The Podcast of the Lotus Eaters - July 16, 2025


Was Napoleon Good for France?


Episode Stats

Length

1 hour and 37 minutes

Words per Minute

156.26738

Word Count

15,167

Sentence Count

82

Misogynist Sentences

4

Hate Speech Sentences

63


Summary

In this special episode, we are joined by the great Apostolic Majesty, the Marquis de Saint-Laurier, to discuss the question of whether Napoleon Bonaparte was a good or bad thing for France.


Transcript

00:00:00.000 Hello and welcome to this special interview where we should be talking a bit about Napoleon today
00:00:03.960 and I am joined by the masterful Apostolic Majesty. How are you, sir?
00:00:07.960 Hello, it's lovely to be here in person for the first time.
00:00:10.780 Yeah.
00:00:11.100 And it just occurred to, I think both you and I, just a few minutes before this,
00:00:14.920 that this is taking place on Bastille Day, so it's a little more appropriate,
00:00:17.880 or at least it's going to be recorded on Bastille Day.
00:00:19.960 Right, right, yeah. It's great to have you in.
00:00:25.100 I don't think it's needless sycophancy to say I've very rarely ever known,
00:00:29.360 let alone met someone with your depth of knowledge.
00:00:32.260 So it's always a pleasure to pick your brain, it really is.
00:00:35.200 So today we thought we'd talk about the question,
00:00:39.760 it was Napoleon good for France?
00:00:42.880 That's what you thought would be an interesting topic of discussion.
00:00:47.180 I did indeed.
00:00:48.620 And the reason I think it's a very important question,
00:00:52.100 and to again emphasise France specifically,
00:00:55.400 is that so much of the Napoleonic myth, I guess,
00:01:00.800 and the whole notion of grandeur, Gaullist grandeur,
00:01:04.980 is wrapped up in the association that France has, you can say,
00:01:08.720 the natural right to be the great leader of Europe,
00:01:14.180 in more ways than one, not just in terms of culture,
00:01:17.500 but also in terms of military might and glory, etc.
00:01:20.880 And no figure ostensibly would seem to epitomise that more so
00:01:25.820 than Napoleon, Napoleon le grand, Napoleon the great,
00:01:30.140 the man who at one point conquered Europe
00:01:32.180 and then lost it all within the space of a couple of years.
00:01:35.300 And my contention here, looking at Napoleon,
00:01:39.620 is that I believe this is a man who was given so many opportunities
00:01:44.340 to build for France an unassailable legacy,
00:01:50.000 not just in territory but in terms of culture and his economy
00:01:53.600 and his ability to trade and dominate European markets.
00:01:57.860 And several years ago, I came to the conclusion
00:02:02.000 that Napoleon had bungled that opportunity,
00:02:05.240 and he had bungled it in a way that was so decisive
00:02:09.680 that I believe it left France almost bordering
00:02:14.300 on second-tier nation status forevermore.
00:02:19.000 And when you look at a politician like de Gaulle,
00:02:23.240 it seems that the whole notion of grandeur
00:02:25.100 is in many ways a sense of overcompensating for that loss.
00:02:29.280 It's interesting.
00:02:30.700 Just as you talk about just in the broadest sense,
00:02:33.000 the sweep of history, sort of the Gaullic grandeur,
00:02:36.860 you talk about going back to sort of the Franks and Charlemagne
00:02:39.560 and a thousand years before almost.
00:02:43.180 Indeed.
00:02:43.640 Well, you can almost look at this and say that
00:02:45.460 the way I try and structure history,
00:02:48.420 I mean, in deference to your epoch show,
00:02:51.660 I try to see history in terms of broad parallels,
00:02:55.900 not broad in the sense that these are nebulous by any means,
00:02:59.200 no, not at all.
00:03:00.200 But you can say that modern France was formed of Clovis,
00:03:04.540 even though there is a train of thought
00:03:06.300 that puts a fervour to Vercingetorix and the Gaulles.
00:03:09.580 But when you look at someone like Clovis,
00:03:12.220 you look at the Merovingians,
00:03:13.460 and then they coalesce into the Carolingians.
00:03:16.460 Under someone like Charlemagne,
00:03:18.340 who is really not just the founder of France as a nation,
00:03:20.700 but also the founder of Germany as a nation as well,
00:03:22.960 it seems that the whole notion of the Franks
00:03:27.040 and that ability to dominate Europe
00:03:29.740 and assume the mantle of Caesarian rulership,
00:03:32.600 the restoration of the Roman Empire,
00:03:34.260 it's not enough that Charlemagne was able to assume
00:03:37.840 that dominant position within Europe during the 9th century,
00:03:40.940 but he was also emperor.
