Arc de Triumph was erected in 1806 by Napoleon, shortly after his victory at Austerlitz as a revival of the Roman triumphal arches. These arches had been used in the Roman Empire to celebrate the victories of the Roman emperors. Napoleon had been crowned emperor of France and used this to symbolically unite him with those ancient emperors. Beneath the Arch is the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, and eternal flame to serve as a memorial of the dead of the two world wars. The Arc was not finished until 15 years after Napoleon's death in 1836.
The arch is 164 feet high, 147 feet wide, and a depth of 72 feet thick and is decorated with low relieves which depict the battles of the French first Republic and Empire periods (1789-1815). Sculptures of soldiers in war were on both side of the Arc. For example, one showed a soldier not wearing any underwear asking his colleagues, "Is it safe to fight without a pant?" His colleague was willing to give him his helmet to cover up his private part. That shows how the French soldiers fight side by side towards victory.
During the construction of the Arc de Triumph lots of news made headlines across the world. In 1806 George III dies of heart failure and his son George IV succeeds him on the British throne. Britain declares war on United States. In 1807 England abolishes slave trade. In 1811 Simon Bolivar frees parts of South America from Spanish rule. In 1812 War is fought between England and United States; Napoleon invades Russia, occupies Moscow. In 1814 Napoleon is exiled to Elba. In 1823 Thomas Jefferson makes an impassioned speech to Congress that causes the U.S. to make its last piece of binding legislation: the abolition of slavery. This triggers a massive flood of immigration to the Crown Colony by planters and other slave owners, with their property if they can manage it. In 1834 the first Paris Air Show was held. "Rugby ball" balloons capture the imaginations of Draka and Americans.
