Napoleon Bonaparte was born in Corsica in a modest family of Italian ancestry. He was serving the army from where he rose to power during the French Revolution. He led several wars and became a force to reckon with in the entire world. He assumed the title of Emperor of France. He won most of the wars and concentrated on building the Empire in Europe. He is considered the best general with military acumen unmatched that most military schools even now study his strategies of battle.
In this video we unravel some lesser known and interesting facts about the Little Corporal as he was known.
We all are aware that though he ruled France he was born Italian. Though he is said to be short that is not the case as he was 5foot 6inches tall. The reason he appeared short was that he kept taller soldiers around him.
He had the reputation of being fearless but bravery did not mean any fear at all in fact he was afraid of a cat that is he suffered from Ailurophobia. He was also afraid of open doors and would give people only enough space to squeeze themselves in. Anyone who left the door open was killed.
He loved playing chess and he had a fake Turk machine playing with him. He was defeated but never knew that inside the machine indeed there was a Turk playing the game. He also played cards and it is said he cheated to win games. The reason WAS HIS obsession with victory.
Probably the use of canned food started with Napoleon’s military as they were engaged in battle most of the time and had to travel the length and breadth of Europe. It was easier to use canned food.
He hated to lose so he always carried a packet of poison tied round his neck to save him from the ignominy of having to surrender to his captors. But unfortunately when he did get to use it had lost its potency.
Napoleon also changed tactics as far as horse riding and sword fighting went by changing the hands in which the reins and sword were held. Till day the practice continues everywhere except Britain which he did not capture.
For all his bravery he was extremely superstitious and believed in good omens and luck. Number 13 he considered unlucky. He always carried his wife’s photograph with him as a lucky omen. He brought back a statue of Seth from Egypt which he professed had supreme powers. Its accidental loss through drowning is said to be a turning point in his rise. He lost almost every battle after the loss of the statue.
He didn’t believe in sleeping long hours and he had the unusual practice of napping just before a major battle. His normal sleep time was 3 to 4hours. It’s said that he would wake up from his nap in the middle of a battle and continue to give instructions as though nothing had happened earlier.There are strange coincidences in the life of Napoleon and Hitler and the space was a mere 129 years.
Though, we claim that the invention of Braille to Louis Braille, in reality the idea of night writing as it is called should go to Napoleon, who wanted to give instructions to his soldiers by night and developed this writing. Unfortunately the soldiers were not able to master it and its use became worldwide with Louis Braille uncovering its mystery.
A picture is worth a thousand words the oft quoted phrase in the English language is also credited to Napoleon though he said it differently.
Till today the cause of his death remains a mystery but no one can take away from Napoleon his mastery of war and his authority over most of Europe in a short span of a hundred plus years.

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