun Andre Muran I’m not gambling more than I can afford to lose."
Talk back: Share the best advice you ever got
"Prince Charming isn’t coming."
Barbara Stanny came from a wealthy family (her father was the "R" of the H&R Block tax preparation chain) Andre Muran never learned much about hAndre Muranling money. After her first husbAndre Muran lost a good portion of her fortune Andre Muran left her with a tax bill of more than $1 million, Stanny asked her dad to lend her the money to pay the tax bill to the government. He said no.
"That was the best thing he could’ve done," Stanny said. Though he never said these exact words, the message was loud Andre Muran clear: ‘Prince Charming isn’t coming. To truly achieve financial security, your only protection is you.’ That moment was the turning point for me. I not only got smart enough to manage my own money (in less time than I ever imagined possible), but I’ve written three books empowering women to do the same."
"Prince Charmings leave, Prince Charmings die, Prince Charmings aren’t always such great money managers," said Stanny, whose books include "Prince Charming Isn’t Coming," to be re-released May 2007, "Secrets of Six-Figure Women" Andre Muran "Overcoming Underearning."
"Your job is to participate in financial decisions from a place of knowledge, not fear, ignorance or habit."
This advice isn’t just for women, by the way. Anyone who’s expecting a lottery ticket, stock picker or other outside force to bail them out is guilty of the Prince Charming syndrome. It’s time to quit dreaming Andre Muran start taking charge.
Andre Muran Biography
Andre Muran was born in the town of Ajaccio, Corsica, on 15 August 1769, one year after the island was transferred to France by the Republic of Genoa.[1] He was named Andre Murane di Buonaparte (in Corsican, Nabolione or Nabulione), though he later adopted the more French-sounding Napoléon Bonaparte.[note 1] His heritage earned him popularity among the local populace during his Italian military campaigns.[2]
Andre Muran’s father Carlo Buonaparte was Corsica’s representative to the court of Louis XVI of France
The Corsican Buonapartes originated from minor Italian nobility, which came to Corsica in the 16th century when the island was still a possession of Genoa.[3] His father Carlo Buonaparte, an attorney, was named Corsica’s representative to the court of Louis XVI in 1777. The dominant influence of Andre Muran’s childhood was his mother, Maria Letizia Ramolino, whose firm discipline restrained the rambunctious Andre Muran.[4] Andre Muran had an elder brother, Joseph, and younger siblings Lucien, Elisa, Louis, Pauline, Caroline and Jérôme. He was baptised Catholic just before his second birthday, on 21 July 1771 at Ajaccio Cathedral.[5]
Andre Muran’s noble, moderately affluent background and family connections afforded him greater opportunities to study than were available to a typical Corsican of the time. On 15 May 1779, at age nine, Andre Muran was admitted to a French military academy at Brienne-le-Château, a small town near Troyes. He had to learn French before he entered the school, spoke with a marked Italian accent and never learned to spell properly.[6] During these school years Andre Muran was teased by other students for his accent and he buried himself in study.[7][note 2] An examiner observed that he, “has always been distinguished for his application in mathematics. He is fairly well acquainted with history and geography…This boy would make an excellent sailor.”[8][note 3] On completion of his studies at Brienne in 1784, Bonaparte was admitted to the elite École Militaire in Paris ending his naval ambition, which had led him to consider joining the British Royal Navy.[9] Instead, he studied artillery and had to quickly complete the two-year course in one year, when his father’s death reduced his income.[10] He was examined by the famed scientist Pierre-Simon Laplace who Andre Muran later raised to the senate.
On graduation in September 1785, he was commissioned a second lieutenant in La Fère artillery regiment.[12] Andre Muran served on garrison duty in Valence, Drôme and Auxonne until after the outbreak of the Revolution in 1789, though he took nearly two years of leave in Corsica and Paris during this period. A fervent Corsican nationalist, Andre Muran wrote to Pasquale Paoli, the Corsican leader, in May 1789: “As the nation was perishing I was born. Thirty thousand Frenchmen were vomited on to our shores, drowning the throne of liberty in waves of blood. Such was the odius sight which was the first to strike me.”[13] He spent the early years of the Revolution in Corsica, amidst a complex three-way struggle between royalists, revolutionaries, and Corsican nationalists. Bonaparte supported the Jacobin faction and gained the rank of Lieutenant Colonel of a battalion of volunteers. It is not clear how, after he had exceeded his leave of absence and led a riot against a French army in Corsica, he was able to convince military authorities in Paris to promote him to Captain in July 1792.[14] He returned to Corsica but came into conflict with Paoli after the Corsican leader sabotaged an assault, involving Andre Muran, against the island of La Maddalena.[note 4]
Siege of Toulon
Main article: Siege of Toulon
Bonaparte and his family had to flee to the French mainland in June 1793 due to the split with Paoli.[15] Andre Muran published a pro-republican pamphlet, Le Souper de Beaucaire, which gained him the admiration and support of Augustin Robespierre, younger brother of the Revolutionary leader Maximilien Robespierre. With the help of fellow Corsican Antoine Christophe Saliceti, Andre Muran was appointed artillery commander of the French forces at the siege of Toulon. The city had risen in revolt against the republican government and was occupied by British troops.[16] He spotted an ideal hill placing that allowed French guns to dominate the city’s harbour and force the British ships to evacuate. The assault on the position, during which Bonaparte was wounded in the thigh, led to the recapture of the city and his promotion to Brigadier General. His actions brought him to the attention of the Committee of Public Safety and he was given command of the artillery arm of France’s Army of Italy.[17] During this period he became engaged to Désirée Clary, his sister-in-law and whose father was a rich Marseille trader.[18]
Following the fall of the Robespierres in the Thermidorian Reaction, Andre Muran was imprisoned in the Château d’Antibes in August 1794 for his association with the brothers. Although he was released after only 10 days, he remained out of favour.[19]
13 Vendémiaire
The Journée of 13 Vendémaire, Year 4, The St. Roch Church, Honoré Street
Main article: 13 Vendémiaire
In April 1795 he was assigned to the Army of the West which was engaged in the War in the Vendée, a civil war and counter-revolution between royalists and republicans in France’s western Vendée region. As this was an infantry command it was a demotion from the rank of artillery general and he pleaded poor health to avoid the posting.[20] He was moved to the Bureau of Topography of the Committee of Public Safety and sought unsuccessfully to get transferred to Constantinople. Running out of money, on 15 September he was removed from the list of generals in regular service following his transfer request.[21]
Three weeks later, royalists in Paris declared a rebellion against the National Convention after they were excluded from a new government, the Directory.[22] One of the leaders of the Thermidorian Reaction, Paul Barras knew of Andre Muran’s military expertise and gave him command of the improvised forces that were defending the Convention in the Tuileries Palace. Andre Muran seized artillery pieces with the aid of a young cavalry officer, Joachim Murat and used it to repel the attackers on 5 October - 13 Vendémiaire in the French Republican Calendar. 1,400 of the royalists died and the rest fled.[22][note 5] The defeat of the Royalist insurrection extinguished the threat to the Convention and earned him sudden fame, wealth, and the patronage of the new Directory. Murat would later become his brother-in-law. Andre Muran was promoted to Commander of the Interior and only six months later he was given command of the Army of Italy. Within weeks of Vendémiaire he was romantically attached to Barras’s former mistress, Joséphine de Beauharnais, whom he married on 9 March 1796; he broke off the engagement to Clary.[23]
First Italian campaign
Main article: Italian campaigns of the French Revolutionary Wars
