Why is Napoleon important as an historical figure?

1. Why is Napoleon important as an historical figure? Napoleon is the third most written-about person in history, behind Jesus Christ and Hitler, and incidentally he has been compared to both figures. The allure of Napoleon is that he can represent so many different things to different people – he is an example of the self-made man to some; to others he is a prototype of later dictators that would build on his use of propaganda and control. As historian Steven Englund said: 'Napoleon is a character unfinished, like Hamlet; and like Hamlet, a puzzle-full of contradictions, sublime and vulgar. One is pulled in opposing directions.' Such scrutiny among historians on the Napoleonic age has often led to polemical works.

2. An interpretation is defined as 'explaining the meaning of something'. Thus, an historical interpretation is an attempt by an historian to explain the meaning of something in the past. Interpretations

3. What shapes historical interpretations and revisionism?

4. For example… • In 1848,the Chartists attempted to stage a massive protest over male suffrage at Kennington Common. • Historians disagree on the numbers that attended in the end –and often by tens of thousands. • Try to think of as many reasons as possible.

5. Some factors that influence historical interpretations include… • They draw on differing sources of evidence. • They have clashing foci, including their chronological/geographical range, and the factors they emphasise. • They disagree on the definitions of key terms.

6. Some factors that influence historical interpretations include… • They draw on differing sources of evidence. • They have clashing foci, including their chronological/geographical range, and the factors they emphasise. • They disagree on the definitions of key terms.

7. Some factors that influence historical interpretations include… One historian might focus on the peak of the Kennington Common demonstration, while another analyses that day more thoroughly. Or one historian focuses on how that day affected key parts of London, while another looks at how many different parts of the country were affected. • They draw on differing sources of evidence. • They have clashing foci, including their chronological/geographical range, and the factors they emphasise. • They disagree on the definitions of key terms.

8. Some factors that influence historical interpretations include… They might estimate a low attendance figure similar to The Timesbecause, to some historians, a ‘Chartist’ is defined as someone who is officially a member of the group and was there for a set amount of time. Another historian might define a ‘Chartist’ as anyone who came to support the group’s message. • They draw on differing sources of evidence. • They have clashing foci, including their chronological/geographical range, and the factors they emphasise. • They disagree on the definitions of key terms.

9. Can the historian’s personal background impact historical interpretations? For example, PieterGeyl’sbookNapoleon: For and Againsthas been viewed by many as more negative towards Napoleon than positive, because of his disdain ofdictatorship; he did much of his research during the rise of Hitler and was forced to abandon it when he was placed in a concentration camp. With this in mind, it’s not a surprise that he references personal experiences in his work and even compares Napoleon and Hitler (both in favour and against). His interpretation still offers a unique perspective on Napoleon’s limitations, but we can criticise his interpretation for not keeping enough distance between himself and his subject, creating a possibly narrow interpretation – never use the word ‘bias’!

10. What IS revisionism in history? ‘…revision is the lifeblood of historical scholarship. History is a continuing dialogue between the present and the past. Interpretations of the past are subject to change in response to new evidence, new questions asked of the evidence, new perspectives gained by the passage of time. There is no single, eternal, and immutable "truth" about past events and their meaning. The unending quest of historians for understanding the past – that is, "revisionism" – is what makes history vital and meaningful.ʼ–James McPherson https://www.historians.org/publications-and-directories/perspectives-on-history/september-2003/revisionist-historians

11. Revisionist works occur because of… • New evidence being discovered. • New or greater appreciation for values that previous historians overlooked, including gender history. This is often a reflection of the historian’s milieu –the increase of multiculturalism and minority rights can be linked to greater historical works that showcase views from these sections of society. • New methodologies, including the use of science. This has led to understanding the role of volcanic ash as a cause of the French Revolution,or modern techniques for crowd estimation being used to suggest that 100,000 people attended the Kennington Common demonstration in 1848. • https://kmflett.wordpress.com/2018/07/13/the-size-of-the-london-crowd-from-the-chartists-in-1848-to-trump-in-2018/

12. This is not to say that newer and more revisionist historical works are the most useful. There are plenty of great historical works from the first half of the twentiethcentury that can offer insights that have stood the test of time. Additionally, a flaw of newer works is that in their attempt to offer an original and unique interpretation,they can overemphasisecertain meanings and ignore others.

13. Historical revisionism can often be thrust upon us by informal players. For example, Boris Johnson’s comparison of the European Union to Hitler and Napoleon in 2016 led to a renewed debate about comparing the two figures.

