"Was the Duke of Wellington Multilingual?" Topic

"The Duke of Wellington was famed for being able to assimilate and process large amounts of complex information in a relatively short space of time. His ability to communicate clear, concise orders based thereon were key to his effectiveness as a commander in chief. However a little investigated facet of his communication skills has been taken for granted.

It is a given that because the Duke was part of the Anglo-Irish Aristocracy; lived in Brussels for a few years and attended the military college at Angers, he could speak French. And indeed he could, though one critic commented that he spoke French like he fought them, Wellington could read, write, speak and understand the language of his enemy. He could do this because French was an international second language for most European nations. It was a language of refinement, art and breeding, and up to a point was practically a necessity for aristocrats to know.

Ironically, because most gentlemen could speak French, and at this point in history most officers were always gentlemen, his knowledge of the language would prove an effective conduit for Wellington to communicate with foreign allies. Essentially making the very language of the Napoleonic empire a weapon of its destruction. No one can doubt the Duke's fluency in Europe's most fashionable common language. What has been doubted by many respected biographers is his familiarity with the Spanish language…"
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Amicalement
Armand

And indeed he could, though one critic commented that he spoke French like he fought them,…

Very successfully?

I thought he was Irish?

(smile)

Amicalement
Armand

Does "Snooty" count as a language?

Why would you think Snooty ? because he was aristocracy ?
Do you view "lower class " as a language ?

Gonzalo Serrats Urrecha in his very interesting book "El general Álaba y Wellington", based on the hitherto unpublished letters from his archive (from Ŕlaba), says clearly that the Duke spoke and even dared to write some sentences in Spanish. A fact very unknown for many…

I thought he was Irish?

As the Duke himself said "Being born in a stable does not make one a horse."

NOOOOOOO!!!! It was said about him by Daniel O'Connell (twice in fact, once in a public meeting in Galway and once whilst giving evidence in a trial in Dublin).

I stand corrected. And by the sentiment. ;-)

I always refer to the Duke as "the greatest Irishman in British history".

Unfortunately, he is always presented to the public as this incredibly reactionary figure, who – just on principle – was vehemently opposed to any form of change. In fact, any investigation of his life that does more than just scratch the surface of "popular belief" shows that he changed his views on many things – from "Irishness" (which, as the use of "Anglo-Irish" as an insult shows, is by no means immune to the racism into which most forms of nationalism descend at some point – "you don't think like us, so you can't be _________ [insert nationality of choice]), to socio-political reform (everyone mentions his opposition to the Reform Act, but few point out that he later admitted he was wrong and supported its provisions), to Catholic Emancipation (on which he fought a duel). I suspect a lot of this was down to his exposure, on campaign, to the "common" Irishman in the ranks; he is also known to have used Portuguese service to provide opportunities for promotion within the British Army for Catholic (and mainly Irish) officers with no money and/or political clout, and later turned down the Presidency of the Orange Order in Ireland because it discriminated against Catholics.

A few years ago (early 2000s) an Irish-American (ie just American) woman went to Trim and expressed her outrage that the town still had a statue of this "British Imperialist". She was (both politely and not so politely) told to mind her own business by the locals – he was their guy and, warts and all, they were proud of him.

(In case you hadn't noticed – or were just too polite to say! – the whole "stable/horse" thing is a bit of a hobby-horse of mine.)

The views expressed by many "Irish-Americans" often merely indicate their ignorance of their heritage, and of the history of Ireland. Why else would so many of them celebrate Scottish culture on St.Patrick's day!

Indeed, celebrate an English perception of Scottish culture!