Posted on 03/26/2012 9:25:18 PM PDT by MinorityRepublican
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.
(Excerpt) Read more at bbc.co.uk ...
They should build it in San Dimas. He spent a lot of time there.
The Hitler theme park will be next.
As one of Polish heritage, I consider Napoleon to be a liberator, as many in Poland do. There is even mention of Napoleon in the Polish National Anthem.
For obvious geopolitical reasons Poland and France have generally always been allied.
While it is true that Napoleon re-established a Polish state for a time, as with everything he did, it was out of cold, calculating self-interest.
There was an incident in Spain where he callously sent the Polish Lancers into a suicidal attack out of impatience.
Did have a stunningly gorgeous Polish mistress, though.
Or a big sign over the entrance that reads “La Garde recule.”
If i recall my history correctly it was Napoleon who inspired a movement that would eventually become the American Revolution. The idea that all men are created equal. He was a peasant who destroyed the concept of feudalism by rising to power and conquering the lords and kings of virtually every nation in the world.
Indeed, Mazurek Dabrowskiego (Dabrowski's Mazurka), the Polish national anthem, does mention Napoleon:
Dał nam przykład Bonaparte,
Jak zwyciężać mamy.
(Bonaparte has shown us ways to victory)
And if a terrorist then bombs its buildings,
(wait for it)
it will be Linoleum Blownapart...
Sorry..
Napoleon was born in 1769 and although he was certainly a genius I think even he would admit that it was a little bit beyond his powers to be influencing foreign political movements at the age of 7.
Eep! Thanks.
It is a great book that will give you a complete understanding of Napoleon's military genius.
Hmmm. They could feature kiosks selling yummy napoleons...
He had a Polish wife, the father of the ‘Eaget” Napoleon II.
He had a Polish wife, the father of the ‘Eaget” Napoleon II.
Wrong. US Revolution predated French revolution. Thomas Jefferson was US ambassador during part of the Revolution, and contributed to the French Declaration of the Rights of Man.
I looked this up, since it seemed odd that a devoutly Catholic nation would include such a line about a killer whose enormity led to the collapse of European Christianity, and the slaughter of millions.
Sure enough, it’s true, but Poland’s national anthem comes from a weird historical quirk, which you may have known:
Poland had been conquered, and divided amongst Russian, Prussian, and Austrian Empires. Rather than celebrating a state, the song celebrates the persistance of a nation, in spite of the loss of an independent state. With France at war with Poland’s looters, Polish forces in Italy, which had literally been trained by Napoleon himself, planned a liberating battle.
So, yes, the anthem means not (necessarily) that Napoleon is someone to be emulated in character, but literally that Napoleon taught them combat. Ironically, this song was written long *before* Napoleonic forces briefly reconstituted Poland (1807-1815).
So sad.
In reality, Napoleon was one of history’s greatest murderers, unleashing wild, nihilistic crowds to slaughtered by the millions and destroyed Christianity in Europe. Far from inspiring Washington, Napoleon’s antecedents brutally slaughtered those who had helped Washington.
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