tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8304928500646903522.post8907045931896359297..comments2024-03-28T00:11:33.489-04:00Comments on bensozia: Napoleon's Soldiers and the Power of ExperienceJohnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01037215533094998996noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8304928500646903522.post-45254694995110548442013-02-10T12:55:42.339-05:002013-02-10T12:55:42.339-05:00I think that to Napoleon's core supporters the...I think that to Napoleon's core supporters the whole Republican thing had ceased to have much meaning by 1807, except as another sign of their hero's forward-thinking views. It was all about action, change, dynamism, not elections or human rights.Johnhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01037215533094998996noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8304928500646903522.post-52603855436123109562013-02-10T08:05:10.258-05:002013-02-10T08:05:10.258-05:00What is important to understand about Napoleon is ...What is important to understand about Napoleon is that he was first and foremost a republican - he was loyal to the principles of the Revolution, and his mission was to "rid Europe of the kings". His eventual self-coronation as "Emperor" was specifically designed to infuriate European royalty and their bourgeois apologists, none more so than the English. Napoleon's men knew that, and were an essential part of the scheme - and besides, they respected him for realizing the institutions of state that the Revolution had promised, and were designed for their benefit. By donning the ermine robes, this defiant Corsican engaged in a parody of royalty which took up the transformation of European politics begun by the Revolution, and which was not substantially achieved until after the First World War, some 120 years later.<br />Napoleon's motive has been consistently misrepresented for the past 200 years in the English-speaking world as being about power and glory - it had nothing to do with that! When he saw a Bourbon back on the French throne, it was simply too much for him and for the rank and file who loved and supported him - that is why he came back. He felt that otherwise his work to establish the supremacy of republican thinking would have all been in vain.simonmacantsulainoreply@blogger.com