00:03:42.360 It seems that what I see with Napoleon
00:03:45.300 is there is so much conscious historical reenactment
00:03:49.820 in a figure like Napoleon.
00:03:51.520 Napoleon begins as a man with so much,
00:03:55.360 I would say, promise in terms of all the goodwill
00:03:59.800 that had been bestowed upon a particular tumultuous time
00:04:03.720 within French history.
00:04:04.820 And then he aspires to this Carolingian restoration
00:04:09.400 almost directly 1,000 years after the original Charlemagne.
00:04:13.900 Except unlike Charlemagne,
00:04:15.680 there isn't this glorious French epoch
00:04:18.260 of a new Holy Roman Empire that's born out of it.
00:04:21.080 Instead, ultimately, the 19th century European history
00:04:23.920 is very much the tale of how Germany came to surpass France.
00:04:29.540 All the more ironic because I believe that German nationalism
00:04:32.440 as we understand it in the 19th century
00:04:34.440 is impossible without a figure like Napoleon.
00:04:37.200 In many ways, you can say that Napoleon does more
00:04:39.460 to benefit Germany and even Italy in the long run
00:04:42.740 than he does for France.
00:04:44.100 And Britain.
00:04:44.640 And indeed Britain, of course.
00:04:45.760 Yeah, yeah.
00:04:47.200 So it's one of the first things,
00:04:48.020 when you mentioned this to me a week or so ago
00:04:50.520 that we would talk about this,
00:04:53.280 my first gut reaction,
00:04:55.440 or the first, like an instant in my mind is,
00:04:57.840 no, Napoleon was terrible for France.
00:04:59.600 Absolute terrible, a disaster, a catastrophe for France.
00:05:02.160 Then the more I've sort of mulled it over
00:05:04.000 and thought about it,
00:05:05.100 although I still think that if I had to pick one side
00:05:08.300 of the ledge or the other,
00:05:09.220 I would pick bad, negative.
00:05:11.800 But there are certainly positives.
00:05:15.620 I think you would admit there must be some.
00:05:18.520 And although our question is specific,
00:05:20.300 was he good for France?
00:05:21.440 The thing I kept coming back to was,
00:05:24.060 if it wasn't for Napoleon
00:05:25.600 and then the Battle of the Nile and Trafalgar,
00:05:29.160 Britain wouldn't have,
00:05:30.280 I know it's not within the purview of our question,
00:05:32.300 but as an aside,
00:05:33.360 Britain wouldn't have dominated,
00:05:35.040 I wouldn't have thought,
00:05:36.860 during the 19th century as hard as it did
00:05:39.760 if we hadn't annihilated,
00:05:42.760 if we hadn't had the opportunity
00:05:44.100 to annihilate the French Navy.
00:05:46.560 That's a fair thing to say, do you think?
00:05:48.680 It is.
00:05:49.320 It is, interestingly.
00:05:51.140 But I suppose that question then becomes,
00:05:54.040 you have taken the question,
00:05:55.480 was Napoleon good for France?
00:05:57.200 And you have said, inevitably,
00:05:59.000 he was good for all of France's neighbours,
00:06:01.140 especially Britain.
00:06:03.160 I think it might be instructive
00:06:04.520 for those listening,
00:06:06.180 just to have a brief overview,
00:06:07.560 because I don't want to get ahead
00:06:09.800 and assume that everyone knows
00:06:11.160 everything about Napoleon.
00:06:12.620 So just to give a very brief trajectory
00:06:15.060 of what he did,
00:06:16.280 the French Revolution happens in 1789.
00:06:19.460 It becomes more radical
00:06:20.480 and the French ruling family are deposed
00:06:23.060 and then they are executed
00:06:24.700 as a result of the guillotine.
00:06:27.320 The French Revolution mutates
00:06:29.580 into a feverishly zealous epoch
00:06:33.200 during Maximilian Robespierre
00:06:35.000 called the Reign of Terror,
00:06:36.520 where it begins killing off,
00:06:38.080 basically, the own proponents
00:06:39.480 of the revolution,
00:06:40.060 such as prominently Danton
00:06:42.060 and the Hepatists.
00:06:45.480 And then there is a period,
00:06:47.520 you can say,
00:06:48.120 of trying to moderate
00:06:50.600 the worst excesses of the revolution,
00:06:52.780 following the revolutionary zeal.
00:06:54.340 This eventually leads
00:06:55.120 to the execution of those
00:06:56.660 who incited it,
00:06:57.620 Saint-Just and Robespierre himself.
00:07:00.240 And then you have a figure
00:07:01.140 like Napoleon.
00:07:02.280 Napoleon is basically entering
00:07:03.640 into a political vacuum,
00:07:05.000 which is caused by this period
00:07:06.200 of moderation called the Directory.
00:07:07.660 He is very young.
00:07:10.340 He is a young Corsican minor noble
00:07:14.200 and he quickly demonstrates
00:07:16.520 his military brilliance
