Napoleon

[Chillwell]

So, watching the WW II death video and reading Hollywood's post got me thinking. I think it's pretty clear that the perception of the vast majority of the world today is that guys like Hitler & Stalin were bad characters...evils from History. But I then started thinking about Napoleon Bonaparte and realized I don't know much about him. I know he was incredibly important, but I am really unsure of his legacy...good, bad, gray? I only know a basics about him and his actions, but I really don't know how history judges him.

So here's what I know (and admittedly some of this may be wrong):

• Of French & Italian ancestry
• Short
• Intelligent
• Great battlefield commander
• Arose to lead a chaotic France coming out of the French Revolution (How?...I'm not sure.)
• Did he get power hungry and then try and take over Europe via the French army?...and if so, why?
• Jefferson made the Louisiana Purchase from France, a great deal for us because Napoleon needed money to finance his wars
• Eventually Napoleon was defeated and exiled to some island...was it Corsica?
• After a few years of exile, he rose to power again...now sure how or why? Did the French just love him and want him back?
• Led another war...I think. Why?...I don't know.
• Eventually surrendered to England (I think?) at Waterloo.
• Exiled to another small island where he eventually died.

1. So, for those who know...what is wrong with my outline?
2. How does history view him?
3. Does his historical perception vary greatly from country to country?...i.e. is he consider popular in France, but not Germany, etc.?

 

[Orange Jennyslipper]

"Able was I ere I saw Elba."

One of the longer English palindromes, attributed to Napolean, though I doubt he spoke it in our language. I didn't take a class which covered that era of European history, so my knowledge of the little general aligns with yours.

Elba was one of the islands to which he was exiled.

Che' knew his history. You don't imprison nor exile your enemies. You put a bullet in their head.

 

[hollywood]

He wasn't that short, especially for his era. An attorney friend at my old law firm was a West Point Guy and a former Ranger Captain. He was a little eccentric and his hobby was collecting militaria and included in his collection were a number of uniforms from the Napoleonic era.

He had a 3 bedroom apt which was absolutely stuffed to the gills with stuff and kept a few things in his office, while a significant portion was actually on display at the Reagan library.

But I remember quite clearly looking at the uniforms and most of them would have likely been too small for even Tom Cruise. He had a British Admiral's uniform from a guy who had commanded a ship during the Battle of Trafalgar and it was his estimate that the guy was at best 5'4" and about 130 lbs. Most of the other uniforms were also about the same size, but around the turn of the century (1900) the sizes of the uniforms got much, much larger. He was convinced that it was pasteurization that led to a much calorie denser diet than previously which explained the jump.

To keep things in perspective, he was only one inch shorter than Vladimir Putin.

 

[ThorOdinson13]

Napoleon is a very interesting character in history. The guy absolutely fascinated me between my Jr. year of high school and So. year of college. I can't remember a lot though. Historians haven't been able to really nail down is personality and even writers at the time that met him gave different descriptions of his personality. From what I remember they think his goals revolved around his own ambition for power (he referred to "power" as his "mistress") and expansion of Revolutionary ideas. He wanted to establish this "better" government through all of Europe and end monarchical rule. When he would invade countries he didn't suck up to the nobles and try to win their loyalty. Instead, he focused on the commoner and tried to win their favor and loyalty while also abolishing the existing regime.

One of his achievements was establishing the Napoleonic Code which "forbade privileges based on birth, allowed freedom of religion, and specified that government jobs should go to the most qualified" of the citizenry. Wood is also right about his size. He was of average height at the time. The myth of him basically being a midget with a little man complex was born from English propaganda and so are many of the stories about how awful of a person he was (the ogre of Corsica). The people of France adored him. Remember, he was a direct threat to the power structure of the time. In the end, the guy wasn't nearly as bad as he was made out to be, nor as good as I used to believe him to be. I do still cringe when I see people compare him to Hitler, Nero, etc. He was arrogant enough to believe that he had nothing to worry about when it comes to the judgment of God because he only wanted "glory, power, and prestige for France" and he thought that could only be viewed as a virtue.

I went ahead and did a quick search and linked some stuff I drew from in that little synopsis. I used to kind of be a fanboy for the guy. I'm not sure why he interested me so much but he did. He's still an interesting read IMO.

 

[Chillwell]

Thanks for the info and link. It explains a lot. I will say that I now understand his importance and legacy much better now.

Still, after reading the synopsis, a couple of things remain unclear to me...

1. How he went from superstar general...leading successful campaigns in Italy and Egypt for France to becoming the ruler of France. There was a Coup?...Why?...Did he lead it or support it?...Did he force himself into leadership at this time? Or was he chosen to lead after the fact because of his demonstrated abilities on the battlefield and as an administrator?
2. In modern France, does the average person see him as someone to honor from their history...say like we do with a Washington, Jefferson or Madison?

 

[ThorOdinson13]

Yeah, it was a coup within a coup and Napoleon was the chess master who out maneuvered everyone. Link

I'm not sure. They have a huge tomb covered in gold not far from the Eiffel Tower. It was pretty cool to get to see it. I have a feeling that the French today probably don't view him as the hero that the French people of his time did. I could be way off though.

Just realized Britannica is more than vague. Here is another and another

 

[AC_Exotic]

All I know about Napoleon is he won the Ziggy Piggy contest at a local ice cream establishment in San Dimas, California.

Might have been his greatest accomplishment in life.