On this day in 1821, Napoleone di Buonaparte, the former Emperor of France, died in exile on the remote island of St. Helena—a tiny, isolated dot in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. He was stranded over 1000 miles from the closest continent. And his British captors had no intention of permitting his escape. He was born on an island and he died on an island.
Napoleon is a fascinating case study of ambition, reinvention, self-aggrandizement and the ability to generate a cult following. (Hmmm. As Mark Twain reportedly informed us, "History doesn't repeat itself, but it rhymes.") To my mind, there are so many improbabilities which should have prevented Napoleon's grand ascension. First of all, he wasn't even French! He was an Italian, from an Italian family, with an Italian name. He was born on the island of Corsica, which had been a possession of Genoa, Italy, for centuries. The French conquered it by military force fewer than 100 days before Napoleon's birth. If he was, coincidentally, born on French soil, he certainly wasn't conceived on it.
Second, Napoleon came to power in the aftermath of the French Revolution. Wasn't the whole purpose of this bloody transformation to eliminate the French monarchy? The French eliminated their King only to watch Napoleon crown himself Emperor—wallowing in every bit of luxury and entitlement which the previous kings had enjoyed.
Then came the question of naming his successor. Of course—just as with the monarchy—Napoleon wanted his son to succeed him, which he did, as Napoleon II, for two days (at the age of three).
After Napoleon's catastrophic military failure (attempting to invade Russia in 1812, losing 500,000 men), he found himself exiled on the Mediterranean island of Elba. He was a comfortable 10 miles off the coast of Italy and was allowed to retain his title as Emperor. He spent 300 days ruling the island and making real improvements to the physical and social infrastructure of the island. Eventually, he escaped (with 1000 men) and returned to France. Once in Paris, he seized power from Louis XVIII and resumed leadership of France.
But this glorious resurrection only lasted 110 days. With Napoleon's resounding defeat by the British at Waterloo, he found himself headed for exile, once again. Napoleon hoped that he'd be sent to America. In fact, he was packed and ready-to-go. But the British nixed that dream. And, this time, the British had no intention of planting him in a cozy, nearby, Mediterranean island! They picked the British island of St. Helena—truly in the middle of nowhere. He wasn't allowed to "play Emperor" in this fiefdom. He lived in isolation, writing his memoirs, gardening, and writing a book on Julius Caesar (complete with critiques of Caesar's military strategy).
Napoleon died on 5 May 1821, at the age of 51. He was initially buried in the Valley of the Geraniums on St. Helena. In 1840, Napoleon's remains were repatriated to Paris (amidst great fanfare) and held for 21 years in the chapel of Saint-Jérôme. In 1861, Napoleon was entombed (in monumental style) beneath the grand, golden dome of the Parisian military complex, Les Invalides. Perhaps this was Napoleon's final act of reinvention—from despotic, exiled failure to everlasting national icon. Even today, he lies in a monumental Empire sarcophagus of red quartzite (from Russia!) which is supported by a green granite base. To view the tomb, one must look down into the sunken rotunda—heads bowed in the Emperor's presence. His son, Napoleon II, lies nearby.
The hand-decorated Nineteenth Century porcelain pitcher, shown above, exemplifies some of the insignia and symbolism of the French Emperor Napoleon. In fact, it may have been made in the years shortly after Napoleon's entombment at Les Invalides. Finely hand-painted bees and laurel wreaths—frequently associated with Napoleon's heraldry, portraiture and regal attire—crisply decorate the white porcelain below. Bees are emblems of immortality, resurrection and industriousness which Napoleon used to replace the royal fleur-de-lis (long associated with the monarchy). And laurel wreaths are an ancient symbol of victory and military might. Even after two devastating, catastrophic and historic losses, Napoleon wants to be remembered as a military genius.
Click on the photo above to learn more about this handsome, Napoleonic pitcher.
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