September 5, 2017 ▸ History, People

Episode 229: Napoleon Bonaparte: The Ultimate Warrior?

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On this episode of The Sofa King Podcast, we look at the life of the world’s most famous short man, Napoleon Bonaparte. Napoleon was one of the greatest military minds in human history, and it’s a bit surprising that his wars aren’t considered a world war since they involved almost everyone. He nearly conquered the world thanks to his unique genius. Napoleon was born to a wealthy family on the island of Corsica and was sent to military school at the age of nine. He excelled.

At age 16, he was already a lieutenant in the army, and he proved to be an amazing soldier and tactician. Napoleon Bonaparte played a key role in the French Revolution. While the Reign of Terror was beheading the aristocracy, Napoleon’s army kept the royals from taking control of the new French government called the Directory. As a reward for this, he was given promotion after promotion, until by the age of 26, he was in charge of the entire French army.

He had a famous romance with his first wife Joséphine de Beauharnais, but it may have been rockier than history makes out, and it ended in annulment when she couldn’t produce a male heir. From this point, Napoleon waged war with the entire European continent, from Spain and England to the Netherlands and Russia. He suffered many defeats and staged many amazing come backs. He was exiled after he was defeated in Egypt, came back and conquered France again, and kept on fighting.

But aside from the war, he changed all of France. He introduced a new banking system, fought for religious freedoms, kept out the old monarchy, and erased laws that favored the aristocracy. He even created the Napoleonic Code which contained a fair, modern legal system which is still in place today. So, what happened with his historic defeat in Russia? What was Waterloo, and why did defeat there serve as the end of Napoleon Bonaparte’s reign? Did he die by poison from his enemies as some historians suggested in 1961? Listen, laugh, learn.

Thorough video on the Waterlooo battle: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nDZGL1xsqzs