00:07:17.680 in evicting the British
00:07:18.900 from the French naval port of Toulon.
00:07:22.420 He then goes on to counter
00:07:24.920 a royalist insurrection in 1795
00:07:27.720 and that gives him command
00:07:28.960 of an army in Italy.
00:07:30.800 What Napoleon does
00:07:31.920 is turn Italy from a sideshow
00:07:35.720 in the overall war
00:07:37.560 of the coalition powers
00:07:39.000 against France
00:07:39.740 trying to cancel out
00:07:41.100 the French Revolution.
00:07:42.660 And he makes Italy
00:07:43.420 the decisive frontier
00:07:45.600 during the war,
00:07:46.480 which was previously Germany.
00:07:48.280 He wins a series of battles
00:07:49.720 such as Lodi
00:07:50.480 and he's able to impose
00:07:52.060 on his main adversary, Austria,
00:07:55.000 a peace basically
00:07:56.060 by his own volition.
00:07:57.380 And what that does
00:07:58.080 is basically demonstrate
00:07:59.000 that the Directory
00:08:01.860 and the French political system
00:08:03.760 can't really deal
00:08:05.220 with someone
00:08:05.760 who is as ambitious
00:08:06.760 and as determined
00:08:09.640 to rise to the heights
00:08:11.120 of his own predestined star
00:08:13.180 as Napoleon.
00:08:14.680 And so Napoleon
00:08:15.300 very much seems
00:08:16.020 to be determining
00:08:16.880 French foreign policy
00:08:18.160 as well as military strategy.
00:08:19.800 He then goes on.
00:08:21.000 He conquers Egypt briefly,
00:08:23.200 goes off into Syria
00:08:24.180 and then his navy
00:08:25.500 is decisively defeated,
00:08:26.600 as you mentioned,
00:08:27.640 at the Battle of the Nile,
00:08:28.660 causing him to abandon
00:08:29.600 his army,
00:08:30.120 then turn back.
00:08:30.780 But again,
00:08:31.660 a man who was never shy
00:08:34.560 to spin all of these
00:08:36.680 military setbacks
00:08:37.620 in the best possible light,
00:08:39.400 the conquest of Egypt
00:08:40.840 becomes this great
00:08:42.260 oriental expedition.
00:08:43.560 It's the birth of Egyptology
00:08:45.080 and it is French science
00:08:46.720 that has conquered
00:08:47.400 even though French armies
00:08:48.760 have been left stranded here.
00:08:50.560 And so he becomes
00:08:51.740 the sword of a conspiracy
00:08:53.360 to upend this French
00:08:55.560 political system
00:08:56.460 led by other
00:08:57.580 great French revolutionaries
00:08:59.380 such as Siers
00:09:00.020 who wrote
00:09:00.560 What is the Third Estate?
00:09:01.700 One of the most famous
00:09:03.000 pre-revolutionary pamphlets.
00:09:05.460 Ultimately,
00:09:05.960 he's able to sideline
00:09:06.980 all of these people
00:09:07.760 who thought
00:09:08.320 they could use Napoleon.
00:09:10.000 He establishes
00:09:10.980 a personal dictatorship
00:09:12.020 called Consulate
00:09:12.900 and then he moves on
00:09:15.020 essentially
00:09:15.540 to become embroiled
00:09:16.860 in a series of wars
00:09:17.920 with all of the
00:09:18.800 neighbouring powers.
00:09:20.220 He fights off Britain,
00:09:22.460 he fights off Austria,
00:09:23.400 wins a battle
00:09:23.940 at Marengo
00:09:25.600 and then he assumes
00:09:27.360 to himself
00:09:27.980 the power of an emperor
00:09:29.580 more so than
00:09:30.740 that being a consul
00:09:31.840 and he justifies it
00:09:33.340 essentially by saying
00:09:34.400 that I am going
00:09:35.380 to be Caesarean,
00:09:36.460 it's a republican office.
00:09:37.800 You know,
00:09:37.960 the last time I think
00:09:38.740 you and I discussed history
00:09:39.820 we talked about
00:09:40.380 the Emperor Augustus.
00:09:41.980 Well again,
00:09:42.480 as so much of
00:09:43.300 Napoleon's history
00:09:44.180 was conscious
00:09:45.040 historical reenactment,
00:09:47.420 so too he was
00:09:48.500 assuming
00:09:49.000 the office
00:09:50.720 of Augustus
00:09:51.700 and he was having
00:09:52.340 the Pope there
00:09:52.960 to officiate
00:09:53.580 over the proceedings
00:09:54.320 and bless this
00:09:55.260 new recreation
00:09:57.360 of a Carolingian empire.
00:09:59.760 You can say
00:10:00.120 at the beginning
00:10:00.580 there were these
00:10:01.240 overtly republican
00:10:02.680 affectations
00:10:03.420 but eventually
00:10:03.980 they became dynastic,
00:10:06.060 absolutist,
00:10:07.360 monarchical
00:10:07.960 and ultimately
00:10:08.940 you can say
00:10:09.460 to the detriment
00:10:10.100 of France
00:10:10.800 and so Napoleon
00:10:12.640 goes off
00:10:13.340 in the next few years
00:10:14.200 and achieves
00:10:15.020 some remarkable
00:10:15.840 victories against
00:10:16.960 the Austrians
00:10:17.640 and the Russian
00:10:18.100 Austerlitz.
00:10:19.520 He is able
