In the northern winter of 1814, a French armada set sail for New South Wales. The Armada’s mission was the invasion of Sydney, and its inspiration and its fate were interwoven with one of history’s greatest love stories – Napoleon and Josephine.
The Empress Josephine was fascinated by all things Australian. In the gardens of her grand estate, Malmaison, she kept kangaroos, emus, black swans and other Australian animals, along with hundreds of native plants brought back by French explorers in peacetime. And even when war raged between
France and Britain, ships known to be carrying Australian flora and fauna for ‘Josephine’s Ark’ were given safe passage.
Napoleon, too, had an abiding interest in Australia, but for quite different reasons.
What Britain and its Australian colonies did not know was that French explorers visiting these shores, purporting to be naturalists on scientific expeditions, were in fact spies, gathering vital information on the colony’s defences. It was ripe for the picking.
The conquest of Australia was on Bonaparte’s agenda for world domination, and detailed plans had been made for the invasion and for how French Australia would be governed. How it all came together and how it fell apart is a remarkable tale – history with an element of the ‘What if?’ No less remarkable is how the tempestuous relationship between Napoleon and his empress affected the fate of the Great Southern Land.
My Thoughts
Not having read any of Terry Smyth’s previous books and non-fiction not being my favourite type of reading matter, I was prepared for a dry and wordy read. Instead, I was totally engaged by Smyth’s jaunty writing style, often spiked with tongue in cheek humour, which made this tale of ambition, deception and romance a quick and satisfying read.
Australia is so far removed from Europe that I often find it hard to imagine the amount of interest this great land mass generated amongst the European powers of the time. The British interest is well documented and in school we did learn a little about the various other European vessels bobbing about the coastline of Australia. Not once, however, do I remember any mention of Napoleon and Josephine's fascination with Australia, or that a French invasion fleet had once set sail for the colony of New South Wales; hence, my interest in this book.
Napoleon, at the age of 16, had unsuccessfully sought to join an expedition to Australia. This little known fact has been pushed to the background by his illustrious military career, but according to Smyth, Napoleon continued to be fascinated by the great southern continent, as did his first wife, Josephine.
Malmaison, the large estate she purchased for them both, became a showcase for the many rare plants and animals brought back from various French expeditions around the world, including that to Australia of the great French explorer, Captain Nicholas Baudin. Kangaroos, emus and black swans roamed freely in the grounds of the estate with other exotic animals, often with dire consequences; one of them being Napoleon armed with a carbine.
Smyth also writes about the unpreparedness of the colony for an attack of any sort, the lax security that attracted French spies under the guise of naturalists, the welcome French ships received, with their officers being wined and dined, and how scientific research and exploration was a supposedly safe entrée into enemy territory. It all seemed very gentlemanly despite the two countries being at war. Although half the time I think they weren't sure whether they were or weren't, given the time it took for communications from England to reach Australia.
There are far too many interesting incidents in this book to recount them all, but one that amused me was poor Captain Matthew Flinders' run-in with the Governor of the Isle de France (Mauritius). Flinders was detained there for six years, accused of being a spy, but "if only he had removed his hat, things might have turned out differently". Apparently, Flinders snubbed the Governor by not removing his hat and when arrested, then refused to dine with the Governor and his wife unless he was set free. On his eventual release, Flinders believed that the real reason he had been imprisoned was not for espionage but out of spite!
If the acknowledgements, notes and list of references contained at the back of the book are anything to go by, Terry Smythe was most thorough in his research. The result is this very informative and entertaining read, which had me wishing that all my school text books had been written in this style. It would have made study much more fun!
Thank you to Penguin Random House Australia for a complimentary copy of this book.
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