“We all look at Napoleons,” Pushkin wrote at the time, correctly noting the impact on the minds of some of his ambitious contemporaries that Napoleon Bonaparte had. Indeed, there is little in the history of personalities who would have made such a dizzying take-off - from an unknown lieutenant to the emperor with a claim to world domination.
It does not matter that at the end of his life he had to renounce all achievements, including the crown, however, today it is almost impossible to find a person who has not heard anything about Bonaparte. Thousands of tourists, arriving in Paris, go to the House of the Disabled - the place where Napoleon’s grave is located.
Little corsican
In August 1769, Napoleone's son was born into the noble Corsican family of Buonaparte. Of course, the Corsican aristocracy is not at all the same as the French. According to one British historian, the parents of the future emperor were, in fact, small landowners, the only thing that united them with the nobility was the presence of a family coat of arms.
The years of Napoleon's life in Corsica left a big imprint on his character. He was always very devoted to his mother and his family in general. When Bonaparte became emperor, he tried to find a suitable throne for his many relatives: brothers, nephews, stepsons.
Napoleon mastered the French language under the guidance of the monk Recco, and already at the age of 9 he read not the children's works of Voltaire, Plutarch, Rousseau, Cicero. Having used all the connections available to him, Napoleon's father placed his son in a military school near Paris in 1779. Here he learned to fencing very well, not letting his offenders descendants - offspring of aristocratic families mocking the poor Corsican.
Brigadier General
When the revolution began in France, Napoleon was on vacation on his native island. By this time he had completed his military education and served as a junior lieutenant in a small provincial garrison. The future emperor accepted the revolution as the end of absolutism unconditionally. Nevertheless, Napoleon, who loved order, was against an uncontrollable popular revolt.
During the years of revolutionary chaos in Corsica, the liberation movement resumed. Since Napoleon opposed the fight against France, he was imprisoned. After escaping from a Corsican prison, Bonaparte joined the army besieging Toulon. Here in December 1793 he had the opportunity to become famous thanks to personal heroism during the storming of the fortress.
Well, after the fall of 1795, on behalf of the Directory, he suppressed the royalist rebellion in just 4 hours, all of France learned about General Bonaparte, and his brilliant career became a role model. Napoleon's army idolized. In addition to unparalleled personal courage, he bribed the soldiers with a caring attitude, so they were ready to give his life for him without hesitation.
In imitation of an idol
Napoleon’s grave in Paris, or rather his sarcophagus, is located in the center of the hall, around the perimeter of which 12 sculptures of Nicky, the ancient Greek goddess of victory, are installed. This number corresponds to the number of battles won by the great commander, including Borodino.
Napoleon’s idol all his life was Alexander the Great, who in a short time created a huge empire. Bonaparte himself nurtured similar plans. After the victorious Italian campaign, not only France spoke about him, but all of Europe. At this time, there was a romantic image of Napoleon, which inspired many contemporaries.
The next military expedition, this time to Egypt, was not so triumphant. At a time when the French army was threatened with a real defeat, news came of the political crisis in Paris. Napoleon had the prospect of gaining power, to which he so persistently sought.
Having thrown an army in Egypt, he secretly went to France, where he was soon proclaimed the first consul, and 5 years later, in December 1804, Bonaparte made his own magnificent coronation in Notre Dame.
Lord of the world
The tombs of many French monarchs are in the abbey of Saint-Denis. But for Napoleon, the State Shelter's House of Persons with Disabilities, once created for sick war veterans, was the last refuge.
Most likely, being at the zenith of fame, the emperor dreamed of a completely different burial place. Indeed, at the beginning of the XIX century. the French army under his command was considered almost invincible. Napoleon redrawn the political map of Europe at his discretion, created new kingdoms.
The years 1805-1810 saw the peak of his power. The French court becomes one of the most brilliant in Europe, and the emperor himself marries a princess of the Habsburg family. Despite conspiracies and coalitions created against him, Napoleon continued to believe in his lucky star even after fleeing Russia.
Last chance
In 1813, the battle of Leipzig took place, which Napoleon lost. Moreover, he had to sign a renunciation and go into exile on the island of Elba. Here he seemed to come to terms with his fate, but in reality Bonaparte was preparing a campaign in France with the aim of regaining the lost power.
His plan was partially successful. The small army of Napoleon in the spring of 1815 was greeted by the French with enthusiasm. He arrived in Paris and again occupied the Tuileries Palace. However, the restoration was short-lived. Napoleon was now mostly surrounded by traitors, which he himself did not notice.
The culmination of a hundred days of his reign was the battle, or rather the complete defeat of the French army near the village of Waterloo (Belgium). Napoleon, who surrendered to the British, was again sent into exile, this time to the island of St. Helena, lost among the ocean.
On the edge of the empire
At the beginning of the 19th century, Great Britain was a powerful colonial empire. Among its overseas possessions was the small rocky island of St. Helena in the south of the Atlantic. From the nearest (African) coast it was separated by two thousand kilometers. It was here that the ousted monarch ended his days; Napoleon’s empty grave is also located here.
Low, the governor of the island, frightened by rumors of an upcoming squadron of associates of the exiled emperor, constantly asked the British government to send an additional number of guns to strengthen the coastline.
Another preventive measure, chosen by him, consisted of an exceptional severity regime in which the prisoner was to be kept. True, the former emperor was not imprisoned, he could relatively freely move around the island, which was only 19 km long.
The last years of Napoleon's life, spent by him in St. Helena, were the most hopeless. We know about them from books written by General Laskas after Bonaparte’s death. He was one of the few who voluntarily went into exile with the former emperor.
Not so long ago, as a result of a chemical analysis of Bonaparte's preserved hair, it was found that he was poisoned by arsenic. Napoleon died in early May 1821. According to official evidence, stomach cancer was the cause of death.
Where is Napoleon buried?
On the island of St. Helena there is still a modest grave plate surrounded by an iron fence - the burial place of a man who once decided the fate of the European continent. Shortly after the death of Bonaparte, the French began to demand that the ashes of their emperor be transported to France for a worthy burial.
The English government, in the end, went forward, and in October 1840 the tomb of Napoleon on St. Helena was opened. The remains of the emperor were transported to France in two coffins, lead and ebony. Finally, on December 15, with a huge crowd of people, Napoleon’s sarcophagus was delivered to the House of Disabled.
For five days, the French came to the church of St. Louis to bow to the ashes of the late emperor. The magnificent tomb for him was completed only in 1861. Here the sarcophagus with the remains of Bonaparte is located today.
Instead of a conclusion
Napoleon, whose life and death is the subject of numerous studies, remains one of the most discussed historical characters. The attitude towards him is sometimes diametrically opposite.
Nevertheless, no one will deny the enormous role that Bonaparte played in European history at the beginning of the 19th century. For this reason, the tomb of Napoleon in the Paris House of the Disabled is included in the list of excursions introducing tourists to the capital of France.