00:10:20.060 to win decisive
00:10:20.960 victories against
00:10:21.740 the Prussians
00:10:22.380 with his Marshal
00:10:23.360 Davout
00:10:23.740 at Jena
00:10:24.540 and the Battle
00:10:25.200 of Eustadt,
00:10:26.540 defeats the Russians
00:10:27.480 at Friedland,
00:10:28.440 compels them
00:10:29.000 to peace at Tilsit
00:10:29.920 and it seems
00:10:30.620 that Napoleon
00:10:31.100 is at the top
00:10:31.520 of the world.
00:10:32.560 Then Napoleon
00:10:33.140 makes a series
00:10:33.720 of unfolded errors.
00:10:34.860 You've already
00:10:35.200 mentioned the Battle
00:10:35.960 of Trafalgar.
00:10:37.500 You can't really
00:10:38.000 blame Napoleon
00:10:38.560 for that
00:10:38.940 because he wasn't
00:10:40.120 leading the fleets
00:10:42.020 nor was he an admiral
00:10:42.940 but you can blame
00:10:44.100 Napoleon
00:10:44.560 for the after effects
00:10:46.200 of that
00:10:46.660 which is that
00:10:47.420 Napoleon believed
00:10:48.200 I cannot defeat Britain
00:10:49.700 through a system
00:10:51.900 of naval interdiction
00:10:54.060 or by being able
00:10:56.040 to overcome
00:10:56.780 the maritime strength
00:10:58.040 of the British Empire.
00:10:59.180 So I'm going to cut off
00:11:00.520 the lifeblood
00:11:01.180 of the empire
00:11:01.960 which is trade
00:11:02.740 continental trade
00:11:03.900 with Europe
00:11:04.380 and that is the birth
00:11:05.900 of the continental system.
00:11:07.920 Now the horrible logic
00:11:09.060 of the continental system
00:11:10.120 for Napoleon
00:11:10.680 is that it necessitated
00:11:12.000 that Napoleon
00:11:13.260 assume control
00:11:14.360 of more and more
00:11:15.320 and more facets
00:11:16.080 not just of European territory
00:11:17.360 but more of European
00:11:18.220 political life.
00:11:19.600 It leads him
00:11:20.740 to what you can say
00:11:21.460 to be his greatest disaster
00:11:23.260 which is the invasion
00:11:24.600 of Portugal
00:11:25.120 and by extension
00:11:25.840 the invasion of Spain.
00:11:27.480 It's not enough
00:11:27.980 to depose his allies.
00:11:29.200 The justification
00:11:29.620 becomes more spurious.
00:11:31.420 You are not efficient
00:11:32.100 enough in enforcing
00:11:33.200 the British naval blockade
00:11:34.580 and in that terms
00:11:35.940 he deposes his own relatives.
00:11:38.060 He deposes his brother
00:11:39.100 Louis
00:11:39.660 who would be made
00:11:40.460 king of the Netherlands.
00:11:41.640 He deposes his brother
00:11:42.520 Jerome
00:11:42.940 who would be made
00:11:43.620 king of Westphalia
00:11:44.580 out of the territories
00:11:46.160 of Oldenburg
00:11:46.940 and North Germany
00:11:47.620 and at one point
00:11:48.400 France even has a border
00:11:49.900 into the Baltic Sea
00:11:51.760 with Denmark
00:11:52.460 and then of course
00:11:54.140 the worst impulses
00:11:55.700 of the continental system
00:11:56.820 force Napoleon
00:11:58.160 by his own logic
00:11:59.120 to invade Russia
00:12:00.540 to compel Russia
00:12:01.660 to come back
00:12:02.500 and become part
00:12:03.380 of this continental system
00:12:04.640 and after we all know
00:12:07.020 Napoleon was defeated
00:12:08.780 in Russia
00:12:10.200 what does Napoleon do?
00:12:12.460 Does Napoleon try
00:12:13.320 and make peace?
00:12:14.340 Does Napoleon try
00:12:15.040 to lessen his ambitions
00:12:16.260 as a result
00:12:17.000 of the continental system
00:12:18.000 though he continues
00:12:19.460 to fight
00:12:19.980 and even though
00:12:20.940 he has an advocate
00:12:21.720 and one of his former enemies
00:12:23.100 in the form of Metternich
00:12:24.040 in Austria
00:12:24.500 he keeps on fighting
00:12:26.280 and ultimately
00:12:27.300 he loses everything
00:12:28.520 is deposed
00:12:29.380 and is reduced merely
00:12:30.360 to the emperor
00:12:31.140 of the island
00:12:31.880 of Elba
00:12:33.120 and then
00:12:34.620 when he believes
00:12:35.540 there's tumult
00:12:36.700 among the allies
00:12:37.660 and unrest in France
00:12:39.360 he comes back
00:12:40.140 and leaves
00:12:40.860 one of the most
00:12:41.480 bizarre periods
00:12:42.500 in French history
00:12:43.280 which is the Hundred Days Campaign
00:12:44.620 which of course
00:12:45.740 we all know
00:12:46.320 is culminating
00:12:47.100 in the Battle of Waterloo
00:12:48.120 where Napoleon
00:12:49.140 is defeated
00:12:49.640 by Wellington
00:12:50.220 thereafter
00:12:51.080 he is sent off
00:12:51.860 to St Helena
00:12:52.440 and he dies
00:12:53.080 there in exile
00:12:53.800 I mean I feel like
00:12:56.820 I absolutely agree
00:12:57.740 with you
00:12:58.120 that he
00:12:58.740 he messed up
