Napoleon Was The Central Figure of The Modern World

Napoleon has been in the news lately as the subject of an upcoming movie. Napoleon can be considered as the one who really set the pace for the modern world.

Napoleon was born on the island of Corsica, which had been acquired by France. He was a military officer when the French Revolution began, in which the king and queen were overthrown and guillotined, although he wasn't directly involved in it. Wars began after the revolution and Napoleon's victories made him very popular at home. 

He led a military expedition to Egypt and when he returned to France found the Directory, then the governing committee of the country, in disarray. Napoleon had great enthusiasm for the French Revolution but then betrayed it's ideals by using his popularity to seize absolute power. His seizure of power marked the end of the active phase of the French Revolution.

NAPOLEON REALLY CHANGED THE WORLD 

Although Napoleon may be seen as betraying the ideals of the French Revolution by seizing absolute power from the chaos in it's aftermath, he did spread those ideals across Europe. The revolution is now considered as the beginning of the modern political era. One of the creations of the revolutionaries was the Metric System. Napoleon's enthusiasm for it is why the world is using it now.

This set a pattern that has been seen over and over again ever since. A king will be overthrown, in the hope of freedom, but what will emerge out of it is a powerful leader wearing a military uniform. 

What must be remembered about America is that the king and queen of France were it's first allies, and that helped it to gain independence. The U.S. has always harbored resentment of the bloody revolution that overthrew and guillotined it's close allies. This is why it was so slow to accept the Metric System. 

How many national leaders that are copies of Napoleon, according to the above pattern, has America been at odds with? Castro, Noriega, Gaddafi, Nasser, Saddam Hussein, Stalin, Hitler. But Napoleon did sell the Louisiana Purchase to America so he could concentrate on Europe. Charles De Gaulle was very reminiscent of Napoleon, except that he was tall.

Napoleon set the precedence for the modern dictator, although I don't think he was harsh or cruel by the standards of the Twentieth Century. What is interesting is that Napoleon wasn't born in France, he was born in Corsica, and this set the precedence for Germany to be ruled by Hitler, who was born in Austria, and Russia to be ruled by Stalin, who was born in Georgia.

His conquests, particularly the Battle of Austerlitz, brought the Holy Roman Empire to an end, which had existed for over a thousand years. The Arc de Triomphe is to commemorate the victory at Austerlitz. It could be considered as the tombstone of the Holy Roman Empire. This is my photo. The man in red had an instamatic camera and was offering to take photos of people in front of the arch, for a fee.

The smaller and earlier Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel is also to commemorate Napoleon's victories. It forms an axis with the Arc de Triomphe. Image from Google Street View.

Nearby is La Madeleine. It is now a Catholic church but was originally a temple dedicated to the glory of Napoleon's army. Inside is a wall painting titled "The History of Christianity". It depicts Napoleon as a Christ-like figure ministering to the people. Images from Google Street View and Earth.

Napoleon must have been something special because his tomb is in a cathedral-like building that is one of the top attractions of Paris. Adolf Hitler made a special pilgrimage to visit Napoleon's tomb. His field of conquest ended up being almost identical to Napoleon's but Napoleon, unlike Hitler, actually captured Moscow. This is an enlargement of my photo showing the Tomb of Napoleon, as seen from the Eiffel Tower.

Napoleon had such charisma, and such a hold over his country, that, after finally being defeated and exiled on the island of Elba, not far from his native Corsica, he escaped from captivity and regained control of France. This is an absolutely amazing story.

Although the invasion of Russia would ultimately be a disaster could Napoleon have imagined that, just over a century later, there would be a revolution that would overthrow the Romanov tsars that would be virtually a mirror image of the French Revolution that ultimately resulted in him coming to power?

Napoleon was the catalyst that caused the many German-speaking states across central Europe to ultimately unite into one country. But the major new nation would upset the balance of power and engage in three major wars with Napoleon's France.

