Trams at Last

23/01/1903

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It was on this Friday that the long-delayed Board of Trade inspection of Peterborough's new tram system took place - officialdom always takes its time, you know. Two trams left the depot for the Market Place to pick up the official parties. When everyone - including the inspectors - was on board the first car, the driver set off with a fearful jerk, throwing virtually all the officials off their feet! One wonders whether this was a case of nerves, carelessness or intent - we'll never know that. However, the driver reversed the car, made a fresh start and moved off in an extremely smooth manner. The second car followed on, carrying several members of the council and members of the press. Despite this faulty start, the trams passed the test with flying colours. The Peterborough tram service was formally approved and trams from Long Causeway to Walton and Dogsthorpe were able to start carrying passengers. At this time, the Peterborough Electric Traction Co. had twelve open-topped trams for the service. Why, you may ask, were the trams open top? It was because roofed trams would have been too high to pass under the Rhubarb Bridge! (Mitchell, Neil, Streets of Peterborough, 2007; Peterborough Advertiser)

Taken from The Peterborough Book of Days by Brian Jones, The History Press, 2014.

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The Napoleonic Wars

1803-1815

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The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a series of major conflicts between the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I (Napoleon Bonaparte), against a mixture of European nations formed into various coalitions, all involving the United Kingdom. They started after the French Revolution ended and Napoleon Bonaparte became powerful in France in November 1799 and were a result of the Revolution and its consequences. It began when the Treaty of Amiens ended in 1802.
The wars are usually divided up and named (Third to the Seventh) for the varying coalitions fighting Napoleon.
The French were initially very successful, conquering much of Europe but thing began to unravel when the invasion of Russia in 1812 failed. Following his defeat in the War of the Sixth Coalition Napoleon abdicated on 4 April 1814 and was exiled to the Island of Elba. Napoleon escaped on 26 February 1815 and prepared to fight again. He lasted 100 days until his defeat at the Battle of Waterloo.

The Napoleonic Wars ended with the Second Treaty of Paris on 20 November 1815.

Some notable events from these wars are:

The Battle of Trafalgar (21 October 1805) was a naval battle fought by the Royal Navy under Admiral Lord Nelson aboard HMS Victory against the fleets of France and Spain. The battle took place near Cape Trafalgar off the coast of Spain.The British pitted twenty-seven ships of the line against thirty-three French and Spanish ships. Nelson achieved a crushing victory with the French and Spanish losing twenty-two ships and the British none. Nelson himself was mortally wounded. This victory confirmed British naval supremacy.

The Peninsular War (1807–1814) was a military conflict between Napoleon's empire and Bourbon Spain (assisted by the United Kingdom and its ally, Portugal), for control of the Iberian Peninsula. The war began when the French and Spanish armies invaded and occupied Portugal in 1807, and escalated in 1808 when France turned on Spain, previously its ally. The war on the peninsula lasted until the Sixth Coalition defeated Napoleon in 1814. It was during this conflict that Arthur Wellesley, later the 1st Duke of Wellington came to prominence.

The Battle of Waterloo (18 June 1815) was fought near Waterloo in Belgium (then part of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands) A French army under the command of Napoleon Bonaparte, following his escape from Elba, was defeated by two of the armies of the Seventh Coalition: a British-led allied army under the command of the Duke of Wellington, and a Prussian army under the command of Field Marshal Blücher. The battle marked the end of the Napoleonic Wars. Napoleon was exiled to St Helena, an Island in the Atlantic off the coast of Africa, where he died on 5 May 1821.

Images (all in the Common Domain)

Portrait de Napoléon dans son cabinet de travail, by Jacques-Louis David, 1812

Admiral Lord Nelson

Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington.

Napoleon Crossing the Alps

References:

Multiple Sources including:

https://www.nam.ac.uk/subjects/napoleonic-wars

http://www.peninsularwar.org/penwar_e.htm

http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/empire_seapower/trafalgar_01.shtml

https://www.nam.ac.uk/explore/battle-waterloo

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Napoleonic_Wars

Napoleonic Wars , Napoleon Bonaparte , Duke of Wellington , Lord Nelson , Battle of Waterloo , Battle of Trafalgar

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Trams at Last

23/01/1903

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The Napoleonic Wars

1803-1815

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