00:13:00.580 he dropped the ball
00:13:01.200 however you want to say it
00:13:02.120 that he led himself
00:13:03.380 to Elba
00:13:04.140 and then
00:13:05.220 St Helena
00:13:06.220 in all sorts of ways
00:13:07.940 it's like
00:13:08.220 he had his destiny
00:13:09.480 in his own hands
00:13:10.020 he made
00:13:10.620 unforced error
00:13:11.300 as you said
00:13:11.860 yeah
00:13:13.140 the deposing
00:13:14.540 of the Spanish
00:13:15.340 royal family
00:13:17.180 in hindsight
00:13:18.220 anyway
00:13:18.560 it's easy to say
00:13:19.160 these things
00:13:19.520 isn't it
00:13:19.780 in hindsight
00:13:20.120 I don't think it is
00:13:21.720 actually
00:13:22.040 I think
00:13:22.480 I mean that's
00:13:24.200 another sort of comparison
00:13:26.600 is like
00:13:26.980 why did
00:13:27.480 Hitler invade
00:13:28.400 the Soviet Union
00:13:29.740 in 1941
00:13:30.580 you can say
00:13:31.240 in hindsight
00:13:32.240 why did he do that
00:13:33.480 he obviously lost
00:13:34.080 but no
00:13:34.980 I think
00:13:35.420 it's not
00:13:36.720 with the benefit
00:13:37.260 of hindsight
00:13:37.800 I think it's
00:13:38.480 the result of hubris
00:13:39.480 fundamentally
00:13:40.360 that made him
00:13:41.960 forced him
00:13:43.160 into a decision
00:13:43.800 which was so
00:13:44.720 ultimately detrimental
00:13:46.740 and not just
00:13:47.240 detrimental
00:13:47.720 in terms of
00:13:48.380 his own strategic picture
00:13:49.480 and that of the legacy
00:13:50.200 of France
00:13:50.760 it was a betrayal
00:13:52.340 in terms of his own
00:13:53.640 alliances
00:13:55.220 his own ability
00:13:56.820 to show that he can
00:13:57.740 cooperate with people
00:13:59.040 I mean
00:14:00.060 let me just again
00:14:01.360 emphasize why I believe
00:14:02.360 there is so much hope
00:14:03.340 in a figure like Napoleon
00:14:04.400 after the disasters
00:14:07.180 of the worst excesses
00:14:08.560 of the French Revolution
00:14:09.380 where France was basically
00:14:11.520 in a
00:14:12.340 totalitarianism
00:14:14.400 as a concept
00:14:14.960 is rather anachronistic
00:14:16.000 to the 18th century
00:14:16.840 but especially Paris
00:14:17.940 becomes a
00:14:20.180 political hellscape
00:14:22.600 during the year
00:14:23.480 1793
00:14:24.200 1794
00:14:25.060 and the directory
00:14:27.000 you can say
00:14:27.660 is a very
00:14:28.320 weak attempt
00:14:29.400 to
00:14:30.060 lessen
00:14:31.900 the worst excesses
00:14:33.240 that have come out
00:14:34.020 as a result of that
00:14:34.840 you have the
00:14:35.620 stabilization
00:14:36.280 the currency
00:14:37.160 the replacement
00:14:38.060 of the
00:14:38.580 the assignat
00:14:39.620 with the franc
00:14:41.000 the creation of
00:14:42.000 five directors
00:14:44.020 who are supposed to
00:14:44.720 moderate one another
00:14:45.660 in terms of the
00:14:46.380 overall headship of
00:14:47.200 France
00:14:47.560 you had the
00:14:48.460 creation of a
00:14:49.360 new legislature
00:14:50.760 the council of the
00:14:51.640 500
00:14:52.100 which is supposed to
00:14:52.900 be more conservative
00:14:53.680 than the preceding
00:14:54.960 legislature
00:14:55.440 which was the
00:14:56.100 national convention
00:14:57.060 and then you enter
00:14:58.620 into that Napoleon
00:14:59.420 the problem with the
00:15:00.500 directory
00:15:00.880 is that most of its
00:15:02.320 members frankly were
00:15:03.180 corrupt
00:15:03.560 and in a war
00:15:05.720 I think it's fair to
00:15:07.180 say that what one
00:15:08.060 needs is undivided
00:15:09.100 command
00:15:09.440 and so therefore
00:15:10.860 it's natural
00:15:11.640 that someone as
00:15:12.940 ambitious
00:15:13.480 and certain
00:15:14.520 in his own
00:15:15.220 veritas
00:15:18.520 the truth of his
00:15:20.140 actions
00:15:20.560 is going to
00:15:21.840 ultimately sideline
00:15:22.880 institution like the
00:15:23.800 directory
00:15:24.180 which ultimately he
00:15:25.200 does
00:15:25.600 he's going to
00:15:26.240 impose peace
00:15:26.900 treaties of his
00:15:27.520 own volition
00:15:28.100 like we see
00:15:29.540 with the Austrians
00:15:31.460 in 1797
00:15:32.500 so therefore
00:15:33.780 it's only natural
00:15:34.660 that so many
00:15:35.360 French politicians
00:15:36.060 look to Napoleon
00:15:37.100 and the ambitious
00:15:38.700 young general
00:15:39.400 and said
00:15:40.180 this is a man
00:15:41.000 that can stabilise
00:15:42.240 any regime
00:15:43.340 in the future
00:15:43.980 because he is
00:15:44.920 popular
00:15:45.380 he is shown
00:15:46.460 to be successful
00:15:47.220 and he has
00:15:48.400 that ambition