Napoleon's military expedition into Egypt was actually before he became leader of the country. It was what brought ancient Egypt into the world's consciousness. Through the Nineteenth and into the Twentieth Centuries there was a fascination with ancient Egypt across the world. His vast collection of art and artifacts, from his conquests, are what made the Louvre, formerly a royal palace, into possibly the greatest museums in the world.

The center of Paris is the Egyptian obelisk in Place Concorde. I positioned this photo to have the Eiffel Tower in the background. This obelisk is one of the three "Cleopatra's Needles", although they are from long before Cleopatra's time.

Aside from these direct influences of Napoleon there are two indirect influences that I would like to add. The first is that he was the indirect liberator of Latin America from colonial control, and the second is the influences of his nephew, known as Napoleon III or Louis Napoleon.

THE INDIRECT LIBERATION OF LATIN AMERICA 

Let's start by reviewing Latin America.

The Imperial Age began with the landing of Christopher Columbus in the western hemisphere. The initial major Spanish settlement was on the island of Hispaniola. The island is today shared by Haiti and the Dominican Republic, and Santo Domingo is the oldest city in the hemisphere.

The Spanish conquests in the western hemisphere, against the native Indians, revolved around several high-profile leaders, known as "conquistadors". The two best-known conquistadors are Hernan Cortes, who conquered the Aztecs in what is now Mexico, and Francisco Pizarro, Cortes' cousin who conquered the Inca in what is now Peru. Christopher Columbus thought he had reached his destination of India, and incorrectly referred to the native people of the western hemisphere as "Indians".

The conquest stories of Cortes and Pizarro are strikingly similar. This took place in the early Sixteenth Century.

Cortes led an expedition that left Cuba for Mexico. At the last minute the Governor of Cuba ordered the expedition to be halted, but Cortes ignored the order. Cortes landed, and left some soldiers, at what is now Veracruz. The Aztecs were the dominant Indian nation of Mexico but was generally oppressive toward the others. Cortes' force first clashed with the Tlaxcalans, but Cortes managed to persuade them to join him against the Aztecs.

At first relations with the Aztec Emperor, Montezuma II, were friendly. The Spanish and Tlaxcalan force stayed in Montezuma's palace as guests. Montezuma saw that the Spaniards valued gold, and gave them some, but that only convinced them there must be more where that came from. It ended with Cortes taking Montezuma hostage and governing through him. Montezuma was killed, either by Cortes for refusing to cooperate further, or stoned to death by his own people.

"Montezuma" is also spelled "Moctezuma".

At one point Cortes received a messenger from the soldiers left on the coast that a force of Spaniards had landed to arrest him for his earlier disobedience of orders. Cortes took some of the soldiers with him and defeated them, and then persuaded them to join him.

But while Cortes was away Pedro De Alvarado, who had been left in charge of the force at the palace, had killed a number of high-ranking Aztecs, resulting in being surrounded by an extremely hostile population. After Cortes returned it was decided to escape the palace at night. The escape was discovered and about two-thirds of the soldiers were killed. It became known as "Noche Triste", the "Sad Night".

The one thing that the Spaniards always had going for them is the number of enemies the Aztecs had made among the other Indian tribes. Cortes managed to convince many of them to join him. They returned to Tenochtitlan, the Aztec capital, and this time the outcome would be different. They also unwittingly brought a deadly secret weapon with them. That secret weapon was smallpox, to which the Aztecs had no immunity.

Tenochtitlan became Mexico City, and Spain ruled Mexico for about three centuries. Cortes was later commissioned to explore northern Mexico and the Sea of Cortes, sometimes called the Gulf of California, was named for him.

Pizzaro, in Peru, has a very similar story. He was, if anything, more ruthless than Cortes.

Like Cortes the force led by Pizzaro was heavily outnumbered but managed to come along when there was conflict between Indians, in this case a civil war between the Inca leader Atahualpa and his brother Huascar. 

Like Cortes Pizzaro took the Indian leader, Atahualpa, hostage. Also gold was a primary motivating factor. Pizarro told Atahualpa that he would be freed if he could have a room filled with gold and silver. The "Ransom Room" is still there. Atahualpa had the room filled as requested but was killed anyway.

