Three years ago, I discovered Napoleon galloping across Europe in pyrotechnic reenactments of famous battles.
Recently, we met him face to face in Colonial Williamsburg.
TRAFALGAR DAY
On October 21, 1805, Admiral Nelson defeated Napoleon’s navy, which opened British dominance on the seas for the next hundred years.
We arrived to meet Napoleon on the remembrance of that event, now known as Trafalgar Day.
RESUME
Napoleon angrily stomped onto the stage, shouting about the British and false media reports about him.
After calming down a bit he introduced himself as: Emperor of France, King of Italy, Protector of the Confederation of the Rhine, etc, etc, etc.
We were all laughing.
Enjoying every little detail of his presentation, we also enjoyed his humor that helped our imagination to at least consider his point of view in his “influence on Europe.”
Rattling off an impeccable list of some of his battles, Napoleon shared with us other parts of his resume.
Napoleon codified the law to make administration of different parts of the land more efficient…known today as Code Napoleon.
The French Revolution ended because of Napoleon, who restored order.
He provided freedom for religion…even for Jews and Huguenots (protestants), as well as promoting education, and many other positive things.
France’s feudalist system split the people into the upper class and the serfs who labored for the lords.
Without an education, serfs had no opportunity to rise in social class.
France became a nation of one religion.
Whereas other nations became more progressive, France did not…until Napoleon came into power.
Explaining the triumvirate, who led France after the French Revolution, Napoleon knew that three would always argue, so he proposed one leader. They could start in alphabetical order…Bonaparte. (We were all laughing!)
When Napoleon opened the floor for questions, I shot my hand up and he picked me first! =)
THE REASON WHY NAPOLEON CROWNED HIMSELF
My question was: Charlemagne was famous for allowing the pope to crown him. However, you did not. Would you justify that?
Napoleon asked the audience: Did you hear *how* she said that? I think she’s one of those who don’t trust me!
{{{LOL}}}
Although by now I knew the short answer to this question, I wanted the longer answer which I had every confidence Napoleon would fully provide.
I also wanted everyone else to hear it too because I believe it is important and pivotal to who Napoleon is.
He definitely gave us incredible details to this query…with great fanfare, which is exactly what I was hoping for, because it’s so much fun! =)
Napoleon admitted to breaking a long standing tradition of the pope crowning the king by crowning himself, which he had prearranged with the pope.
Believing that there should be separation of church and state, he also wanted to restore religion to the people, who had lost their connection to their Catholic faith during the French Revolution.
However, Napoleon wanted freedom FOR religion for all people, like the Jews and Huguenots (Protestants).
Dramatically and angrily, Napoleon said he had found the crown in the gutter, picked it up, and crowned himself emperor!
Afterwards my son asked him if his comment about picking up the crown from the gutter was a use of imagery and Napoleon said it was.
CALL NAPOLEON…SIRE
When someone addressed Napoleon as “Mr. Bonaparte,” the Emperor was in a state of disbelief.
The questioner said that Thomas Jefferson allows us to call him “Mr. Jefferson.”
Napoleon said in Europe all royalty should be treated with proper protocol, so most people call him, “Sire.”
That got our attention.
Finally, Napoleon decided to compromise with the Americans, settling for “General Bonaparte” and even “Napoleon.”
GREATEST VICTORY
Someone asked him something about what he thought the greatest victory was.
He said that the greatest victory is knowledge over ignorance.
Afterwards I had the privilege to press him with more questions.
Although I was a bit concerned about the time I was taking from him, he encouraged me to ask all I wanted!
I wanted to know what made him tick. Why did he do all that conquering?
That could be a dangerous question, but he assured me there are no dangerous questions.
He is truly a pleasant person to chat with. Not at all the way the history texts make him out to be.
Inspired, like many others of his day, by Enlightenment thinkers like Montesquieu, Voltaire, and Rousseau, he wanted to ensure “Liberty, Equality, Fraternity” to the people of France and to all nations that he assumed power over.
He wanted all people to have basic rights.
He was called the Soldier’s Soldier. If they merited higher rank based on achievement, he would promote them.
Thus, people of lower classes would have opportunity to move up in the world…something that did not happen in feudal societies.
MY KIDS BEFRIENDED NAPOLEON, AT LONG LAST
Napoleon kindly posed for a “painting” with my children.
Four years ago, my kids would never have posed with Napoleon, But look how happy they are to meet the man they’ve come to know in the last three years!
Mark Schneider, who portrays Napoleon, came into our Texas house via the internet three years ago to teach the little known story of Napoleon.
In disbelief, my kids were willing to listen, and then we moved to Virginia where they got to know the interpreter and bits and pieces of more new details of the French emperor.
They learned that Napoleon is indeed a fierce conqueror, driven by a fierce compulsion to make the ideas of the Enlightenment thinkers a reality to the lower classes of Europe.