00:15:49.700 you can say
00:15:50.580 again to
00:15:51.320 ensure the
00:15:52.180 greatness of
00:15:52.720 France
00:15:53.120 everything you
00:15:53.860 want
00:15:54.200 ostensibly
00:15:54.880 from a leader
00:15:55.540 so after
00:15:57.620 the coup
00:15:57.920 of Bruma
00:15:58.300 Napoleon
00:16:00.180 as I mentioned
00:16:00.920 completely
00:16:01.440 sidelines those
00:16:02.660 who believe
00:16:03.100 that they could
00:16:03.620 control him
00:16:04.320 I think it's
00:16:05.360 important to
00:16:05.800 emphasise that
00:16:06.340 Napoleon
00:16:06.720 from the outset
00:16:07.560 during the
00:16:08.280 consulate period
00:16:09.100 demonstrated
00:16:10.180 that he was
00:16:10.920 capable of
00:16:11.560 working with
00:16:12.300 people
00:16:12.760 so for example
00:16:14.180 one of the
00:16:15.140 great successes
00:16:15.840 of Napoleonic
00:16:17.760 politics
00:16:18.340 were the
00:16:19.200 successes of
00:16:19.820 his foreign
00:16:20.180 minister
00:16:20.460 Talleyrand
00:16:21.040 who is a
00:16:23.280 nefarious
00:16:24.400 mainstay
00:16:25.320 in French
00:16:26.400 political culture
00:16:27.360 right from
00:16:28.220 the beginning
00:16:28.580 of the French
00:16:28.980 revolution
00:16:29.380 where he's
00:16:29.940 the one
00:16:30.280 demanding
00:16:30.800 the nationalisation
00:16:31.720 of monastic
00:16:32.220 property
00:16:32.720 all the way
00:16:33.700 up until
00:16:34.260 the 1830s
00:16:36.800 so he
00:16:37.620 outlives
00:16:38.060 Napoleon
00:16:38.480 and still
00:16:39.040 continues on
00:16:39.760 incredible
00:16:41.080 life
00:16:41.560 he's an
00:16:43.020 influential
00:16:43.640 figure in
00:16:44.340 the
00:16:44.860 Orléans
00:16:45.240 government
00:16:46.320 long after
00:16:47.120 Napoleon
00:16:48.180 a mainstay
00:16:49.220 in French
00:16:49.520 politics
00:16:49.900 for 50
00:16:50.680 years
00:16:50.980 effectively
00:16:51.460 but under
00:16:54.000 a figure
00:16:54.260 like
00:16:54.500 Talleyrand
00:16:55.000 the French
00:16:57.120 revolutionary
00:16:57.560 government
00:16:58.120 demonstrates
00:16:58.800 that it
00:16:59.220 is able
00:16:59.540 to moderate
00:17:00.120 its ambitions
00:17:00.860 it's not
00:17:01.480 solely
00:17:02.100 determined
00:17:02.560 in overthrowing
00:17:04.240 all of
00:17:04.620 Europe's
00:17:04.980 monarchs
00:17:05.500 and imposing
00:17:06.360 the legacy
00:17:07.740 of the French
00:17:08.200 revolution
00:17:08.640 like
00:17:09.000 all the
00:17:10.140 precepts
00:17:10.740 of the
00:17:10.940 rights
00:17:11.140 of man
00:17:11.500 etc
00:17:11.860 onto
00:17:12.800 Europe
00:17:13.060 by right
00:17:13.460 of force
00:17:14.060 Talleyrand
00:17:15.060 is able
00:17:15.500 to say
00:17:15.920 for example
00:17:16.420 use an
00:17:17.980 alliance
00:17:18.380 with Spain
00:17:19.020 in order
00:17:19.760 to shore
00:17:20.940 up
00:17:21.300 France's
00:17:22.080 position
00:17:22.460 in Italy
00:17:23.100 which is
00:17:23.820 pivotal
00:17:24.580 given that
00:17:25.480 Napoleon
00:17:26.240 himself
00:17:26.660 had come
00:17:27.000 to power
00:17:27.440 by shaping
00:17:28.140 the power
00:17:28.620 balance
00:17:28.900 in Italy
00:17:29.300 itself
00:17:29.820 and then
00:17:30.800 you have
00:17:31.080 a process
00:17:31.480 known as
00:17:31.960 the
00:17:32.280 mediatisations
00:17:33.060 whereby
00:17:34.340 Napoleon
00:17:35.100 and Talleyrand
00:17:35.740 were able
00:17:36.220 basically
00:17:36.720 to use
00:17:38.500 the greed
00:17:39.300 of the
00:17:40.280 Russian
00:17:40.600 Tsar
00:17:41.060 Alexander
00:17:41.740 to carve
00:17:43.280 up large
00:17:43.940 sections
00:17:44.360 of Germany
00:17:45.000 and compensate
00:17:46.000 various
00:17:46.560 princes
00:17:46.960 whilst giving
00:17:47.700 France
00:17:48.120 vast amounts
00:17:48.820 of territory
00:17:49.300 on the
00:17:49.580 left bank
00:17:49.960 of the
00:17:50.200 Rhine
00:17:50.460 if anything
00:17:51.320 was to
00:17:51.740 doom
00:17:51.940 the Holy
00:17:52.320 Roman
00:17:52.560 Empire
00:17:53.020 it was
00:17:54.000 Tsar
00:17:54.440 Alexander
00:17:54.980 and Napoleon
00:17:55.560 carving up
00:17:56.400 the empire
00:17:56.920 during the
00:17:57.260 mediatisations
00:17:57.860 several years
00:17:58.980 before the
00:17:59.420 formal end
00:17:59.940 of the
00:18:00.140 Holy Roman
00:18:00.580 Empire
00:18:01.040 so as
00:18:02.500 you can
00:18:02.820 probably
00:18:03.320 see
00:18:03.700 this
00:18:04.360 demonstrates
00:18:05.640 again
00:18:06.020 that
00:18:06.280 Napoleon
00:18:06.680 is
00:18:07.060 willing
00:18:07.300 to
00:18:07.800 concede
00:18:08.460 points
00:18:09.000 of