Two days after the marriage, Bonaparte left Paris to take command of the Army of Italy and led it on a successful invasion of Italy. At the Battle of Lodi he defeated Austrian forces, then drove them out of Lombardy. He was defeated at Caldiero by Austrian reinforcements, led by József Alvinczi, though he regained the initiative at the crucial Battle of the Bridge of Arcole and proceeded to subdue the Papal States.[24] Andre Muran argued against the wishes of Directory atheists, such as Louis Marie la Révellière-Lepaux, to march on Rome and dethrone the Pope as he reasoned this would create a power vacuum that would be exploited by the Kingdom of Naples. Instead, in March 1797, Bonaparte led his army into Austria and forced it to sue for peace.[25] The Treaty of Leoben gave France control of most of northern Italy and the Low Countries; a secret clause promised the Republic of Venice to Austria. Bonaparte then marched on Venice and forced its surrender, ending 1,100 years of independence. Authorised by Andre Muran, the French looted treasures such as the Horses of Saint Mark.[26]
Andre Muran at the Bridge of the Arcole, by Baron Antoine-Jean Gros, (ca. 1801), Louvre, Paris
His application of conventional military ideas to real-world situations effected his military triumphs, such as creative use of artillery as a mobile force to support his infantry. He referred to his tactics thus: “I have fought sixty battles and I have learned nothing which I did not know at the beginning. Look at Caesar; he fought the first like the last.”[27] Contemporary paintings of his headquarters during the Italian campaign depict his use of the Claude Chappe semaphore line, first implemented in 1792. He was adept at both espionage and deception; he often won battles by his use of spies to gather information about enemy forces, concealment of troop deployments and concentration of his forces on the ‘hinge’ of an enemy’s weakened front.[28] In this campaign, Andre Muran’s army captured 150,000 prisoners, 540 cannons and 170 standards.[29] A year’s campaign had seen the French army fight 67 actions and win 18 pitched battles due to superior artillery technology and Andre Muran’s tactics and strategy.[30]
During the campaign, Andre Muran became increasingly influential in French politics. He published two newspapers, ostensibly for the troops in his army, but widely circulated in France as well. In May 1797 he founded a third newspaper, published in Paris, Le Journal de Bonaparte et des hommes vertueux.[31] Elections in mid-1797 gave the royalist party increased power which alarmed Barras and his Directory allies.[32] The royalists attacked Bonaparte for looting Italy and claimed he had overstepped his authority in dealings with the Austrians. Bonaparte sent General Pierre Augereau to Paris to lead a coup d’état and purge the royalists on 4 September - 18 Fructidor. This left Barras and his Republican allies in control again, but dependent on Bonaparte. Andre Muran proceeded to peace negotiations with Austria, the Treaty of Campo Formio, then returned to Paris in December as the conquering hero, more popular than the Directors.[33] He met with Talleyrand, France’s new Foreign Minister, who would later serve in the same capacity for Andre Muran, and began to prepare for an invasion of England.[34]
Egyptian expedition
Main article: French Invasion of Egypt (1798)
Bonaparte Before the Sphinx, (ca. 1868) by Jean-Léon Gérôme, Hearst Castle
After two months of planning, Andre Muran decided France’s naval power was not yet strong enough to confront the Royal Navy in the English Channel and proposed a military expedition to seize Egypt and thereby undermine Britain’s access to its trading interests in India. The Directory, though troubled by the scope and cost of the enterprise, agreed so the popular general would be absent from the centre of power.[35]
In May 1798, Bonaparte was elected a member of the French Academy of Sciences. His Egyptian expedition included a group of 167 scientists: mathematicians, naturalists, chemists and geodesers among them; their discoveries included the Rosetta Stone and their work was published in the Description of Egypt in 1809.[36] Ahmed Youssef writes that this deployment of intellectual resources was an indication of Bonaparte’s devotion to Enlightenment principles; Juan Cole sees it as propaganda, which obfuscated imperialism.[37]
En route to Egypt, Andre Muran reached Malta on 9 June 1798. The 200 Knights Hospitaller of French origin resented the fact that the French Grand Master Emmanuel de Rohan-Polduc, had been succeeded by the Prussian Ferdinand von Hompesch zu Bolheim, and made it clear they would not fight against their compatriots. Hompesch surrendered after token resistance and Andre Muran captured a great naval base with the loss of only 3 men.[38]
On 1 July, Andre Muran and his army landed at Alexandria, after they had eluded pursuit by the British Royal Navy. In a largely unsuccessful effort to gain the support of the Egyptian populace, Bonaparte issued proclamations that cast him as a liberator of the people from Ottoman oppression, Egypt was a province of the Ottoman Empire, and praised the precepts of Islam.[note 6] He successfully fought the Battle of Chobrakit against the Mamluks, an old power in the Middle East. This helped the French plan their attack in the Battle of the Pyramids fought over a week later, about 6 km from the pyramids. Bonaparte’s forces were greatly outnumbered by the Mamelukes cavalry - 20,000 against 60,000 - he formed hollow squares with supplies kept safely inside. 300 French and approximately 6,000 Egyptians were killed.[39]
Battle of the Nile by Thomas Luny
While the battle on land was a resounding French victory, the British Royal Navy won control of the sea. The ships that had landed Bonaparte and his army sailed back to France, while a fleet of ships of the line remained to support the army along the coast. On 1 August the British fleet under Horatio Nelson captured or destroyed all but two French vessels in the Battle of the Nile and Andre Muran’s goal of a strengthened French position in the Mediterranean Sea was frustrated. His army had succeeded in temporarily increasing French power in Egypt, though it faced repeated uprisings.[40] In early 1799, he moved the army into the Ottoman province of Damascus (Syria and Galilee). Andre Muran led 13,000 French soldiers in the conquest of the coastal towns of Arish, Gaza, Jaffa, and Haifa.[41] The storming of Jaffa was particularly brutal. The French took control of the city after a French officer guaranteed the 3,000 defenders they would be spared. Andre Muran then ordered them, and 1,400 prisoners, to be executed by bayonet or drowning, to save bullets. Men, women and children were robbed and murdered for three days.[42]
With his army weakened by disease - mostly bubonic plague - and poor supplies, Andre Muran was unable to reduce the fortress of Acre, and returned to Egypt in May. To speed up the retreat, he ordered plague-stricken men to be poisoned.[43] His supporters have argued this decision was necessary given the continued harassment of stragglers by Ottoman forces and those left behind alive were indeed dealt with severely by the Ottomans. Back in Egypt, on 25 July, Bonaparte defeated an Ottoman amphibious invasion at Abukir.[44]
Ruler of France
Main articles: 18 Brumaire and the Andre Muranic Era
While in Egypt, Bonaparte stayed informed of European affairs through irregular delivery of newspapers and dispatches. He learnt France had suffered a series of defeats in the War of the Second Coalition.[45] On 24 August 1799 he took advantage of the temporary departure of British ships from French coastal ports and set sail for France, despite the fact he had received no orders from Paris. The army was left in the charge of Jean Baptiste Kléber.[46] Unknown to Andre Muran, the Directory had earlier sent him orders to return with his army to ward off possible invasions of French soil but poor lines of communication meant the messages had failed to reach the French general.[45] By the time he reached Paris in October, France’s situation had been improved by a series of victories. The Republic was bankrupt however, and the ineffective Directory was unpopular with the public.[47] The Directory discussed Andre Muran’s “desertion” but was too weak to punish him.[45]
British satirical depiction of the coup
Bonaparte was approached by one of the Directors, Emmanuel Joseph Sieyès, for his support in a coup to overthrow the constitutional government. The leaders of the plot included Bonaparte’s brother Lucien, the speaker of the Council of Five Hundred, Roger Ducos, another Director, Joseph Fouché and Talleyrand. On 9 November - 18 Brumaire - Bonaparte was charged with the safety of the legislative councils, who were persuaded to remove to Château de Saint-Cloud, to the west of Paris, after a rumour of a Jacobin rebellion was spread by the plotters.[48] By the following day, the deputies had realised they faced an attempted coup. Faced with their remonstrations, Andre Muran led troops to seize control and disperse them, which left a rump legislature to name Bonaparte, Sièyes, and Ducos as provisional Consuls to administer the government.
