Episode 9 - Napoleon's Plaything

10/6/2013

We go over Napoleon's invasion of Italy again, this time focusing on his administrative and political actions. Italians of the 19th century would see politics and governments differently than Italians of the 18th century, because between 1797 and 1815 Napoleon would reshape Italy's political consciousness. He got started quickly, as in just 2 years he had already upended Northern Italy. Download Episode 9

2 Comments

thebigJ_A

10/7/2013 07:38:06 pm

Another excellent episode, though it seems some of your sources have the unfortunate, more negative opinion of Napoleon (a relic of much of the English language historiography coming from, well, England, or based on writings from England).

But then, I'm a confessed Napoleonophile. The wider I've read, the less evidence for 'Corsican Ogre', 'tyrannical' or even simply 'amoral' I've seen. :)

I continue to be impressed by you guys' work.

Benjamin

10/8/2013 07:06:07 am

This was one of my favorite episodes so far, glad you liked it!

Napoleon is a hard person to judge. During his 2 decades in the spotlight, he said and did so many contradictory things. A lot of his actions can be interpreted in many ways. Sometimes he appears fickle, as he goes back on promises, or changes his attitude rather dramatically in a short period. For example, his attitude toward the church changed to suit his needs.

On the other hand, maybe he was less fickle and more pragmatic. Maybe he had a set of values he never changed, but modified his approach to politics as the situation demanded to better advance his actual values?

Because he said and did so many seemingly contradictory things, it's easy to make a case for him being a sinner or a saint, and the British definitely chose the sinner side of him. But, you're right, I probably should have used the word 'dictatorial' instead of 'tyrannical'.

Thanks for the comment!

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