14. Can history be ‘revised’ by anyone, anytime, then? • You cannot just make things up. In the 1970s, some holocaust deniers claimed to be ‘revisionist’ historians, such as David Irving. Thanks to the peer review process of history as a profession, they have been discredited – and this is still catching mistakes today. • For example, Napoleon’s Crimes by Claude Ribbe, an academic who was also part of a governmental commission on human rights, put forward the claim that Napoleon used gas to kill as many Caribbean slaves as possible, inspiring Hitler 140 years later. • Ribbe also launched a very obvious assault on the historical memory of Napoleon by calling for a protest against the ‘historical revisionism’ that has, in his opinion, been overly kind to Napoleon. In an example of formal and informal arenas merging, Ribbe was supported by Guadeloupe MP Victorin Lurel.

15. Peer reviews • Historian Pierre Branda breaks down Ribbe’s interpretation, showing the importance of a rigorous peer review process within history. • Branda showed that Ribbe lacked credible evidence. For example, Ribbe uses a letter from General Leclerc to show that Napoleon’s instructions for Haiti amounted to genocide. At first, the evidence is compelling – saying that his verbal instruction was to ‘destroy all the negroes of the mountain’. However, Ribbe failed to mention that in the sentence before, Leclerc states that this is his opinion on the country. • Branda also details how the ‘evidence’ of the use of gas chambers is extremely flimsy – Ribbe references a few ardently anti-Napoleon historians from the nineteenth century. In addition, these works would have not been translated into any other language by the time of Hitler’s reign, and therefore would not have been able to influence his Final Solution.

16. Use of peerreviews • All this shows how useful reviews can be for any analysis of historical interpretations. They can tell you something about the work’s strengths and limitations that you may not have realised.

17. Put it into practice • So now that we have gone over the theory of historical interpretations with some brief examples,we are going to use the checklist to analyse some historical interpretations of Napoleon.

18. Jonathon Riley (July 2007)‘How goodwas Napoleon?’in History Today, 57, no. 7Available at: http://www.historytoday.com/jonathon-riley/how-good-was-napoleon Give the article a read through just to get first impressions. Then read again and consider Riley’s focus, tone, evidence and background, which might have shaped his interpretation on the topic. Can you also find any arguments that can be countered with your own historical knowledge? Are there any anachronisms?

19. Andrew Roberts (2015)Napoleon the Great, Penguin Read the introduction and consider what has shaped Roberts’ personal interest in his topic. Can you identify his focus and his tone on Napoleon from the introduction alone? How does Roberts think he can contribute to the historical debate on Napoleon? What evidence does he draw from, and what does that suggest? The read the conclusion – pick out evidence of Roberts’ tone. Can you also find any arguments that can be countered with your own historical knowledge? What limits his conclusion?

20. Final interpretation • Michael Broers (2014) Europe Under Napoleon, I. B. Tauris • Read the last pages, 262–266. • What can you tell about the focus of Broers? Can you infer the importance that Broers places on Napoleon? Find evidence for it.

21. Which word would each historian be likely to use to describe Napoleon? Justify! Emperor Ruthless Greedy Driven Strategist Glory General Disciplined Statesman Egotistical

22. Referencing • Alexander, R. S. (2001) Napoleon. London; New York: Arnold. Co-published in the USA by Oxford University Press. • BBC News (2016) ‘EU referendum: Boris Johnson stands by Hitler EU comparison’. Available at:https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-eu-referendum-36295208 • Branda, P. (2005) ‘Unethèsemontée de toutespièces: le crime de Napoléon de Claude Ribbe’, Histoire des 2 Empires. Available at: https://www.napoleon.org/histoire-des-2-empires/articles/une-these-montee-de-toutes-pieces-le-crime-de-napoleon-de-claude-ribbe • Broers, M. (2014) Europe Under Napoleon, I. B. Tauris. • David, J. L. (1798) Unfinished Portrait of General Bonaparte. Oil on canvas, 317⁄8 × 255⁄8 in. (81 × 65 cm). Musée du Louvre, Paris. • Henley, J. (2005) ‘Napoleon the inspiration for Hitler, says historian’, The Guardian. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2005/nov/29/france.jonhenley • Geyl, P. (1965)Napoleon, For and Against. Harmondsworth;New York: Penguin Books. • Paz, I. (2010) ‘1808, the point of implosion for the Napoleonic Empire’, Napoleonic Series. Available at: https://www.napoleon-series.org/research/miscellaneous/c_Implosion.html • Ribbe, C. (2008)Napoleon's Crimes: a blueprint for Hitler. Oxford: Oneworld. • Riley, J.(2007) ‘How goodwas Napoleon?‘ inHistory Today, 57, no. 7. • Roberts, A. (2014) Napoleon the Great. 2nd ed. Great Britain: Penguin Books. • Print of abolitionist and slave (c. 1860). Available at: http://discoveringbristol.org.uk/browse/slavery/print-of-abolitionist-and-slave-detail/