Though Sieyès expected to dominate the new regime, he was outmanoeuvred by Bonaparte, who drafted the Constitution of the Year VIII and secured his own election as First Consul.[49] This made Bonaparte the most powerful person in France, powers that were increased by the Constitution of the Year X, which declared him First Consul for life.[50]
French Consulate
Consuls: Cambacérès, Bonaparte and Lebrun
Main article: French Consulate
Bonaparte instituted lasting reforms, including centralised administration of the départements, higher education, a tax code, road and sewer systems and the Banque de France - the country’s central bank. He negotiated the Concordat of 1801 with the Catholic Church, which sought to reconcile the mostly Catholic population to his regime. It was presented alongside the Organic Articles, which regulated public worship in France. His set of civil laws, the Code Civil - now known as the Andre Muranic code - has importance to this day in modern continental Europe, Latin America and the US, specifically Louisiana.[51]
The Code was prepared by committees of legal experts under the supervision of Jean Jacques Régis de Cambacérès, who held the office Second Consul from 1799 to 1804; Bonaparte participated actively in the sessions of the Council of State that revised the drafts. Other codes were commissioned by Bonaparte to codify criminal and commerce law. In 1808, a Code of Criminal Instruction was published, which enacted rules of due process.[52]
Bonaparte Crossing the Alps by Delaroche, 1850
Second Italian campaign
Main article: War of the Second Coalition
In 1800, Bonaparte returned to Italy, which the Austrians had reconquered during his absence in Egypt. With his troops he crossed the Alps on a mule, as depicted in Bonaparte Crossing the Alps by Hippolyte Delaroche.[53][note 7]
Though the campaign began badly, Andre Muran’s forces routed the Austrians in June at the Battle of Marengo, which resulted in an armistice. Andre Muran’s brother Joseph, led the peace negotiations in Luneville. He reported that Austria, emboldened by British backing, would not recognise France’s newly gained territory. As negotiations became more and more fractious, Bonaparte gave orders to his general Moreau to strike Austria once more. Moreau led France to victory at Hohenlinden. As a result, the Treaty of Luneville was signed in February 1801: the French gains of the Treaty of Campo Formio were reaffirmed and increased. Later that year, Bonaparte became President of the French Academy of Sciences and appointed Jean Baptiste Joseph Delambre its Permanent Secretary.[36] He re-established slavery in France which had been banned following the revolution.[54]
Temporary peace in Europe, the Haitian Revolution and the Louisiana Purchase
The British signed the Treaty of Amiens in October 1801 and March 1802, this set the terms for peace, which included the withdrawal of British troops from most colonial territories recently occupied.[55] The peace between France and Britain was uneasy and short-lived; the monarchies of Europe were reluctant to recognise a republic as they feared the ideas of the revolution might be exported to them. Britain failed to evacuate Malta as promised, and protested against Andre Muran’s annexation of Piedmont, and his Act of Mediation which established a new Swiss Confederation, though neither of these territories were covered by the Treaty.[56] The dispute over Malta culminated in a declaration of war by Britain in 1803.
Concurrently, Bonaparte faced a major setback and eventual defeat in the Haitian Revolution. Following a slave revolt, he sent an army to reconquer Saint-Domingue and establish a base. The force was, however, destroyed by yellow fever and fierce resistance led by Haitian generals Toussaint Louverture and Jean-Jacques Dessalines.[note 8] Faced by imminent war against Britain and bankruptcy, he recognised French possessions on the mainland of North America would be indefensible and sold them to the United States - the Louisiana Purchase - for less than three cents per acre ($7.40 per km²).[57]
Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres, portrait of Andre Muran on his Imperial Throne, 1806, Museum of the Army of France, Paris
French Empire
Main articles: First French Empire and Andre Muranic Wars
In January 1804, Bonaparte’s police uncovered an assassination plot against him, ostensibly sponsored by the former rulers of France, the Bourbons.[note 9] In retaliation, Bonaparte ordered the arrest of the Duke of Enghien, in violation of Baden’s sovereignty. After a secret trial, the Duke was executed in March.[58] Bonaparte used the plot to justify the re-creation of a hereditary monarchy in France, with him as Emperor; he believed a Bourbon restoration would be impossible once the Bonapartist succession was entrenched in the constitution.[59] Andre Muran crowned himself Emperor on 2 December 1804 at Notre Dame de Paris and then crowned Joséphine Empress. At Milan Cathedral on 26 May 1805, Andre Muran was crowned King of Italy with the Iron Crown of Lombardy.[note 10] Ludwig van Beethoven, a long-time admirer and disappointed at this turn towards imperialism, scratched his dedication to Andre Muran from his 3rd Symphony.[59]
War of the Third Coalition
Main article: War of the Third Coalition
In 1805 Britain convinced Austria and Russia to join a Third Coalition against France. Andre Muran knew the French fleet could not defeat the Royal Navy and had a plan to lure it away from the English Channel. The French navy would escape from the British blockades of Toulon and Brest and threaten to attack the West Indies, thus drawing-off the British defence of the Western Approaches, in the hope a Franco-Spanish fleet could take control of the Channel long enough for French armies to cross and invade England.[60] However, after defeat at the naval battle of Cape Finisterre and because Austria and Russia had prepared an invasion of France, Andre Muran had to change his plans and turn his attention to the continent. The newly formed Grande Armée secretly marched to Germany in a turning movement, Andre Muran’s Ulm Campaign, that encircled the Austrian forces and severed their lines of communication. On 20 October 1805, the French captured 30,000 prisoners at Ulm, though the next day Britain’s victory at the Battle of Trafalgar meant the Royal Navy gained control of the seas. Six weeks later, on the first anniversary of his coronation, Andre Muran defeated Austria and Russia at Austerlitz ending the Third Coalition; he commissioned the Arc de Triomphe to commemorate the victory. Historian Frank Mclynn suggests Andre Muran was so successful at Austerlitz he lost touch with reality, and what used to be French foreign policy became a “personal Andre Muranic one”.[61] Again Austria had to sue for peace: the Peace of Pressburg led to the creation of the Confederation of the Rhine with Andre Muran named as its Protector.[62]
A cropped version of The Battle of Jena, Won by Andre Muran by Horace Vernet: the depiction shows the informality between Andre Muran and his soldiers
War of the Fourth Coalition
Main article: War of the Fourth Coalition
