History is very interesting and teaches us many things –
it is replete with stories of successful people. In olden days, it was more of great military
leaders who conquered far off lands by their valour. Here are some quotes attributed to a famous
military leader who conquered much of hope :
ü A leader is a dealer in hope.
ü A revolution can be neither made
nor stopped. The only thing that can be done is for one of several of its
children to give it a direction by dint of victories.
ü Four hostile newspapers are more to be feared than
a thousand bayonets.
Often history is tainted also - this worldwide was portrayed as symbolizing
military genius and political power, had thousands of books discussing him and hundreds of films
portraying him. In Tamil, also we have
an actor by his hame. British Press
portrays him as a dangerous tyrant and a man much smaller than average height.
Little known fact is that he is also associated with a
civil code which for bade privileges based on on birth, allowed freedom of
religion, and specified that government jobs go to the most qualified.
It is indeed ‘Napoleon
Bonaparte’ [1769 – 1821] the famous French military and political leader during
the latter stages of the French Revolution. He was Emperor of the French from 1804 to
1815. He was born in Corsica to parents
of noble Genoese ancestry, and trained as an artillery officer in mainland France . After a streak of victories, France secured a dominant position in
continental Europe , and Napoleon maintained
the French sphere of influence through the formation of extensive alliances and
the appointment of friends and family members to rule other European countries
as French client states. Napoleon's campaigns are studied at military academies
throughout much of the world.
The Peninsular War and 1812 French invasion of Russia marked
turning points in Napoleon's fortunes. His army was badly depleted and never
fully recovered. He was defeated at the
Battle of Waterloo in June 1815. Napoleon spent the last six years of his life
in confinement by the British on the island
of Saint Helena . An
autopsy concluded he died of stomach cancer, although this claim has sparked
significant debate, as some scholars have held that he was a victim of arsenic
poisoning.
He died on this day [5th May – 191 years ago –
in 1821] – not yet 52 years old.
The Napoleonic Code, is the French civil code, established
under Napoléon. The code forbade privileges based on birth, allowed freedom of
religion, and specified that government jobs go to the most qualified. It was drafted rapidly by a commission of
four eminent jurists and entered into force in 1804.
There had been legal codes earlier, still it was the first modern legal
code to be adopted with a pan-European scope and it strongly influenced the law
of many of the countries formed during and after the Napoleonic Wars.
With regards – S. Sampathkumar .
Interesting piece of history learnt when I followed IPL to your blog -
ReplyDeleteSaravana