First edition of these observations and proposed reforms concerning the Navy. Pierre-Alexandre Forfait (1752–1807) served as Minister of the Navy from November 1799 to October 1801.
Contemporary full fawn calf, mottled and polished, smooth spine tooled with gilt decorative compartments and false bands, red shagreen lettering-piece, joints lightly rubbed, boards framed with delicate gilt rolls, a few abrasions and small losses to the leather at the lower edges, marbled endpapers and pastedowns, corners softened, all edges gilt, a period binding.
Pierre-Alexandre Forfait (1752–1807) served as Minister of the Navy from November 1799 to October 1801.
Forfait and Bonaparte met in Venice around 1798, and it was he who "forma" the future Emperor in the principles of naval warfare that Napoleon would later wage against England.
In this pamphlet, he characterises the English in the following terms « … ces dominateurs des mers ne donneront jamais le temps nécessaire pour recréer et former une marine par les moyens ordinaires, la navigation marchande ou la pêche … Comptez qu'ils vous déclareront toujours la guerre, ou vous la feront sans la déclarer, avant que vos forces navales aient pu atteindre son degré de développement qui puisse les inquiéter ».
The plan of 21 July 1803, in which the flotilla was to operate without the support of the Navy, clearly demonstrates the deep influence Forfait’s ideas had on Bonaparte.
However, the group formed by Decrès, Ganteaume, Bruix and Villeneuve during the Egyptian campaign exerted a powerful influence on Napoleon; and Decrès ultimately succeeded in definitively supplanting Forfait.
Provenance: manuscript ex-libris of Decrès mounted on a pastedown; he succeeded the author as Minister of the Navy and remained in office until 1814.