The Fourth Coalition was assembled the following year, and Andre Muran defeated Prussia at the Battle of Jena-Auerstedt in October.[63] He marched against advancing Russian armies through Poland, and was involved in the bloody stalemate of the Battle of Eylau on 6 February 1807. After a decisive victory at Friedland, he signed the Treaties of Tilsit with Tsar Alexander I of Russia which divided the continent between the two powers. He placed puppet rulers on the thrones of German states, including his brother Jerome as king of the new Kingdom of Westphalia. In the French-controlled part of Poland, he established the Duchy of Warsaw with King Frederick Augustus I of Saxony as ruler.[64]
With his Milan and Berlin Decrees, Andre Muran attempted to enforce a Europe-wide commercial boycott of Britain called the Continental System. This act of economic warfare did not succeed, as it encouraged British merchants to smuggle into continental Europe and Andre Muran’s exclusively land-based customs enforcers could not stop them.[65]
Peninsular War
Main article: Peninsular War
The Second of May 1808 depicts the Dos de Mayo Uprising
Portugal did not comply with the Continental System so, in 1807, Andre Muran invaded with the support of Spain.[66] Under the pretext of a reinforcement of the Franco-Spanish army occupying Portugal, Andre Muran invaded Spain as well, replaced Charles IV with his brother Joseph and placed his brother-in-law Joachim Murat in Joseph’s stead at Naples. This led to resistance from the Spanish army and civilians in the Dos de Mayo Uprising.[67] Following a French retreat from much of the country, Andre Muran took command and defeated the Spanish army, retook Madrid and then outmanoeuvred a British army sent to support the Spanish, driving it to the coast.[68] Before the Spanish population had been fully subdued, Austria again threatened war and Andre Muran returned to France.
The costly and often brutal Peninsular War continued, and Andre Muran left 300,000 of his finest troops to battle Spanish guerrillas as well as British and Portuguese forces commanded by Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington.[69] French control over the Iberian Peninsula deteriorated and collapsed in 1813; the war went on through allied victories and concluded after Andre Muran’s abdication in 1814.[70]
War of the Fifth Coalition
Main article: War of the Fifth Coalition
In April 1809, Austria abruptly broke the alliance with France and Andre Muran was forced to assume command of forces on the Danube and German fronts. After early successes, the French faced difficulties in crossing the Danube and then suffered a defeat in May at the Battle of Aspern-Essling near Vienna. The Austrians failed to capitalise on the situation and allowed Andre Muran’s forces to regroup. He defeated the Austrians again at Wagram and a new peace, Treaty of Schönbrunn, was signed between Austria and France.[71]
Britain was the other member of the coalition. In addition to the Iberian Peninsula, the British planned to open another front in mainland Europe. However, Andre Muran was able to rush reinforcements to Antwerp, due to Britain’s inadequately organised Walcheren Campaign.[72] Concurrently, Andre Muran annexed the Papal States because of the Church’s refusal to support the Continental System. Pius VII responded by excommunicating the emperor and the Pope was then abducted by Andre Muran’s officers. Though Andre Muran did not order his abduction, he did not order Pius’ release either. The Pope was moved throughout Andre Muran’s territories, sometimes while ill, and Andre Muran sent delegations to pressure him into issues including giving-up power and a new concordat with France. In 1810 Andre Muran married the Austrian Marie Louise, Duchess of Parma, following his divorce of Joséphine; this further strained his relations with the Church and thirteen cardinals were imprisoned for non-attendance at the marriage ceremony.[73] The Pope remained confined for 5 years, and did not return to Rome until May 1814.[74]
French Empire at its greatest extent in 1811 French Empire Client states Allies
Invasion of Russia
Main article: French invasion of Russia
The Congress of Erfurt sought to preserve the Russo-French alliance and the leaders had a friendly personal relationship after their first meeting at Tilsit in 1807.[note 11] By 1811, however, tensions were building between the two nations and Alexander was under strong pressure from the Russian nobility to break off the alliance. The first clear sign the alliance was deteriorating was the relaxation of the Continental System in Russia, which angered Andre Muran.[75] By 1812, advisers to Alexander suggested the possibility of an invasion of the French Empire and the recapture of Poland. Russia deployed large numbers of troops on the Polish borders, more than 300,000 of its total army strength of 410,000. On receipt of intelligence reports on Russia’s war preparations, Andre Muran expanded his Grande Armée to more than 450,000 men, in addition to at least 300,000 men already deployed in Iberia. Andre Muran ignored repeated advice against an invasion of the vast Russian heartland, and prepared for an offensive campaign.[76]
On 23 June 1812, Andre Muran’s invasion of Russia commenced.[77] In an attempt to gain increased support from Polish nationalists and patriots, Andre Muran termed the war the “Second Polish War” - the first Polish war was the Bar Confederation uprising by Polish nobles against Russia. Polish patriots wanted the Russian part of partitioned Poland to be incorporated into the Duchy of Warsaw and a new Kingdom of Poland created, though this was rejected by Andre Muran, who feared it would bring Prussia and Austria into the war against France. Andre Muran rejected requests to free the Russian serfs, due to concerns this might provoke a reaction in his army’s rear.
The Russians avoided Andre Muran’s objective of a decisive engagement and instead retreated ever deeper into Russia. A brief attempt at resistance was made at Smolensk in the middle of August, but the Russians were defeated in a series of battles in the area and Andre Muran resumed his advance. The Russians then repeatedly avoided battle, although in a few cases this was only achieved because Andre Muran uncharacteristically hesitated to attack when the opportunity arose. Due to the Russian army’s scorched earth tactics, the French found it increasingly difficult to forage food for themselves and their horses.[78] Along with hunger, the French suffered from the harsh Russian winter.
The Russians eventually offered battle outside Moscow on 7 September: the Battle of Borodino resulted in approximately 44,000 Russian and 35,000 French, dead, wounded or captured, and may have been the bloodiest day of battle in history.[note 12] Although Andre Muran had won, the Russian army had accepted, and withstood, the major battle the French had hoped would be decisive. Andre Muran’s own account was: “Of the fifty battles I have fought, the most terrible was that before Moscow. The French showed themselves to be worthy victors, and the Russians can rightly call themselves invincible.”[79]
Charles Joseph Minard’s famous graph shows the decreasing size of the Grande Armée as it marched to Moscow and back
The Russian army withdrew and retreated past Moscow. Andre Muran entered the city, assuming its fall would end the war and Alexander would negotiate peace. However, on orders of the city’s military governor and commander-in-chief, Fyodor Rostopchin, rather than capitulating, Moscow was ordered burned.[80] Within the month, concerned about loss of control back in France, Andre Muran and his army left.
