Napoleon, the Man and the Myths: Part 2

They thought they’d get rid of Napoleon by sending him to Italy. Instead, Napoleon turned the army around and posted huge victories over Austria and Italy. He was a soldier’s soldier, a hands-on commander and a great general who got the big picture and planned well, and allowed his soldier to loot after victories: he was very popular with his troops.

This very popularity would contribute to the myth of him being short. He was called “le petit corporal”. Translated literally, it meant the “little corporal”. But in French, it was just an affectionate phrase. Napoleon was 5’ 2”, but that was in French inches. With no standardization of units, that was the same as 5’ 7” in British units. A pretty good height in that era. But this was ammunition for British mockery, and they attributed his ambition to his trying to compensate for his short height, so much so we even have the phrase “Napoleon complex”.

Napoleon realized he couldn’t beat the British, so he decided to choke off their pathway to India by invading Egypt. This is where the legend of the pyramid came in. And it was almost certainly a piece of propaganda by the British: it created the image that he had desecrated a holy burial site, thereby provoking Egyptian revolt, or he was a closet Muslim, alienating him from the French! Another myth says he broke the Sphinx’s nose. Given that European tendency was to loot and steal (think Rosetta stone and the treasures of the pyramids), it’s very unlikely that Napoleon would have vandalized the Sphinx.

Soon the British arrived in Egypt and beat the French. But the defeat didn’t do any damage to Napoleon’s image back home: he was still the man who beat Austria and Italy, a victory that held far greater relevance to the common man who had been raided by those countries until Napoleon’s victory.

Returning to France, he was enlisted in a coup attempt. Never one to be the subordinate, he staged a “coup within a coup” and stormed into the Registry. They refused and nearly lynched him. Ironically, Napoleon’s trademark decisiveness, readiness to action and improvisation had nearly cost him his life. But he escaped, thanks to the intervention of his brother, who even persuaded the Registry to declare Napoleon the First Consul and to change the constitution!

To legitimize his role, a plebiscite was conducted. And 99.94% supported his ascension: you can imagine how rigged the vote was. Napoleon ruled well. He framed the Napoleonic Code, which declared all citizens equal under the law. Today, we take it for granted in most countries, but back then, it was unimaginable. He started paying off French debt, thereby increasing lender and investor confidence, which in turn led to more investments and economic growth. He struck a deal with the Church: they could return provided they had no political power. He put an end to the endless wars since the French Revolution.