Today I am going to explore a series on Emperor Napoleon. The series is called Napoleon: The Man Who Would Rule Europe. The run time for this episode is 47:43. This first episode is called The Early Years.
From his early years, Napoleon Bonaparte seemed to have been marked for greatness. It was prophesized that someone would come from Corsica. This series explores the story of Napoleon beginning with his childhood in Corsica. The story then transitions into his life in the military and how he rose in the ranks. Eventually, he takes part in the French Revolution and would eventually make himself Emperor of France. He would go down in history as a warmonger. Who was the man behind the myth? Napoleon was born in August 1769 in Ajaccio, Corsica. He was the second son born in the Bonaparte family. His family was modestly well do, and had no influence in society. He would have been considered middle class. His mother had a big influence on his life and was determined to have her children succeed in life. Napoleon was a good student but needed someone influential to propel him forward. Eventually the French Governor of Corsica, he was friendly with Napoleon’s mother and would use his influence to get Napoleon into a military academy. However, Napoleon was not welcome and was frequently mocked, and was homesick. He would have had to rise above these circumstances. He would devote himself to his studies and would catch the eyes of his superiors. It was here that he would show signs of leadership. Napoleon wanted to join the Navy but was good at mathematics. His future would lie elsewhere in the military. Eventually, he graduated and moved on to a different military academy. He would gain a commission in the artillery. While he was in the artillery, he continued to study history. Eventually, French society would change. With French generals and officers returning back to France after the American Revolution, there were ideas floating around. These ideas would turn French society on its head. People were examining the monarchy and were not liking the absolute monarchy. Political turbulence was on the rise which would eventually lead to French society being turned on its head. The King was overthrown. Napoleon would have seen the changes although he would not have known that the French Revolution would have provided him an opportunity to propel himself. He was a young man splitting his time between his military training and Corsica. His sense of Corsican nationalism would grow and be proud of his Corsican roots. He wrote a history of Corsica. Perhaps his treatment at school shaped his Corsican passions. In May 1788, Napoleon would leave Corsican to take up a military post. He was a growing republican and his support for the revolution was growing. He would have been aware of what happened in America. He wanted to be at the top when the revolution moved forward. He would be the poor boy who would make good. Along the way, Napoleon would impress his patrons with his drive. Napoleon would return to Corsica and would try to win the rights of Corsicans to self-govern themselves. He would be at the center of Corsican politics. However, the leaders of the Corsicans were pro-monarchy which would lead to civil war. Napoleon would have to lead the forces against his beloved Corsicans. This would make him deeply unpopular and he would eventually return to France. He would continue to move up the ladder in French politics. How would he find his place in the French Revolution? To learn more about Napoleon’s rise continue to watch this documentary. This is an older documentary on Napoleon and it shows its age. Even though it was old school, there was a good pace to the documentary. It was rather annoying to hear historians compare Napoleon to Hitler and Stalin because the documentary should have been on Napoleon himself and not comparing him to other historical figures. So far this is a good introduction to the beginnings of Napoleon. At this time, I would put this in the category of using this documentary for research purposes only and not to be shown in the classroom.
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