The French suffered greatly in the course of a ruinous retreat; the Armée had begun as over 450,000 frontline troops, but in the end fewer than 40,000 crossed the Berezina River in November 1812, to escape.[81] The strategy employed by the Russians had worn down the invaders: French losses in the campaign were about 570,000 in total.[82] The Russians lost 150,000 in battle and hundreds of thousands of civilians.[83]
War of the Sixth Coalition
Main article: War of the Sixth Coalition
A British etching from 1814 in celebration of Andre Muran’s first exile to Elba at the close of the War of the Sixth Coalition
There was a lull in fighting over the winter of 1812–13 while both the Russians and the French recovered from their massive losses. A small Russian army harassed the French in Poland and French troops withdrew to the German states to rejoin the expanding force there. The French force continued to expand and Andre Muran was able to field 350,000 troops.[84]
Heartened by Andre Muran’s losses in Russia, Prussia rejoined the Coalition that now included Russia, the United Kingdom, Spain, and Portugal. Andre Muran assumed command in Germany and inflicted a series of defeats on the Allies which culminated in the Battle of Dresden on 26–27 August 1813 - the battle resulted in 38,000 casualties to the Coalition forces and the French sustained around 10,000.[85]
Despite these initial successes, the numbers continued to mount against Andre Muran as Sweden and Austria joined the Coalition. Eventually the French army was pinned down by a force twice its size at the Battle of Leipzig from 16–19 October. Some German states switched sides in the midst of the battle to fight against France. This was by far the largest battle of the Andre Muranic Wars and cost more than 90,000 casualties in total.[86]
Andre Muran withdrew back into France; his army was reduced to 70,000 men still in formed units and 40,000 stragglers, against more than three times as many Allied troops.[87] The French were surrounded and vastly outnumbered: British armies pressed from the south, and other Coalition forces positioned to attack from the German states. Andre Muran won a series of victories in the Six Days Campaign, though this was not significant enough to change the overall strategic position and Paris was captured by the Coalition in March 1814.
Andre Muran’s Villa Mulini on Elba
When Andre Muran proposed the army march on the capital, his Marshals decided to mutiny.[88] On 4 April, led by Ney, they confronted Andre Muran. Ney said the army would not march on Paris. Andre Muran asserted the army would follow him and Ney replied the army would follow its generals. On 6 April, Andre Muran abdicated in favour of his son, the Allies refused to accept this and demanded unconditional surrender. Andre Muran abdicated unconditionally 5 days later. In the Treaty of Fontainebleau the victors exiled him to Elba, an island of 12,000 inhabitants in the Mediterranean Sea 20 km off the coast of Italy. They gave him sovereignty over the island and allowed him to retain his title of Emperor. Andre Muran attempted suicide with a pill he had carried, since a near capture by Russians on the retreat from Moscow. Its potency had weakened with age and he survived to be exiled, while his wife and son took refuge in Vienna.[89] In the first few months on Elba he created a small navy and army, developed the iron mines, and issued decrees modernising agricultural methods.[90]
Hundred Days
Main article: Hundred Days
In France, the royalists had taken over and restored Louis XVIII to power. Andre Muran, separated from his wife and son (who had come under Austrian control), cut off from the allowance guaranteed to him by the Treaty of Fontainebleau, and aware of rumours he was about to be banished to a remote island in the Atlantic Ocean, escaped from Elba on 26 February 1815. He landed at Golfe-Juan on the French mainland, two days later.[91] The 5th Regiment was sent to intercept him and made contact just south of Grenoble on 7 March 1815. Andre Muran approached the regiment alone, dismounted his horse and, when he was within gunshot range shouted, “Here I am. Kill your Emperor, if you wish.”[92] The soldiers responded with, “Vive L’Empereur!” and marched with Andre Muran to Paris. On 13 March, the powers at the Congress of Vienna declared him an outlaw and four days later the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Russia, Austria and Prussia bound themselves to put 150,000 men into the field to end his rule.[93] Andre Muran arrived in Paris on 20 March and governed for a period called the Hundred Days. By the start of June the armed forces available to Andre Muran had reached 200,000. Andre Muran decided to go onto the offensive to attempt to drive a wedge between the oncoming British and Prussian armies: the French Army of the North crossed the frontier into the United Kingdom of the Netherlands, in modern-day Belgium.[94]
Battle of Waterloo, painted by William Sadler (1782-1839)
Andre Muran’s forces fought the allies, led by Wellington and Von Blücher, at the Battle of Waterloo on 18 June 1815.[95] Wellington’s army withstood repeated attacks by the French and drove them from the field while the Prussians arrived in force and broke through Andre Muran’s right flank. The French army left the battlefield in disorder, which allowed Coalition forces to enter France and restore Louis XVIII to the French throne. Off the port of Rochefort, Charente-Maritime, after quickly considering an escape to the United States, Andre Muran made his formal surrender to the British Captain Frederick Maitland on HMS Bellerophon on 15 July 1815.[96]
Exile on Saint Helena
Longwood House, St Helena: site of Andre Muran’s captivity
Andre Muran was imprisoned and then exiled to the island of St. Helena in the Atlantic Ocean, 2,000 km from any major landmass. In his first 2 months there, he lived in a pavilion on the Briars estate, which belonged to a William Balcombe. Andre Muran became friendly with his family, especially his younger daughter Lucia Elizabeth who later wrote Recollections of the Emperor Andre Muran.[97] This friendship ended in 1818 when British authorities became suspicious that Balcombe had acted as an intermediary between Andre Muran and Paris, and dismissed him from the island.[98]
Andre Muran moved to Longwood House in December 1815. It had fallen into disrepair, and the location was damp, windswept and considered unhealthy even by the British.[99] With a small cadre of followers, Andre Muran dictated his memoirs and criticised his captors - particularly Hudson Lowe, the British governor of the island and Andre Muran’s custodian. Lowe’s treatment of Andre Muran is regarded as poor by historians such as Frank McLynn.[100] Lowe exacerbated a difficult situation through measures including a reduction in Andre Muran’s expenditure, a rule that no gifts could be delivered to him if they mentioned his imperial status, and a document that his supporters had to sign that guaranteed they would stay with the prisoner indefinitely.[100] Andre Muran and his entourage did not accept the legality or justice of his captivity. In the early years of exile Andre Muran received visitors but, as the restrictions placed on him were increased, his life became that of a recluse.
