Napoleon... the theme park

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Plans are afoot to build a theme park based on the life and times of the French leader Napoleon Bonaparte. Can it be a tourist magnet to rival nearby Disneyland Paris?
You have heard of Napoleon the emperor, the general, the reformer, the lover. Of the humble Corsican who took destiny by the throat, whose armies marched through Europe, bringing subjugation yet also emancipation.

And how he was stopped at the gates of Moscow, fought a last hurrah at Waterloo, and died in Atlantic exile.

So maybe you will be interested in the latest attempt to memorialise this greatest of Frenchmen. Because coming some time soon at a location not far from Paris, it’s Napoleon… the theme park.

Far from being the whim of a madcap entrepreneur, it is an entirely serious project with the backing of government, tourism officials and the Bonaparte family.

bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-17397172

Most Americans don’t even know where Corsica is.
 
Nec5 said:
The humble Corsican?:rolleyes:
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Actually Napoleon came from somewhat humble roots in Corsica. His dad was minor Italian nobility and he initially rose because his father had revolutionary connections inside Corsica that got his dad a job as Corsica’s representative in France (France owned Corsica at the time). Connections then got Napoleon into school in France. From there Napoleon made the best of his opportunities. To many in the latter French Revolutionary days, he was a true Populist and many were attracted to him because of his humble boy makes good story.
 
That should be interesting, since Napoleon is a hero only to the French-and possibly some Americans.
Many people in Europe, especially in the Brittish Isles, Poland, and Russia consider him to be a monster on a par with Adolph Hitler.
Just one item out of his complex history: After Poland was partitioned the third time in 1795 by Russia, Austria and Prussia, Napoleon encoraged the Poles to think he would re-unify Poland and give the country its freedom. Thousands of Poles flocked to his banner and formed the Polish Legion under the French flag. They fought in his Italian as well as his Russian campaigns. However after his defeat and retreat in Russia, he abandoned Poland to its fate, and in retaliation, Polaand was carved up once and for all by Metternich in 1818. This lasted until the end of WW I when Germany and Austria were defeated and Russia was in the throes of her Boleshevik revolution. The country was then unified and declared independant by General Jozef Pilsudski, completely apart from any efforts by the USA, Britain and France.
 
Chinese and Japanese tourists may be interested in visiting it as well.
 
He wasn’t stopped at the Gates of Moscow. Moscow was surrendered to him (ok, maybe not surrendered… abandoned as he approached).

The BBC is usually better with history.
 
Napoleon made his reputation on attacking weaker opponents…for example, the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Everyone…do a little research about his march into Russia, and the peasant he met.

Great story,

John
 
oldcelt said:
Napoleon made his reputation on attacking weaker opponents…for example, the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Everyone…do a little research about his march into Russia, and the peasant he met.

Great story,

John
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The Austro-Hungarian Empire started the war, at a time when France was quite weak and vulnerable. 😉

However it is true that Napoleon only ever won one battle with a smaller army than his opponent, and that was the won that saw his rise to celebrity.
 
Nine_Two said:
The Austro-Hungarian Empire started the war, at a time when France was quite weak and vulnerable. 😉

However it is true that Napoleon only ever won one battle with a smaller army than his opponent, and that was the won that saw his rise to celebrity.
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Only because the French murdered Marie Antoinette. The daughter of the Francis I of Austria. They warned the French not to murder her, so they came seeking justice. You can’t overlook that.

-Karl
 
Napoleon was a student of the strategy of war, history and of his opponents. By the end of Napoleons reign we was convinced Jesus Christ was God.

However he became absorbed with himself and his self image and pride. Towards the end when reality and lucid thinking was again in the drivers seat, he made some pretty profound statements about Jesus Christ.

“Emperor” to EMPEROR: “I know men; and I tell you that Jesus Christ is not a man. Superficial minds see a resemblance between Christ and the founders of empires, and the gods of other religions. That resemblance does not exist. There is between Christianity and whatever other religions the distance of infinity…” So says Napoleon Bonaparte (1769-1821), emperor of France.

“Well then, I will tell you. Alexander, Caesar, Charlemagne and I myself have founded great empires; but upon what did these creations of our genius depend? Upon force. Jesus alone founded His empire upon love, and to this very day millions will die for Him. . . . I think I understand something of human nature; and I tell you, all these were men, and I am a man; none else is like Him: Jesus Christ was more than a man. . . . I have inspired multitudes with such an enthusiastic devotion that they would have died for me . . . but to do this is was necessary that I should be visibly present with the electric influence of my looks, my words, of my voice. When I saw men and spoke to them, I lightened up the flame of self-devotion in their hearts. . . . Christ alone has succeeded in so raising the mind of man toward the unseen, that it becomes insensible to the barriers of time and space. Across a chasm of eighteen hundred years, Jesus Christ makes a demand which is beyond all others difficult to satisfy; He asks for that which a philosopher may often seek in vain at the hands of his friends, or a father of his children, or a bride of her spouse, or a man of his brother. He asks for the human heart; He will have it entirely to Himself. He demands it unconditionally; and forthwith His demand is granted. Wonderful! In defiance of time and space, the soul of man, with all its powers and faculties, becomes an annexation to the empire of Christ. All who sincerely believe in Him, experience that remarkable, supernatural love toward Him. This phenomenon is unaccountable; it is altogether beyond the scope of man’s creative powers. Time, the great destroyer, is powerless to extinguish this sacred flame; time can neither exhaust its strength nor put a limit to its range. This is it, which strikes me most; I have often thought of it. This it is which proves to me quite convincingly the Divinity of Jesus Christ.”

