Good morning, I am working through the Napoleon series and this is the last episode in the series! I am very glad and relieved to be done with this series. The run time for this episode is 48:09 and it is about the Battle of Waterloo.
Napoleon was in exile on the Island of Ebla after his final defeat in 1814. He had been forced to abdicate and was sent into exile. It was a shock to Napoleon to be sent to Elba. However, eventually, the shock wore off he kept himself busy building bridges and forts on Elba. During his exile, the allies refused to let him reunite with his wife Marie-Louise and his son. These actions won the population. Even though he was in exile he would make plans to return to France. While in exile, he came to a barren island. He resolved to improve the lives of the population. He built roads and would talk with the people. Napoleon kept himself busy but wanted to return to France. He keeps in touch with events back in France. He is aware of the unpopularity of Louis XVIII. He regained his health. Eventually, he would redecorate his house and would set rooms aside for his wife and son in case they would join him in exile. He would also keep in touch with his former life Josephine, however, she would eventually pass away. Marie would not join him in exile and would turn her back on his husband. Money troubles would plague Napoleon and his family. The British begged Louis XVIII to pay the pension. They did not want to give Napoleon a reason to come back to France. Louis XVIII refused. He was an unpopular king in France. He barely acknowledges the Revolution, however, wants to restore the Bourbon line to the days before the revolution. Things had changed so much that there was no way France was going back to the days pre-Revolution. Napoleon would eventually return from exile. Historically, few people had come back from exile to take power. However, with the encouragement of his mother and one of his generals, he returned to France. How would the population receive him? When the king heard that Napoleon returned to France, King Louis XVIII fled from France. He knew that Napoleon was popular and did not want to plunge France into Civil War. There were other French that were going to fight back against Napoleon’s return. Initially, Napoleon was greeted coldly when he arrived in France. However as he pressed forward to Paris, he gained popular support. He was convincing the people that he only wanted to rule France. However, there were royalist generals who wanted to stop him from reclaiming the throne. Napoleon would put himself in front of his soldiers wearing a white shirt, making himself a target. This action turned the tide and the soldiers rushed to embrace him. The soldiers want to relive the old glory days of winning battle after battle. More soldiers were on their way to stop him from advancing on Paris. However, they were soon turned to Napoleon’s side. Napoleon marched to Grenoble. The politicians refused to open the gates to Napoleon. The gates were blown up and the pieces were brought to Napoleon. The people were thrilled with the return of Napoleon and carried him on their shoulders throughout the city. There were other generals in Napoleon’s way. They had grown rich under Napoleon and wanted to enjoy their wealth. They did not want to go to war again. However, nothing could stop Napoleon from returning to Paris. Eventually, he would arrive in huge crowds in Paris. Napoleon was emperor again. How would Napoleon handle his second chance as Emperor? Tune into the rest of this episode to find out. The introduction to this episode was very confusing and difficult to follow. It slowly got better with its details. That said, there is something lacking with this episode, well something lacking overall with this series. I cannot put my finger on what is lacking it just felt difficult to follow at times. Maybe I have been spoiled by BBC documentaries, but this series was so old and dated. In the end, I would only use it for research purposes and not show it to a class.
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