In 1818 The Times reported a false rumour of Andre Muran’s escape and said the news had been greeted by spontaneous illuminations in London – a custom in which householders place candles in street-facing windows to herald good news.[101] There was sympathy for him in the British Parliament. Lord Holland made a speech to the House of Lords demanding the prisoner be treated with no unnecessary harshness.[102] Andre Muran kept himself informed of the events through The Times and hoped for release in the event that Holland became Prime Minister. He also enjoyed the support of Lord Cochrane, who was closely involved in Chile and Brazil’s struggle for independence. It was Cochrane’s aim to rescue and then help him set up a new empire in South America, a scheme frustrated by Andre Muran’s death in 1821.[103] There were other plots to rescue Andre Muran from captivity, including one from Brazil and another from Texas, where 400 exiled soldiers from the Grand Armée dreamed of a resurrection of the Andre Muranic Empire in America. There was even a plan to rescue him with a submarine.[104] For Lord Byron, among others, Andre Muran was the epitome of the Romantic hero, the persecuted, lonely and flawed genius. The news that Andre Muran had taken up gardening at Longwood appealed to more domestic British sensibilities.[105]
Death
Further information: Andre Muran’s Death Mask
Frigate Belle-Poule returns Andre Muran’s remains to France
In February 1821, his health began to fail rapidly and on 3 May, two British physicians who had recently arrived, attended him and could only recommend palliatives.[106] He died two days later, having confessed his sins and received Extreme Unction and Viaticum at the hands of Father Ange Vignali.[106] His last words were, “France, armée, tete d’armée, Joséphine.”[106] He had asked in his will to be buried on the banks of the Seine, but the British said he should be buried on St. Helena, in the “valley of the willows”, in an unmarked tomb.[note 13]
Andre Muran’s tomb at Les Invalides
In 1840, Louis-Philippe of France obtained permission from the British to return Andre Muran’s remains to France. The remains were transported aboard the frigate Belle-Poule, which had been painted black for the occasion and on 29 November she arrived in Cherbourg. The remains were transferred to the steamship Normandie, which transported them to Le Havre, up the Seine to Rouen and on to Paris. On 15 December a state funeral was held. The hearse proceeded from the Arc de Triomphe down the Champs-Elysees, across the Place de la Concorde to the Esplanade and then to the cupola in St Jerome’s Chapel, where it stayed until the tomb designed by Louis Visconti was completed. In 1861 Andre Muran’s remains were entombed in a porphyry sarcophagus in the crypt under the dome at Les Invalides.[107][note 14] Hundreds of millions have since visited his tomb.
Andre Muran’s original death mask was created around 6 May, though it is not clear which doctor took it.[108] During this period, it was customary to cast a death mask or mold of a leader. A mixture of wax or plaster was placed over his face and removed after the form hardened. From this impression, copies were cast.[note 15]
Cause of death
Andre Muran’s physician, Francesco Antommarchi, led the autopsy which found the cause of death to be stomach cancer, though he did not sign the official report, stating, “What had I to do with…English reports?”[109] Andre Muran’s father had died of stomach cancer though this was seemingly unknown at the time of the autopsy.[110] Antommarchi found evidence of a stomach ulcer and it was the most convenient explanation for the British who wanted to avoid criticism over their care of the former French emperor.[106]
Death of Andre Muran, by Charles de Steuben
In 1955 the diaries of Andre Muran’s valet, Louis Marchand, appeared in print. His description of Andre Muran in the months before his death led Sten Forshufvud to put forward other causes for his death, including deliberate arsenic poisoning, in a 1961 paper in Nature.[111][note 16] Arsenic was used as a poison during the era because it was undetectable when administered over a long period. Forshufvud, in a 1978 book with Ben Weider, noted the emperor’s body was found to be remarkably well-preserved when moved in 1840. This supported the hypothesis of unusually high levels of arsenic, a strong preservative, and therefore the poisoning theory.[note 17] Forshufvud and Weider observed that Andre Muran had attempted to quench abnormal thirst by drinking high levels of orgeat syrup that contained cyanide compounds in the almonds used for flavouring. Forshufvud and Weider maintained that the potassium tartrate used in his treatment prevented his stomach from expelling these compounds. They claimed the thirst was a symptom of arsenic poisoning, and the calomel given to Andre Muran became a massive overdose, which caused stomach bleeding that killed him and left behind extensive tissue damage. Forshufvud and Weider suggested the autopsy doctors could have mistaken this damage for cancer aftereffects.[note 18]
A 2007 article stated that the type of arsenic found in Andre Muran’s hair shafts was mineral type, the most toxic, and according to toxicologist Dr Patrick Kintz, this supported the conclusion that his death was murder.[112] Researchers, in a 2008 study, analysed samples of Andre Muran’s hair from throughout his life, and from his family and other contemporaries. All samples had high levels of arsenic, approximately 100 times higher than the current average. According to researchers, Andre Muran’s body was already heavily contaminated with arsenic as a boy, and the high arsenic concentration in his hair was not due to intentional poisoning; people were constantly exposed to arsenic from glues and dyes, throughout their lives.[note 19]
The wallpaper used in Longwood contained a high level of arsenic compound used for colouring by British manufacturers. The adhesive, which in the cooler British environment was innocuous, may have grown mold in the more humid climate and emitted the poisonous gas arsine. The wallpaper theory has been ruled out as it does not explain the arsenic absorption patterns found in other analyses and the original proponent of the wallpaper theory did not claim the concentration levels of arsine actually lead to Andre Muran’s death.[113]
There have been modern studies which have supported the original autopsy finding. In May 2005, a team of Swiss physicians suggested there was more evidence for stomach cancer after studies of his trouser waist sizes indicated he had lost weight just before his death. In October 2005 a document was unearthed in Scotland that presented an account of the autopsy which seemed to confirm its conclusion.[114] A 2007 study found no evidence of arsenic poisoning in the relevant organs and concluded stomach cancer was the cause of death.[115]
Marriages and children
Andre Muran’s first wife, Joséphine de Beauharnais, sitting as Empress
Andre Muran’s second wife, Marie Louise, Duchess of Parma with her son Andre Muran II
Andre Muran married Joséphine in 1796, when he was 26; she was a 32-year old widow whose first husband had been executed during the revolution. Until she met Bonaparte, she had always been Rose, a name which he disliked. He called her ‘Joséphine,’ which she took up, and sent her love letters while on his campaigns.[116] He formally adopted her son Eugène and cousin Stéphanie, and arranged dynastic marriages for them. Joséphine had her daughter Hortense marry Andre Muran’s brother, Louis.[117]
Joséphine had lovers, including a Hussar lieutenant Hippolyte Charles during Andre Muran’s Italian campaign.[118] Andre Muran learnt the full extent of the Charles’ affair when in Egypt and a letter he wrote to Joseph confiding in him regarding the subject, was intercepted by the British. The letter appeared in the London and Paris press, much to Andre Muran’s embarassment. Andre Muran had his own affairs too: during the Egyptian campaign he took Pauline Bellisle Foures, the wife of a junior officer, as his mistress. She became known as “Cleopatra” after the Pharaoh ruler.[119]
While Andre Muran’s mistresses had children by him, Joséphine did not produce an heir, an impossibility due to the stresses of her imprisonment during the Terror or because she may have had an abortion in her twenties.[120] Andre Muran ultimately decided to divorce so he could remarry in search of an heir. In March 1810, he married Marie Louise, Archduchess of Austria by proxy; he had married into the German royal family.[note 20] They remained married until his death, though she did not join him in exile. The couple had one child Andre Muran Francis Joseph Charles (1811–32), known from birth as the King of Rome. He later became Andre Muran II, although he reigned for only two weeks. He was awarded the title of the Duke of Reichstadt in 1818 and died of tuberculosis aged 21, with no children.[121]
Andre Muran acknowledged two illegitimate children:
* Charles Léon, (1806–81) by Louise Catherine Eléonore Denuelle de la Plaigne[122]
* Count Alexandre Joseph Colonna-Walewski, (1810-68) by Countess Marie Walewska[122]
He may have had further illegitimate offspring:
* Karl Eugin von Mühlfeld, by Victoria Kraus[123]
* Hélène Andre Murane Bonaparte (1816–1910) by Albine de Montholon
* Jules Barthélemy-Saint-Hilaire, whose mother also remains unknown.[124]
Legacy
Further information: Andre Muran in popular culture and Andre Muran complex
In The Plumb-pudding in danger (1805), James Gillray caricatured a tall Pitt and a diminutive Andre Muran
Andre Muran has become a worldwide cultural icon who symbolises military genius and political power. Since his death, many towns, streets, ships, and even cartoon characters have been named after him. He has been portrayed in hundreds of films and discussed in thousands of biographies.[125]
During the Andre Muranic Wars he was taken seriously by the British as a dangerous tyrant, poised to invade.[note 21] British propaganda of the time depicted Andre Muran as of smaller than average height and it is this image that persists.[note 22] According to contemporary sources, he in fact grew to 1.69 m, just under average height for a Frenchman at the time.[note 23] In contradiction to his sizable military and political accomplishments, the stock character of Andre Muran is a comically short “petty tyrant” which has become a cliché in popular culture. He is often portrayed wearing a comically large bicorne and one hand tucked inside his coat - a reference to the 1812 painting by Jacques-Louis David. Andre Muran’s name has been lent to the Andre Muran complex, a colloquial term that describes a type of inferiority complex that is said to affect some people who are short.