With unbelievable insight, he saw how Jesus Christ conquered. It was not by force, but through love, mercy and the heart.
 
George_Stegmeir said:
That should be interesting, since Napoleon is a hero only to the French-and possibly some Americans.
Many people in Europe, especially in the Brittish Isles, Poland, and Russia consider him to be a monster on a par with Adolph Hitler…
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One of my favorite bars/restaraunts in New Orleans is called the Napoleon House.

Rumor had it that there was a plot by French-American pirate Jean Lafitte to rescue Napoleon from his exile at Saint Helena, and the mayor of New Orleans offered that Napoleon could stay at this house, after his rescue.
 
George_Stegmeir said:
TMany people in Europe, especially in the Brittish Isles, Poland, and Russia consider him to be a monster on a par with Adolph Hitler.
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Poles, and I speak as a second-generation Polish-American, do not consider him a monster! Indeed, the second stanza of the Polish national anthem says: " Przejdziem Wisłę, przejdziem Wartę, Będziem Polakami. Dał nam przykład Bonaparte, Jak zwyciężać mamy."

For those of you whose Polish is rusty, it translates as: “We’ll cross the Vistula and the Warta,
We shall be Polish. Bonaparte has given us the example, how we are to prevail.” Hardly the sentiments of a people who hate Bonaparte! And, it is an insult of the highest sort to think that Poles compare him to Hitler. Stegmeir would do well to read about German actions in Poland during WWII to learn about Hitler and his armies there.

To Poles, France has always been the good ally and the example. Even during the Polish-Bolshevik War of 1920, French military advisors were present and pledged to stand by the Poles to the end, an end which proved to be the end for the Bolsheviks, not the Poles.
 
Rich_Olszewski said:
To Poles, France has always been the good ally and the example. Even during the Polish-Bolshevik War of 1920, French military advisors were present and pledged to stand by the Poles to the end, an end which proved to be the end for the Bolsheviks, not the Poles.
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The grand old European tradition of ‘your neighbour’s neighbour is your friend.’
 
CarloMagnus said:
Only because the French murdered Marie Antoinette. The daughter of the Francis I of Austria. They warned the French not to murder her, so they came seeking justice. You can’t overlook that.

-Karl
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I think it was the the French Revolution’s tendency toward regicide and mass murder in general. I’ve never heard anythin about Marie Antoinette specifically. The Prussians and the British wouldn’t have cared about that.

Anyway, I wasn’t trying to condemn Austria for what it did, just challenge the idea that France started the war.🙂
 
Rich_Olszewski said:
Poles, and I speak as a second-generation Polish-American, do not consider him a monster! Indeed, the second stanza of the Polish national anthem says: " Przejdziem Wisłę, przejdziem Wartę, Będziem Polakami. Dał nam przykład Bonaparte, Jak zwyciężać mamy."

For those of you whose Polish is rusty, it translates as: “We’ll cross the Vistula and the Warta,
We shall be Polish. Bonaparte has given us the example, how we are to prevail.” Hardly the sentiments of a people who hate Bonaparte! And, it is an insult of the highest sort to think that Poles compare him to Hitler. Stegmeir would do well to read about German actions in Poland during WWII to learn about Hitler and his armies there.

To Poles, France has always been the good ally and the example. Even during the Polish-Bolshevik War of 1920, French military advisors were present and pledged to stand by the Poles to the end, an end which proved to be the end for the Bolsheviks, not the Poles.
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Being half Polish, and born in Europe,I am quite familiar with the Nazis, if for not other reason my parents and I had to flee Germany in 1938 because my Mother was Polish. The fact that she was an American citizen made no difference to them. I am very familiar with the Dabrowski Mazurka- it was one of the first songs I learned as a boy.
I am also very familiar with the history of Poland in WW II, and what the Germans did there. And, despite the Nazi Concentration Camps, the Russians did much worse to the Poles (and Jews) when they attacked Poland 10 days after the Nazis. Just look what they did to their Polish prisoner of war captives! Katyn was just the tip of the ice berg! Although the Russians did not have extermination camps for the Jews, none survived the war in what was Russified Poland before the Nazis turned on the USSR.
As for France, apart from a few military advisors (who didn’t do much) during the Polish-Bolshevik War, what did France do for Poland after that? Not a whole hell of a lot. I can understand that they had their own problems with the Nazis at the time and couldn’t come to Polands aid, but, in fact, the Free French, especially DeGaulle were often politically at odds with the Polish government in exile. Great Brittan was not much better, dithering for several days after the Nazi invasion before honoring her mutual defense treaty with Poland. And it is known that GB often used free Polish troops as cannon fodder. And, both France and GB were complicit in selling Poland down the drain to Stalin in
1945.
And, never forget, that despite what he wrote about Christ early in his career, he, like Henry VIII in England ended up being excommmunicated by the Pope, not just because he conquored the Papal States, but because he divorced his legitimate wife and took another.
 
George_Stegmeir said:
That should be interesting, since Napoleon is a hero only to the French-and possibly some Americans. Many people in Europe, especially in the Brittish Isles, Poland, and Russia consider him to be a monster on a par with Adolph Hitler.
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I’ve often heard and read that comparison and it has no merit whatsoever.
 
I would say the British opinion of Hitler prior to the discovery of the extent of the death camps is probably apt.

The Russians certainly saw him as a monster, as did the Prussians. I don’t think the other Germans were nearly as negative.

But that was then.
 
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