Napoléon et l'Amérique Histoire des relations franco-américaines spécialement envisagée au point de vue de l'influence napoléonienne (1688-1815)

This study delves into the tangled web of Franco‑American contacts from the late eighteenth century through Napoleon’s fall in 1815. Though the emperor never set foot on the continent, his diplomatic schemes, trade plans, and military outlook left a lasting imprint on the young United States, while American political currents nudged French strategy in return. By framing the transatlantic relationship as a series of reciprocal “counter‑shocks,” the author shows how each side’s choices helped shape the broader world drama of the early nineteenth century.

Drawing on a wide range of diplomatic correspondence, commercial records, and contemporary memoirs, the narrative follows the early deliberations, the daring proposals for joint ventures, and the abortive plans for a French foothold in the New World. It highlights the ways Napoleon’s imagination—placing a “spark” in distant colonies—intersected with the United States’ own quest for identity and influence. Readers come away with a clearer picture of how a European power’s distant ambitions can reverberate across oceans, setting the stage for later upheavals without revealing those later twists.