A Journal for Western Man-- Issue IV
Part I
G. Stolyarov II
The greatness of a man manifests itself on many fronts. From keen insight, a respect for justice and human potential, macrovision of the present, dreams of a better future, talents in numerous fields independent of one another, the undying efforts to impact the world, there was one man whose personality manifested those characteristics so brilliantly that even today societies benefit from basking in his radiance. Living for only fifty-one brief years, he nevertheless transformed Europe from a set of antiquated feudal states into a conglomeration of civilized ideas, progressive thoughts, and imperialist ambitions that set the stage for events in centuries to come. This man was Napoleon Bonaparte, Emperor of the French, ingenious commander, wise legislator, a true enlightened monarch. Herein shall be examined the attributes of Napoleon's greatness that made his stamp upon the world. To achieve his dream, he first needed to overcome the impediments in his own life, then to impact those of his people, and, consequently, generations of humankind to come.
Prior to shaping the world with his deeds, Napoleon needed to win the struggle against the social and attitudinal forces that were all staked up against one genius with a will of steel. He was born into the name "Napoleone Buonaparte" (the name was altered to its more familiar state in 1796) on August 14, 1769, in the city of Ajaccio on the Mediterranean island of Corsica, one year after the island had been incorporated into the Kingdom of France. He was the second child of eleven, of which only eight had survived early childhood. Napoleon's father, Carlo Buonaparte, was "an anti-French lawyer" ("A Paper on Napoleon", Norfolk Academy, VA, 1). Prior to marrying Napoleon's mother, Leticia, Carlo fought for the Corsican Independence Movement, led by rebel leader Pascuale Paoli. However, recognizing the fruitlessness of the cause, he settled down to raise a family. Paoli retained a lifelong grudge against his former comrade and extended his hatred to even Carlo's children. Although Napoleon's family enjoyed the title of minor Corsican nobles, they suffered from a lack of funds and thus, poverty. The Encyclopedia of World Biography states on p.306 that "following the annexation of Corsica by France, Carlo was granted the same rights and privileges as the French nobility." Although this did not solve their financial dilemma, it opened up new avenues to success for the younger generation of Bonapartes, who were now permitted to attend the same prestigious educational facilities as the cream of the Parisian elite. Perhaps this was the reason for Carlo's abandonment of the struggle for Corsican independence, seeing that his family had ampler chances at prosperity under French rule. Thus he sent his children to obtain an education on the mainland. Napoleon remained in Corsica until the age of nine. Having obtained an "elementary education at a boys' school in Ajaccio, he was sent in January 1779 with his older brother Joseph to the College of Autun in the duchy of Burgundy. In May of the same year, he was transferred to the more fashionable College of Brienne, another military school, while his brother remained at Autun. Here Napoleon's stature earned him the nickname of the 'Little Corporal.'" (Encyclopedia of World Biography, 307). He was also mocked and ridiculed for his Italian accent and abstinence from rowdy public gatherings. While his peers threw away their lives at parties, Napoleon remained buried in volumes of mathematics and philosophy. At an extremely young age, he introduced himself to the study of trajectory as well as the writings of Voltaire and Goethe. These two categories would subsequently transform him into a brilliant commander of artillery as well as an ardent revolutionary. "The French students laughed at him because he had dreams of personal triumph and power." ("A Paper on Napoleon," Norfolk Academy, VA, 1). His peers did not at that time realize that twenty years later, they would be greeting that same man as "His Majesty, the Emperor of the French." Yet he had surpassed them far before ascending to such heights. "In October 1784 he earned an appointment to the Ecole Militaire of Paris. The royal military school of Paris was the finest in Europe in the years before the revolution, and Napoleon entered the service of Louis XVI in 1785 with a formal education that had prepared him for his future role in French history." (Encyclopedia of World Biography, 307). The program at the Ecole Militaire was designed so that a student would spend three years in his attempts at completing it. Napoleon, however, through early demonstrations of his workaholism, graduated in only half the required time. He left the school for an artillery unit in Valence, where he would serve as lieutenant, being only sixteen-years-old.
The next eight years of his life can be summarized as a gradual ascent up the hierarchical ladder of French society. Between 1785 and 1792 he developed the foundations for his genius, continuing his studies in trajectory and topography (which later led to his appointment to the Bureau of Topography for the Committee of Public Safety). This period of Napoleon's life, during which he gradually elevated himself from lieutenant to captain, is more interesting in terms of the events that occurred in his homeland. In 1786 Carlo Buonaparte died suddenly and prematurely, and the seventeen-year-old Napoleon was burdened with maintenance of his family, which in turn led to his return to Corsica. Thus he traveled back and forth between Ajaccio and the mainland in the following years, during which his social position was on the rise. The Revolution of 1789 was a welcome change from the royalist government that evaluated people based on birth instead of merit. The more objective leaders of the French Republic took Napoleon into consideration for his ardent devotion to the new regime. "Georges Lefebvre wrote that the [future] Emperor was '...a pupil of the philosophes; he detested feudalism, civil inequality, and religious intolerance.' ... R.R. Palmer has observed that Napoleon considered the Jacobin government of Robespierre and the Committee of Public Safety the only serious government of the Revolutionary period. During the 'Reign of Terror' Napoleon was strongly identified with the Jacobins. His dialogue published in 1793, 'Le Souper de Beaucaire,' championed the Jacobins over the federalist Girondins. What Napoleon admired [perhaps erroneously] were the Jacobins' strong centralized government, their commitment to deal decisively with the problems facing the fledgling republic, and their attempt to forge a strong stable France while winning the war against its enemies." (Holmberg, 1). Of course, this idealistic young man was the prime candidate for the Republican government's agenda to spread its new regime to one of its most distant outposts, Corsica. In 1790 Napoleon was sent to return there, accompanied by Joseph Bonaparte, in order to organize and supervise elections for local government officials. However, the Republican ideals faced strong opposition from a hardcore group of former Corsican independence activists, led by his father's ex-compatriot and Napoleon's own role model, Pascuale Paoli, whose courage and military skill inspired the young Bonaparte and fueled his enthusiasm toward the fighting profession. The old retired general was not receptive toward a system imposed from abroad, no matter how liberating it was, and this anger, backed by the masses in Corsica, nearly led to a military revolt. Instead, however, the people elected Paoli the Governor of Corsica, which still endangered Napoleon. After several meetings and discussions, the young Bonaparte managed to make an enemy out of his hero, although it was none of his fault. Napoleon wrote Paoli letters of his most profound admiration, but the latter refused to even read them while approaching Napoleon with an external coldness and disdain. In reality, however, the irrational Paoli held a deep hatred for Napoleon as a result of the actions of Carlo far before 1769. By October, 1792, the lives of the entire Bonaparte family were on the line. In time to avoid physical persecution by Paoli's agents, Napoleon and his kin fled to Paris never again to return to their homeland. In France Napoleon distinguished himself during the storm of the Tuileries Royal Palace, during which the ambitious young man at the head of the masses offered a radical suggestion (which was nevertheless not employed) to use his cannon against the palace walls. This instance was the first during which the world witnessed Napoleon's value of artillery, a branch of the armed forces that would furnish his ascent to power.