Bonaparte had some interesting adventures. We know him best from the picture of him with his right hand tucked into his shirt between chest buttons.
But most importantly, because he was
"Faced by imminent war against Britain and bankruptcy, he recognised French possessions on the mainland of North America would be indefensible and sold them to the United States—the Louisiana Purchase—for less than three cents per acre ($7.40 per km²).
Also from the Wikipedia article
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Napoleon_bonaparte we read, "Due to his longtime success in these wars, often against numerically superior enemies, he is generally regarded as one of the greatest military commanders of all time."
I found these interesting quotes while looking up: the logical end of defensive war is surrender.
The battlefield is a scene of constant chaos. The winner will be the one who controls that chaos, both his own and the enemies.
It requires more courage to suffer than to die.
In politics, stupidity is not a handicap.
Doctors will have more lives to answer for in the next world than even we generals.
and finally, here's food for thought:
Never interrupt your enemy when he is making a mistake.
Apparently Napoleon was a military genius. He died only 62 years of age, conquered Europe and ended up in exile. I don't know if that means his wisdom is good or bad, but I find them interesting.
I wonder if he hadn't been in so much debt with all the wars he was busy fighting, how we Americans would have ended up with that massive chunk of land?
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Napoleon has always been an interest of mine. He was a unique individual. Opportunistic and ruthless to a fault. I wouldn't have wanted to serve under his command, but I'd have loved to have been a historian on his staff.
ReplyDeleteOne quote I didn't copy into this blog Napoleon called women nothing but baby makers. He wasn't gay, was he?
ReplyDeleteLOL Brawny... probably not, but he might've come across some women who said they were lesbians. That tends to put hetro males on the prowl into a bit of a snit!
ReplyDeleteI love the quote about not interrupting.