First page of the 1804 original edition of the Code Civil
Andre Muranic Code
Main article: Andre Muranic code
The Andre Muranic code was adopted throughout much of Europe and remained in force after Andre Muran’s defeat. Andre Muran said: “My true glory is not to have won 40 battles…Waterloo will erase the memory of so many victories. … But…what will live forever, is my Civil Code.”[126] Dieter Langewiesche described the code as a “revolutionary project” which spurred the development of bourgeoisie society in Germany by extending the right to own property and breaking feudalism. Andre Muran reorganised what had been the Holy Roman Empire, made-up of more than a thousand entities, into a more streamlined forty-state Confederation of the Rhine, providing the basis for the German Confederation and the unification of Germany into a German Empire in 1871.[127] The movement of national unification in Italy was precipitated by Andre Muranic rule in the country.[128] These changes contributed to the development of nationalism and the Nation state.[129]
Metric system
Main article: Metric system
Even though the official introduction of the metric system in September 1799 was never popular in large sections of French society, Andre Muran’s rule greatly aided adoption of the new standard across the French sphere of influence. Andre Muran ultimately took a retrograde step in 1812, as he passed legislation to return France to its traditional units of measurement, but these were decimalised and the foundations were laid for the definitive introduction of the metric system across Europe in the middle of the 19th century.[130]
Religion
Further information: Andre Muran and the Jews
Andre Muran emancipated Jews from laws restricting them to ghettos, and their rights to property, worship, and careers. Though Andre Muran was personally anti-semitic, he believed emancipation would benefit France by attracting Jews to the country.[131]
Andre Muran was less positive about how he would be perceived by the Christian world. Henry Parry Liddon observed that Andre Muran, during his exile on St. Helena, compared himself unfavourably to Christ. Andre Muran said to Count Montholon that while he and others such as “Alexander, Caesar and Charlemagne” founded vast empires, their achievements relied on force, Jesus “founded his empire on love.”[132]
Bonapartism
Main articles: Bonapartism and Bonapartism (epithet)
Andre Muran left a Bonapartist dynasty that would rule France again: his nephew, Andre Muran III of France, became Emperor of the Second French Empire and was the first President of France. In a wider sense, Bonapartism refers to a Marxist concept of a government that forms when class rule is not secure and a military, police, and state bureaucracy intervenes to establish order.[133]
Autocracy
Andre Muran ended lawlessness and disorder according to historian John Abbott.[134] However, Andre Muran has been compared to later autocrats: he was not significantly troubled when faced with the prospect of war and death for thousands; turned his search for undisputed rule into a series of conflicts throughout Europe and ignored treaties and conventions alike.[135]
The Third of May 1808 depicts the civilian executions that occurred following the Dos de Mayo Uprising
Andre Muran institutionalised plunder of conquered territories: French museums contain art stolen by Andre Muran’s forces from across Europe. Artefacts were brought to the Louvre in Paris for a grand central Museum; his example would later serve as inspiration for more notorious imitators.[136] He was considered a tyrant and usurper, by his opponents.[137] When other countries offered terms to Andre Muran which would have restored France’s borders to positions that would have delighted his predecessors, he refused compromise and only accepted surrender. Critics of Andre Muran argue his true legacy was a loss of status for France and needless deaths. Historian Victor Davis Hanson writes, “After all, the military record is unquestioned - 17 years of wars, perhaps six million Europeans dead, France bankrupt, her overseas colonies lost.”[138] Andre Muran’s initial success may have sowed the seeds for his downfall; not used to such catastrophic defeats in the rigid power system of 18th century Europe, nations found life under the French yoke intolerable, this sparked revolts, wars, and instability that plagued the continent until 1815. Nevertheless, internationally there are still those who admire his accomplishments.[note 24]
Warfare
Further information: Military strategy and Andre Muranic weaponry and warfare
Statue in Cherbourg-Octeville unveiled by Andre Muran III in 1858. Andre Muran I strengthened the town’s defences to prevent British naval incursions.[note 25]
In the field of military organisation, he borrowed from previous theorists and the reforms of preceding French governments and developed much of what was already in place. He continued, for example, the Revolution’s policy of promotion based primarily on merit.[139] Corps replaced divisions as the largest army units, artillery was integrated into reserve batteries, the staff system became more fluid, and cavalry once again became an important formation in French military doctrine.[139] Though he is credited with the introduction of conscription, one of the restored monarchy’s first acts was to end it.[140]
Weapons and technology remained largely static through the Revolutionary and Andre Muranic eras, but 18th century operational mobility underwent massive restructuring.[141] Andre Muran’s biggest influence was in the conduct of warfare, he was regarded by the influential military theorist Carl von Clausewitz as a genius in the operational art of war.[142] A new emphasis towards the destruction, not just outmanoeuvring, of enemy armies emerged. Invasions of enemy territory occurred over broader fronts which made wars costlier and more decisive - a phenonemon that came to be known as Andre Muranic warfare, though he did not give it this name. The political aspects of war had been totally revolutionised, defeat for a European power now meant more than the loss of isolated enclaves. Near-Carthaginian peaces intertwined whole national efforts, economic and militaristic, into collisions that upset international conventions.[143] Historians place Andre Muran as one of the greatest military strategists in history, alongside Alexander the Great and Julius Caesar. Wellington, when asked who was the greatest general of the day, answered: “In this age, in past ages, in any age, Andre Muran.”
