A Bit About Napoleon

Napoleon is like the great pyramid
he stands alone in a desert
and jackals piss at his feet
and writers climb up on him.
—Gustave Flaubert

I watched a film about Napoleon last night. It was the story of his last days on the island of Saint Helena, after Waterloo, when he was a prisoner of the British. It was an interesting film, and the characterization of Napoleon was such that I found myself rooting for him—wanting him to escape again. I guess that makes me a Bonapartist. Films, of course, can do that, but my attitude toward Napoleon began to change in Paris as I learned more about what a complex figure he actually was. (Painting by Gros)

He was a striking figure in the film. Smart and commanding—and it seems he must have been. I read that he actually fought against the French on Corsica during the French Revolution. The battle was for Corsica's independence and it had three sides: the Royalists, who were seeking to control Corsica, the Jacobins, fighting against the Royalists, and the Corsican Nationalists (of which Napoleon was one), fighting for Corsican independence. He was promoted to a captain in 1792 by the Jacobins, who he had supported.

In 1793 he came to the attention of Robespierre and his brother after publishing a pro-republican pamphlet and was made the artillery commander for the Republican forces at the siege of Toulon. Toulon was occupied by the British. Napoleon's military plan in Toulon succeeded, the British were forced out and he was promoted, given command of France's Army of Italy. When Robespierre fell in 1793, Napoleon was placed under house arrest for several days and fell out of favor. He refused a post that was a demotion, wrote a novella and became engaged to Désirée Clary, a French woman from Marseille. His prospects did not look that good. (Painting by David)

The political scene in Paris was in turmoil at the time, lots of shifting power and one shift led to a change of fortune for Napoleon. In 1795 he was given command of forces tasked with defending the National Convention in the Tuileries Palace, which the Royalists were trying to bring down. The National Convention was the Republican power structure ruling France at the time—this was the First Republic.

Again, his military brilliance succeeded: the Royalists were routed and overnight Napoleon became famous. He was promoted to Commander of the Interior by The Directory, the Republican body of that ruled France from 1795 to 1799. "Within weeks" he and Josephine were an item and his engagement to Désirée was broken. "I awake full of you," he wrote in an early letter. "Your image and the memory of last night’s intoxicating pleasures has left no rest to my senses." (Painting by Andrea Appiani)

In the film—which suggests Napoleon could have any woman he wanted—he makes mention of Madame Lenormand, calling her a clairvoyant and explaining that she has predicted he and Josephine would die at the same age. Josephine was six years older than Napoleon and died in 1814 at the age of 51. Napoleon died in 1821—at the age of 51. They married in March of 1796. The guide in Paris told us that Madame Lenormand met Josephine when both of them were in prison. Josephine was jailed (because of her husband's political leanings) during the Reign of Terror, between April and July of 1794. That means Madame Lenormand made her predictions at a time when Napoleon's political fortune was at an extremely low ebb and Josephine was married to someone else.

Two days after their marriage, Napoleon left for Italy and his famously successful Italian campaign. He became increasingly influential in French politics. He published two newspapers for his troops that were widely circulated, and eventually founded Le Journal de Bonaparte, which was published in Paris. The Royalists, who were highly critical of Napoleon, were still powerful in Paris and won a lot of seats in the 1797 elections. A coup d'état directed by Napoleon put the Republicans back in power, but left them dependent on him. When he negotiated a peace treaty with Austria, he came back to Paris more popular than the government. (Painting by Pierre-Paul Prud'hon)

The Directory wanted him to invade England, but Napoleon targeted Egypt instead because he didn't believe his forces were strong enough to defeat the British. He was convinced that a French presence in the Middle East and, in particular in Egypt, would undermine Britain's access to their trade interests in India and weaken their empire. (Painting by Paul Delaroche)

His Egyptian expedition included scientists and, among other things, led to the discovery of the Rosetta Stone. Napoleon returned to Paris by his own decision, not by orders—the British were attacking the coast of France. The Directory was very unpopular and it was broke. He was invited by one of the Directors into another coup d'état—this time to overthrow The Directory, the constitutional government. The conspirators succeeded. Napoleon was named a Director and quickly outmanoeuvred his fellow conspirators becoming the most powerful man in France. He took up residence at the Palace of Tuileries.

And on it goes: Napoleon centralized the government; transformed education; changed the tax code; modernized roads and sewer systems; created a central bank; negotiated a truce with the Catholic Church that left them powerless; set up the Code of Civil Law and codified criminal and commerce law. Much of what he established still exists—he's credited with modernizing France. The film suggested that right to the end, Napoleon was in control of his life, and even his death. If nothing else, I feel like I'm beginning to understand Lord Byron's fascination with the man. I suppose all this is part of my foray into War and Peace, which is about Napoleon's disastrous campaign into Russia. (Napoleon's Tomb, Les Invalides, Paris)