Napoleon’s Gamble, and a US Diplomat’s Effort to Avoid War With Britain
In this installment of ‘This Week in History,’ a seasoned diplomat falls prey to Napoleon’s statecraft and risks his life to avoid war with Britain and France.
Prime Minister William Pitt (standing center) addressing the Commons on the outbreak of the war with France (1793), 1798, by Anton Hickel. Public Domain
When British Prime Minister William Pitt heard the news of Napoleon Bonaparte’s victory at Austerlitz on Dec. 2, 1805, he famously predicted, “Roll up that map; it will not be wanted these ten years.”
Timothy Pickering, 1792, by Charles Willson Peale. Public Domain
Dustin Bass
Author
Dustin Bass is the creator and host of the American Tales podcast, and co-founder of The Sons of History. He writes two weekly series for The Epoch Times: Profiles in History and This Week in History. He is also an author.