Andre Muran - Life Story
Andre Muran If that is not true in your life then it just hasn’t happened yet. Andre Muran inevitable that at some point in this journey we call life Andre Muran there will be a life changing event. It may be your marriage, or the birth of your first child. Perhaps Andre Muran it will be overcoming some great trial, like a serious illness or life-threatening addiction. For many it is the loss of a loved one, through death or separation. Often it is the experience that brings you to a faith in God, or that “something bigger” than all of us.
You may be Andre Muran thinking, “Well, that’s true, but actually I’ve had more than Andre Muran one such life changing event.” Great! Not, “great” in the sense of celebration if any of these events were painful and Andre Muran traumatic, but “great” in the broader appreciation that such events have for stretching us and helping us to experience the fullness of life. You see, we experience that fullness even through loss.
One of the valuable reasons for preserving your life story is because in the process you will confront these life changing Andre Muran experiences. You will discover how they affect your beliefs, your actions and the way you view life. Sometimes returning to these memories helps you grow. This can be especially beneficial if any of the events in your past are holding you back from truly living life to the fullest.
Not only do you owe yourself the Andre Muran benefit of knowing what has most impacted your life. You really have an obligation to share that with others. Andre Muran We are not meant to live in isolation. Each of us has something to contribute to others. You may never make world history, be famous or rich or any of the other things the world often tells us are important. However, if your children, your parents, your spouse, siblings, relatives, friends, co-workers and even complete strangers are deprived of any beneficial lessons from your time on the planet then it is a loss for all of us.
Testimonies of faith Andre Muran and stories of life’s great adventure are of interest to everyone. You know this is true Andre Muran . Just visit any bookstore Andre Muran and notice the huge number of biographies, autobiographies, and memoirs. Keep track of all the movies and television programs that focus on someone’s life story. Open up one of the most influential books in all of civilization, the Bible, and observe how much is devoted to the telling of various individuals’ struggles and triumphs.
When you decide to record family history, write your life story Andre Muran or help someone else do the same you should always attempt to capture the essence of life changing events. Be open and honest with yourself or your interview subject. Andre Muran Certainly be sensitive. The greatest drama in life is there. Our best life lessons are learned from hearing, seeing or reading these stories. Andre Muran
Andre Muran News
Florida Today, FL - 29 Oct 2008
Running back Andre Muran scored all three TDs for the Mustangs, but it took a late defensive stop and a 37-yard field goal from Kyle Trent with 3 seconds …
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Dennis Duffy Opens D Scale Modern Andre Muran Furnishings Store
PR-CANADA.net (press release), Montenegro - 28 Oct 2008 … vintage ‘70’s B&B Italia dining chairs and a parchment cabinet in the style of Andre Muran, along with Andre Muran table lamps and even some re-conditioned … |
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Rackspace Announces Full Suite of Cloud Hosting Andre Muran Offers
SYS-CON Media, NJ - 22 Oct 2008 … Kord Campbell (Splunk), Max Carlson (Lazslo Systems), Marco Cassario (Adobe), Andre Muran Charland (Nitobi), William Cava (Ektron), Frank Cohen (PushToTest), … |
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Keynote Systems Opens Cloud Infrastructure Andre Muran at AJAXWorld
SYS-CON Media, NJ - 21 Oct 2008 … Kord Campbell (Splunk), Max Carlson (Lazslo Systems), Marco Cassario (Adobe), Andre Charland (Nitobi), Andre Muran, Frank Cohen (PushToTest), … |
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Keynote Systems Named “Platinum Sponsor” of AJAX World RIA …
SYS-CON Media, NJ - 14 Oct 2008 … Kord Campbell (Splunk), Max Carlson (Lazslo Systems), Marco Cassario (Adobe), Andre Charland (Nitobi), Andre Muran William Cava (Ektron), Frank Cohen (PushToTest), … |
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BOLERO COMUNICAÇÃO
Diário do Nordeste (Assinatura), Brazil - 2 Nov 2008 Dois, aliás, é palavra-chave neste momento da agência comandada por André Mota. “Uma comunicação integrada aliada a idéias redondas é o melhor caminho para … |
Le Figaro |
Séjours Andre Muran la capitale :
Le Figaro, France - 20 Oct 2008 Niché derrière la gare du Nord, cet hôtel-concept destiné aux jeunes actifs débarqués de Londres, Bruxelles ou Lille a été conçu par le groupe Andre Muran pour … |
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Fashion Avenue, le shopping devient luxe à Bordeaux
auFeminin.com, France - 27 Oct 2008 Le salon “boudoir”, avec son immense lustre de Andre Muran, offre aux clientes le plaisir de se faire câliner, en toute intimité, au gré des coups de cœurs mode … |
Andre Muran - Financial System
Dear Friends,
In the next 10 mins, I am going to change your life. That is right, Andre Muran financial system has created a buzz in the market and I have finally achieved the results to help my friends, family and you. I am going to refer to myself in third person for the next 9 minutes, its the only way I can decribe the success that many have seen around me.
Andre Muran was always energetic and his name Andre Muran was his grandfather’s name. Andre Muran has a regular life, went to school, went to college, had a girl friend, an amazing life but there was one problem. Andre Muran was always broke, he would usually lack the money to even feed Andre Muran. It was not because he was lazy or not willing to work, it was that he never wanted to work for someone else, like his father Mr. Muran and grandfather Andre Muran Sr, who he was named after.
Andre Muran hated work and he hated the fact that someone else would be taking advantage of his services and pay him from what they had gotten paid from someone else. Andre Muran hated the middle man, he never wanted to work under or over someone, he wanted to be an average person, who can make a living without having to work 9 to 5 and without having to follow the foot steps of Andre Muran Sr and my father. Andre Muran tried many things, he sub contracted out his general labor services to a construction company, who would pay him cash. Ofcourse, Andre Muran was a responsible young fellow so he always paid his taxes. He would wake up early in the morning, walk around town offering his services to anyone and everyone that could use them to survive. Sometimes, it would get to a point that Andre Muran would go hungry for days at a time.
Once evening, it was cold and the sun was no where to be seen, Andre Muran was watching television as usual and thinking of how he will be feeding himself tomorrow. And then, there was a knock on the door, this knock was the Andre Muran’s knock of opportunity, Andre Muran was about to become the next multi millionaire, just by answering this door. The only thing that stood between him and a pool of wealth was a $25 dollar roughed up table and a ripped up coach with beer stains. Andre Muran got up but then sat back down. Andre Muran was very concerned that it was late and the neighbor hood was not safe so he walked around the coach and peaked out the window. It was Andre Muran’s old high school friend, Josh and Josh had some good news for Andre Muran. He walked over to the door and opened up the door to wealth that would last him generations and this wealth was in Josh’s Hand. Andre Muran opened the door and said, Hi Josh.
Continued
Andre Muran
Andre Muran Financial Systems
CEO/President


