Fascinating Facts About Napoleon
Napoleon Bonaparte is regarded as a brilliant military leader. He was a highly influential statesman. No one can dispute that Napoleon is one of the greatest leaders in history. However, some people claim that he is more popular because of his diminutive stature and great leadership skills. Napoleon might, however, have been taller than an average European.
During Napoleon’s reign as the leader of the French Empire, he identified as a Corsican and fought hard for Corsican independence. Napoleon is a fascinating figure ever. Below are some of the things you might not know about this icon.
How Did Napoleon Rise to Power?
Since 1792, the French government was in military war with several European nations. In 1796, Napoleon Bonaparte led a French army that defeated bigger Austria armies. Austria was Napoleon’s primary rival. A year later, Austria and France signed the Campo Formio treaty, which led to a territorial gain for France.
In 1798, five people who had governed France since 1795 decided to let Napoleon lead the England invasion. However, Napoleon decided that the French naval forces were weak compared to the British Royal Navy. He offered an alternative to invading Egypt to cut off the British and Indian trade routes.
Napoleon’s soldiers emerged victorious against Egyptian troops known as the Mamluks in July 1798. However, they would later be stranded after Napoleon’s naval fleet was nearly destroyed by British soldiers at the Nile Battle in August 1798.
At the start of 1799, the French army led by Napoleon attacked Syria, led by Ottoman. However, the invasion was not successful. During that summer, the French government had many uncertainties and instability. The cunning and ambitious Napoleon decided to take advantage of this. He abandoned his army back in Egypt and returned to France.
Napoleon Hated Losing a Game!
Napoleon emerged victorious in many battles but was a very bad loser in card games. He never liked playing cards that much, but he was a big fan of Vingt-et-un. He loved this game because it’s a fast game meaning he could easily cheat.
Napoleon would most put his cards down if he suspected he was in a bad position and have the dealer draw his cards first. The leader would throw hands without showing the dealer and surrender his stake. If he had higher than 21 after looking at the dealer’s cards, Napoleon would throw his cards without revealing the theme and demand his stake back.
Napoleon Was a Good Author
Most people know Napoleon as a tough man, but he was a soft and romantic man too. We penned down emotional love letters and a romantic short novel. He wrote his novella Clisson et Eugénie in 1795, aged 26 years old. The short novel was 17 pages long. He wrote the novella before meeting and marrying Josephine that same year.
Napoleon’s novella never got published. However, its manuscript was divided into pieces and sold as souvenirs for many years. In 2009, the English translation was complete. The book is available on Amazon. According to some people, Napoleon possessed a photographic memory because he could immediately recall many details like map details and troop numbers.
Napoleon was a genius at the battlefield. He was an expert on military tech. Napoleon innovated and developed a visual telegraph for communicating with soldiers located in far areas. However, during his reign, his opponents Britain, had better technology compared to the French. They had military gadgets like explosive rockets.
Napoleon Contributed to The Popularity of Blackjack
Did you know that Vingt-et-Un was loved by the elites and royal courts of France? Napoleon Bonaparte and the mistress of King Louis would play this game frequently. Napoleon loved this game and would play it many times to celebrate wins after battles and for leisure.
There are rumors that Napoleon banned card games in his camp because it would distract them. Because of the French colonists, the game’s popularity moved to the USA. New Orleans was the first place to legalize this banked game. When Nevada legalized gambling in 1931, this game became a very popular game in the casino. During the European colonization era, the French soldiers introduced it to many people across the globe, which made it a renowned name in the casino games world.
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