To this end, I visited libraries and archives in Europe, England, and the United States…
I also toured Egypt, Italy, Spain, and all of France, including its main seaport, from the Rhinelands to Stockholm, by train to Berlin and Potsdam, through Bohemia to Vienna and Salzburg, along the Rhine to Legensberg and Ulm, then to Switzerland, and finally to Waterloo-belgium, in search of traces of Napoleon. It was a long and arduous journey that did not stop for a moment, but it was a fascinating epic journey.
It was never easy for a European to have a neutral view of Napoleon. For the French, he was almost universally regarded as a national hero. His atrocities were ignored and avoided. For most people in other European countries, their ancestors were humiliated by Napoleon's conquest, and it was understandable that they hated him. My view of Napoleon was based on his research. I tried my best not to hide the truth and was impartial. As an American whose young country was neither an enemy nor an ally of Napoleon except for a few minor naval skirmishes with France, I wished to avoid taking sides in personal and national sentiments.
Using all the French documents and existing reminiscences that I could gather, I tried my best to study all aspects of his personality and life, whether it was related to his personal family life, internal affairs, diplomacy, or war. I re-examined many of his battles, his attitude toward the conquered countries and people, his relationships with his colleagues and subordinates, his ideals, motives, and actions. My aim is to dig deeply into Napoleon and his actions.
I hope that this biography of mine will serve as a catalyst for my young colleagues to delve deeper into this worthwhile and much-needed subject.
BOOK I: An Artillery Captain: His Country Needed a Savior
Dangerous Islanders
On December 17, 1778, Charles Bonaparte, 32 years old, boarded a ship at the port of Ajaccio on Corsica Island. Beside him was his 10-year-old eldest son, Joseph. His 9-year-old second son, Napoleon, also known as Napoleone; And his brother-in-law, Joseph Fisher. They had just left the four-story, dilapidated stone house in Strada Maleba, where Joseph and Naboriani had kissed their mother goodbye. Their destination was France. Joseph was going to enter Orton Theological Seminary to become a priest. Napolioni would enter the Brienne Military Academy and learn French, which was still difficult for most Corsica people to master. In addition, he would also study history, geography, mathematics, and other courses required to enter the Royal Military Academy of Paris. The children's amiable young uncle, their mother's half-brother, Fisher, was going to the seminary in Aix-en-Provence to study for the clergy. Napoleon's short teenage years were over.
On August 15, 1769, Letizia Bonaparte left the High Mass in the church of Ajaccio and hurried home, almost giving birth to Napoleon on the way. The child was born in a living room with little furniture. Just like everything else, she was too precise with her timing. Her real name was Letizia Ramolino, the daughter of the National Road and Bridge Inspector. After her father died, her mother's second husband, Letizia's stepfather, was a banker named Fisher.
Her family was originally from Lombardy and had moved to almost half of Italy, including Florence and Napoli, before settling in Corsica in the 14th century. Letizia was a slim, short, dark-skinned woman who rarely smiled. For a woman who had not received formal education, who was waiting to have children, life was terrible and harsh. On July 2, 1764, Letizia, who was only 14 years old, married Charles Bonaparte, who was 18 years old. She had indeed given birth to many children, but only eight survived. Her Corsica with an Italian accent was not flawless, and her grammar and writing were at best adequate. France would always be a mystery to her. As for books, no matter what language they were written in, she never read them. However, since France had bought Corsica from the Republic of Genaia on May 15, 1767 (the conquest of the combative Corsica led by Pasquale Pauli was the following year), she was destined to hear French, despite her hatred of the French and the French. She had a dowry of about 7,000 livres (a reasonable dowry at the time) and some land. She was a woman of perseverance, a survivor of the harsh environment in the turbulent Corsica history. There were only a few pieces of furniture in the room on the first two floors of her house. There was not even a carpet, indicating that she would be a harsh mother in the future. The Bonaparte residence was hardly a pleasant place to visit, and her starving children received little affection there. Although she occasionally attended Mass-her husband's uncle Lucien was the archdeacon of Corsica-she was not born a devout believer. Her world was limited to her husband, who was rarely at home, her children, who were always at home, and her responsibility to look after the house and manage the money.
Charles Bonaparte's family migrated from Florence to Ajaccio in 1520. Before that, his family members were once minor nobles in Florence (although they were not conferred titles). The first and last illustrious ancestor of the Charles family, the noble Guliemo de Bonaparte, was a member of the city council of Florence, which was controlled by members of the Italian Emperor's Party in the 13th century. However, with the victory of the papal faction, he and his entire family were forced to flee Tuscany and live in seclusion in Liguria and Salzana in San Miniato. They became poorer and poorer, and finally, Francesco de Bonaparte had to set foot on Corsica in the 16th century to find a new way out.
Bonaparte's family were not shrewd businessmen. Although they could always be educated and occasionally found positions in the legal profession, they were always poor and miserable. Indeed, when Charles and Letizia were married in 1764, he was almost penniless. His law degree in Pisa made him a royal judge in the Ajaccio legal district. Although he was awarded the rank of military aide, his annual salary was only 900 Francs. But he had hope. His sickly uncle Lucien, a famileless priest, had promised to leave all his inheritance to the mild-tempered but disorderly Charles. It was for this reason that they now had a large house in Ajaccio with a proud portrait of the French governor hanging in the gloomy living room.
This book comes from：m.funovel.com。