Like Cortes the encounter with the Indians was friendly at first. But Pizzaro took the opportunity to massacre Atahualpa's guard. Like Cortes, Pizzaro became the founder of one of the great cities of the western hemisphere, Cortes of Mexico City and Pizzaro of Lima. The most important difference between Cortes and Pizarro is that Cortes later retired to Spain, although his body was eventually brought back to Mexico, while Pizzaro was killed by his own men in Peru.

Cortes and Pizarro were not the only famous conquistadors, although they are the best-known. Juan Ponce de Leon was the first to land in the U.S. St. Augustine, Florida is the oldest city in America. Francisco Coronado explored what is now the southwestern U.S., although he didn't find any cities made of gold. Hernando DeSoto explored the southeastern U.S., discovering the Mississippi River. His name is all over the United States and there was once a car named for him.

Three centuries later the situation was reversed. Latin America was liberated from Spanish control by what could be described as the "anti-conquistadors". There was Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla, in Mexico, Simon Bolivar, in northern South America, and Jose San Martin, in southern South America. There was a meeting between Bolivar and San Martin, in what is now Ecuador. It is not known what was said but San Martin retired and turned the struggle for freedom in South America over to Bolivar.

These three are credited with leading Latin America to independence. But there is a great story about the independence of the Latin American countries, in the early Nineteenth Century, that just doesn't get the attention it deserves. The real leader of independence in Latin America is Napoleon, although it was done inadvertently.

Napoleon conquered Spain. It was a costly campaign and Napoleon referred to it as his "Spanish Ulcer". Spain eventually regained it's freedom but never quite regained it's status as a colonial power. It was Napoleon's conquest of Spain that led it's colonies in the western hemisphere to seek independence. A weakened Spain tried to hold onto it's empire but only managed to retain Cuba and Puerto Rico.

Portugal, Spain's neighbor on the Iberian Peninsula, moved it's capital to Rio de Janeiro, in it's colony of Brazil, when threatened by Napoleon. This ultimately led to Brazil's independence.

While the battles for the independence of Latin America were going on, led by Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla, Simon Bolivar, and Jose San Martin, little thought seems to have been given to another conqueror, in exile by that time on the island of St. Helena, between South America and Africa. It was Napoleon and he was the primary liberator of Latin America, with the others being secondary. There are statues of the others in Latin America but I can't see that there is one of Napoleon.

NAPOLEON III 

Napoleon III, also known as Louis Napoleon, was the nephew of Napoleon, and his story is another branch of the story of Napoleon. He ended up being the first president of France. The monarchy was restored after the time of Napoleon, but it was finished for good by the wave of revolutions that swept Europe in 1848.

When his presidential term was over he simply scrapped the constitution and declared himself emperor of France. Someone with a name like Napoleon isn't going to be held back by some silly constitution. If Napoleon III was here today he could give Donald Trump a few tips.

But Napoleon III accomplished something as Emperor that it is doubtful could have been done as president. He completely renovated Paris. The grand boulevards that we see today were built. The old Paris wasn't quite removed altogether. Some of the old streets became alleys between the new streets. The renovation is considered as a resounding success and is the prototype for urban renewal across the world.

The centerpiece of the renovation of Paris was the Opera House. This is what the play "The Phantom of the Opera" is about. I have not been inside but it is stunning from the outside. Images from Google Street View and Earth.

Names associated with Napoleon are everywhere. The first street in Paris to be renovated was Rue de Rivoli, named for one of Napoleon's victories. Image from Google Street View.

Thanks to this renovation by Napoleon III Paris is now the most imitated city in the world. Cities everywhere try to be like Paris.

Every part of the world has it's imitation of Paris. Beirut is billed as "the Paris of the Middle East", Dakar as "the Paris of Africa", Hanoi as "the Paris of the East", Montreal of North America and Buenos Aires of South America.

Napoleon III had another great building project. He built the Suez Canal. Can we imagine the world without it? The relationship between east and west would have been completely different because ships would have to go all the way around Africa.