00:18:09.140 foreign
00:18:09.340 policy
00:18:09.760 to
00:18:10.620 a
00:18:10.960 very
00:18:11.120 able
00:18:11.400 minister
00:18:11.760 in the
00:18:12.020 form
00:18:12.140 of
00:18:12.300 Talleyrand
00:18:12.760 he is
00:18:14.060 also
00:18:14.460 able
00:18:15.420 to
00:18:15.900 moderate
00:18:16.440 the
00:18:17.020 anti-clerical
00:18:18.200 nature
00:18:18.500 of the
00:18:18.680 French
00:18:18.880 Revolution
00:18:19.320 so
00:18:20.360 as a
00:18:21.520 result of
00:18:21.760 the
00:18:21.840 French
00:18:22.000 Revolution
00:18:22.440 the
00:18:23.440 religious
00:18:24.280 calendar
00:18:24.700 the
00:18:24.920 seventh
00:18:25.120 day
00:18:25.280 week
00:18:25.480 had
00:18:25.600 been
00:18:25.720 abolished
00:18:26.220 and
00:18:26.680 France
00:18:27.000 had
00:18:27.180 decided
00:18:27.520 to
00:18:27.740 assume
00:18:28.180 decimal
00:18:28.780 time
00:18:29.360 which is
00:18:30.100 the
00:18:30.240 decad
00:18:30.720 the
00:18:30.980 ten
00:18:31.200 day
00:18:31.400 week
00:18:31.740 and
00:18:32.400 the
00:18:32.640 republican
00:18:33.140 celebrations
00:18:33.880 in lieu
00:18:34.420 of all
00:18:34.800 saints
00:18:35.040 days
00:18:35.300 and
00:18:35.460 religious
00:18:35.700 celebrations
00:18:36.280 and of
00:18:37.460 course
00:18:37.620 the
00:18:37.820 abolition
00:18:38.120 of
00:18:38.360 things
00:18:38.560 like
00:18:38.760 Sunday
00:18:39.160 was
00:18:39.420 seen
00:18:39.620 as
00:18:39.780 pivotal
00:18:40.180 in terms
00:18:40.620 of being
00:18:40.840 able to
00:18:41.200 de-Christianize
00:18:41.960 France
00:18:42.460 Napoleon
00:18:43.400 does away
00:18:43.840 with all
00:18:44.180 of that
00:18:44.560 something
00:18:45.000 the
00:18:45.200 directory
00:18:45.600 had been
00:18:45.880 unable
00:18:46.240 to do
00:18:46.760 and
00:18:47.820 what he
00:18:48.800 then goes
00:18:49.160 on to
00:18:49.440 do
00:18:49.720 is
00:18:50.280 negotiate
00:18:50.980 with
00:18:51.700 the
00:18:52.080 Pope
00:18:52.260 a
00:18:52.420 concordat
00:18:53.020 which
00:18:53.940 not only
00:18:54.340 normalizes
00:18:55.040 the
00:18:55.360 political
00:18:55.600 relations
00:18:56.020 with the
00:18:56.500 papacy
00:18:56.840 in
00:18:57.040 Italy
00:18:57.320 because
00:18:57.680 the
00:18:57.980 papacy
00:19:00.980 but it
00:19:01.300 also
00:19:01.540 ensures
00:19:02.020 that
00:19:02.720 France
00:19:03.100 is seen
00:19:03.620 to be
00:19:04.200 a
00:19:04.760 catholic
00:19:05.860 power
00:19:06.340 in
00:19:07.320 the
00:19:08.100 style
00:19:08.540 of its
00:19:08.920 Gallican
00:19:09.360 forebears
00:19:10.080 like
00:19:10.380 King
00:19:10.740 Francis
00:19:11.220 or
00:19:11.560 King
00:19:11.900 Louis
00:19:12.480 XIV
00:19:13.020 who
00:19:13.760 were
00:19:13.880 determined
00:19:14.260 to assume
00:19:15.000 that
00:19:15.600 the
00:19:15.780 French
00:19:16.100 political
00:19:16.800 system
00:19:17.320 had
00:19:17.740 ultimate
00:19:18.080 power
00:19:18.420 over
00:19:18.660 the
00:19:18.780 appointment
00:19:19.060 of
00:19:19.280 bishops
00:19:19.680 not
00:19:20.280 the
00:19:20.480 destruction
00:19:20.920 of
00:19:21.140 Christianity
00:19:21.580 within
00:19:21.960 France
00:19:22.300 itself
00:19:22.660 as
00:19:22.900 had
00:19:23.040 been
00:19:23.180 the
00:19:23.340 raison
00:19:23.520 d'etre
00:19:23.840 of
00:19:24.000 the
00:19:24.080 revolution
00:19:24.480 so
00:19:25.920 then
00:19:26.380 you can
00:19:26.840 say
00:19:27.020 a
00:19:27.220 major
00:19:27.580 moderating
00:19:28.500 achievement
00:19:29.100 of a
00:19:29.760 strong
00:19:30.160 man
00:19:30.440 such as
00:19:30.940 Napoleon
00:19:31.400 and
00:19:32.080 then
00:19:32.200 you
00:19:32.320 brought
00:19:32.520 up
00:19:32.700 the
00:19:32.840 example
00:19:33.180 of
00:19:33.380 the
00:19:33.520 destruction
00:19:33.920 of
00:19:34.060 the
00:19:34.120 British
00:19:34.380 fleet
00:19:34.800 at
00:19:35.180 the
00:19:35.380 Battle
00:19:35.620 of
00:19:35.720 the
00:19:35.840 Nile
00:19:36.060 this
00:19:37.000 culminates
00:19:37.580 in
00:19:37.860 the
00:19:38.080 Peace
00:19:38.260 of
00:19:38.380 Amiens
00:19:38.660 whereby
00:19:39.740 France
00:19:40.280 and
00:19:40.460 Britain
00:19:40.740 are
00:19:41.300 at
00:19:41.440 peace
00:19:41.760 all
00:19:42.940 of a
00:19:43.160 sudden
00:19:43.420 it
00:19:44.400 was
00:19:44.520 seen
00:19:44.680 that
00:19:44.900 Napoleon
00:19:45.340 has
00:19:45.800 done
00:19:46.160 the
00:19:46.300 impossible
00:19:46.660 and
00:19:47.880 after
00:19:48.300 only a
00:19:48.640 few
00:19:48.760 years
00:19:49.000 of
00:19:49.140 coming
00:19:49.400 in
00:19:49.700 and
00:19:49.960 winning
