Real Dictators - Napoleon: Coming Soon on Real Dictators…

Episode Date: July 19, 2022

The story of Napoleon Bonaparte begins Wednesday August 3rd. Early access to new episodes for Noiser+ subscribers. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

How does one individual become the most powerful man on earth, only to blow it in the blink of an eye? In the year 1769, a boy is born on the Mediterranean island of Corsica. From humble beginnings, he will become not just Emperor of France, but the master of continental Europe, the most brilliant general of his age, a virtual god. He had it all, really. He had charisma, he had ability, and he had the drive to achieve what he wanted most of the time. He will reshape his adopted homeland and bestride the continent through a 20-year series of conflicts, the wars that bear his signature.

He completely dominated 19th century European culture, Western culture, as a symbol of human possibility. People were just absolutely amazed to look at somebody like this. They saw him as having superhuman qualities in a way. But then, almost inevitably, he will fall. inevitably, he will fall. For him, life is conquest, and to live is to move. To die is nothing, but to live without glory is to die every day. He's a self-made man, but it all ends badly, and that makes the character grow and gives birth to his legend. In modern times, there's been something of a rehabilitation of his reputation.

Some no longer see him quite as an ogre, but he still divides opinion. Was he a freedom fighter? A champion of the oppressed? He kept the best parts of the French Revolution, these very important, world-changing ideas, and he got rid of all the sad and mad ones. Or was he a delusional egomaniac? A reckless adventurer who left a trail of corpses behind him? Three million of them? He didn't have an off switch. He is very susceptible to boredom and the one activity which thrilled him was war. I don't know if he intended to become this authoritarian ruler slash dictator, but ultimately I think his ambition led him to that.

Either way, he's become a man of such legend that the world is on first-name terms with him. Still, Napoleon. The Napoleon Story, coming soon from Noisa.