Most readers of this Journal will surely have heard of the recent dramatic events that have so profoundly altered the political map of our early-19th-Century world. Here is a brief chronology designed to bring the rest of you up-to-date:

21 October, 1805: The Battle of Trafalgar. Admiral Nelson's fleet is decisively smashed by the combined French and Spanish fleets. Admiral Villeneuve, the hero of Europe, is tragically shot down at the moment of triumph on the quarterdeck of his flagship Bucentaure.

14 November, 1805: With the seas swept clear of the Royal Navy, the Grande Armée lands on the English coast.

2 December, 1805: The Battle of Osterley. The English Royalist Army is crushed in battle outside London. Parliament proclaims the overthrow of the Hanoverian Monarchy and the establishment of the République Britannique, under the protection of Napoleon. The stock market soars as British merchants step into their new role as "shopkeepers of the Empire."

Through the use of the newly-invented Daguerrotype machine, we are able to bring you authentic images of London welcoming the friendly soldiers of the Grande Armée and showering adulation upon the liberator, Napoleon. Vive l'Empereur!

1. Invasion Force: Col. Juan Rios, I Reserve Cavalry Corps Chief of Staff, inspects troops of the 4eme Dragoons at Endsleigh Barracks, London. First Row (l. to r.): Brigadier Neil Peterson, Dragoon Erik Peterson, Lt. Bill Peterson (Commander). Second Row: Col. Rios, Maréchal des Logis, Leif Peterson.

2. Hyde Park. The Spirit of Democracy Defeating Absolutism, statue dedicated to Napoleon by the grateful citizens of liberated London.

3. Horse Guards, headquarters of l'Armée d'Angleterre. Trooper and Standard-Bearer of the 4ème Dragons.

4. Buckingham Palace, London quarters of Maréchal Murat.

5. 4ème Dragoons on patrol near Buckingham Palace.

6. Woolwich Arsenal. Troopers of the 4ème Dragoons inspect a captured battery.

7. Napoleon, the Musical: A pageant in honor of their liberator, offered by the grateful citizens of Britain.

8. Apsley House, "Numéro Un, Londres," the modest town-house serving as the Emperor's pied-à-terre in London. Formerly the residence of Arthur Wellesley, a moderately successful colonial soldier best known for inventing the Wellington Boot. Napoleon Triumphant, statue by Canova.

9. Chelsea Pensioners Reading the Osterley Despatch: Liberated at Last From the Hanoverian Yoke! Painting by Wilkie, Apsley House.

10. Imperial Guards Museum, Birdcage Walk, London. Imperial Guard knapsack badge.

11. Imperial Guards Museum. Swords and Standard carried by Imperial Guardsmen at the Battle of Osterley.

12. Imperial Guards Museum. Diorama, An Incident of the Battle of Osterley: The Capture of Hugglemount Farm.

13. Hyde Park Corner: l'Arc de Triomphe de Londres.

14. Trafalgar Square: Villeneuve's Column.