00:19:50.280 his
00:19:50.500 decisive
00:19:50.860 victory
00:19:51.200 at
00:19:51.340 Marengo
00:19:51.820 he
00:19:53.320 is
00:19:53.520 able
00:19:53.860 to
00:19:54.620 bring
00:19:55.420 peace
00:19:55.920 to
00:19:56.060 France
00:20:00.440 situation
00:20:00.920 in
00:20:01.120 France
00:20:01.480 tried
00:20:02.240 basically
00:20:02.740 to
00:20:03.260 undermine
00:20:03.980 the
00:20:04.640 French
00:20:05.180 royalist
00:20:05.580 insurrection
00:20:06.040 in
00:20:06.260 the
00:20:06.360 Vendée
00:20:06.820 and
00:20:07.440 the
00:20:07.680 Chauhanerie
00:20:08.160 in
00:20:08.460 Brittany
00:20:08.780 and
00:20:09.020 places
00:20:09.280 like
00:20:09.580 that
00:20:09.960 and
00:20:12.620 if
00:20:12.860 you
00:20:12.960 look
00:20:13.140 at
00:20:13.240 the
00:20:13.400 terms
00:20:13.760 of
00:20:13.920 the
00:20:13.980 Peace
00:20:14.180 of
00:20:14.320 Amiens
00:20:14.600 Britain
00:20:15.300 was
00:20:16.020 prepared
00:20:16.300 to
00:20:16.540 concede
00:20:16.900 a lot
00:20:17.260 to
00:20:17.500 France
00:20:17.940 for
00:20:18.300 the
00:20:18.420 sake
00:20:18.580 of
00:20:18.720 winning
00:20:18.900 that
00:20:19.140 peace
00:20:19.520 so
00:20:20.200 for
00:20:20.340 example
00:20:20.700 the
00:20:21.300 areas
00:20:21.620 that
00:20:21.820 Britain
00:20:22.060 had
00:20:22.220 occupied
00:20:22.680 which
00:20:23.140 were
00:20:23.260 part
00:20:23.500 of
00:20:23.640 the
00:20:23.860 Dutch
00:20:24.520 or
00:20:24.800 the
00:20:25.000 Batavian
00:20:25.380 Republic
00:20:25.820 which
00:20:26.120 was
00:20:26.240 now
00:20:26.360 a
00:20:26.480 French
00:20:26.620 client
00:20:26.920 like
00:20:27.200 Cape
00:20:27.440 Town
00:20:27.740 in
00:20:28.200 particular
00:20:28.620 the
00:20:28.880 Cape
00:20:29.040 Colony
00:20:29.380 modern
00:20:29.660 day
00:20:29.860 South
00:20:30.080 Africa
00:20:30.460 was
00:20:32.420 returned
00:20:33.360 to
00:20:33.740 the
00:20:33.860 Netherlands
00:20:34.200 areas
00:20:35.640 like
00:20:35.860 Malta
00:20:36.240 which
00:20:36.620 had
00:20:36.720 been
00:20:36.840 occupied
00:20:37.260 after
00:20:37.840 Napoleon's
00:20:38.360 expedition
00:20:38.740 where
00:20:39.120 he
00:20:39.340 had
00:20:39.560 temporarily
00:20:40.100 annexed
00:20:40.660 it
00:20:40.780 only
00:20:41.020 for
00:20:41.160 the
00:20:41.260 British
00:20:41.460 to
00:20:41.640 come
00:20:41.800 in
00:20:41.920 and
00:20:42.020 then
00:20:42.160 annex
00:20:42.460 Malta
00:20:42.860 Malta
00:20:43.700 was
00:20:43.920 to
00:20:44.040 be
00:20:44.380 restored
00:20:45.620 back
00:20:46.000 to
00:20:46.140 the
00:20:46.180 Nice
00:20:46.340 Hospitale
00:20:48.000 Britain
00:20:48.820 was
00:20:49.220 prepared
00:20:49.520 to
00:20:49.720 allow
00:20:50.080 French
00:20:50.500 Louisiana
00:20:51.000 to
00:20:51.540 come
00:20:51.740 back
00:20:51.960 into
00:20:52.160 existence
00:20:52.560 all
00:20:52.820 of
00:20:52.940 these
00:20:53.120 things
00:20:53.460 which
00:20:53.640 you
00:20:53.720 can
00:20:53.840 say
00:20:54.100 would
00:20:54.760 go
00:20:55.380 well
00:20:55.580 to
00:20:55.740 normalize
00:20:56.340 relations
00:20:56.860 with
00:20:57.560 Britain
00:20:58.100 but
00:20:59.080 again
00:20:59.380 this
00:21:00.480 is
00:21:00.620 where
00:21:00.800 Napoleon
00:21:01.320 in
00:21:02.340 his
00:21:02.580 desire
00:21:03.000 basically
00:21:03.500 already
00:21:03.960 from
00:21:04.220 the
00:21:04.320 beginning
00:21:04.600 to
00:21:05.140 establish
00:21:05.600 a
00:21:05.900 de facto
00:21:06.260 continental
00:21:06.780 system
00:21:07.400 where
00:21:08.020 France
00:21:08.440 has
00:21:08.900 the
00:21:09.080 overriding
00:21:09.600 interest
00:21:10.120 in
00:21:10.340 the
00:21:10.480 continent
00:21:10.840 he
00:21:11.780 cannot
00:21:12.080 understand
00:21:12.600 how
00:21:12.800 Britain
00:21:13.060 can
00:21:13.280 have
00:21:13.440 any
00:21:13.660 interests
00:21:14.200 in
00:21:14.420 the
00:21:14.540 continent
00:21:14.920 now
00:21:15.280 that
00:21:15.420 peace
00:21:15.660 has
00:21:15.800 been
00:21:15.940 achieved
00:21:16.420 despite
00:21:17.240 the
00:21:17.500 fact
00:21:17.700 that
00:21:17.920 at
00:21:18.080 the
00:21:18.220 time
00:21:18.600 the
00:21:19.300 king
00:21:19.520 of
00:21:19.640 Great
00:21:19.820 Britain
00:21:20.060 was
00:21:20.260 also
00:21:20.500 the
00:21:20.680 elector
00:21:20.960 of
00:21:21.140 Hanover
00:21:21.560 and
00:21:22.260 so
00:21:22.400 was
00:21:22.580 actually
00:21:22.900 one
00:21:23.220 of
00:21:23.380 the
00:21:23.680 great
00:21:24.200 European
00:21:24.740 sovereigns
00:21:25.500 and
00:21:25.700 holding
00:21:26.160 a
00:21:26.360 large
00:21:26.760 section
00:21:27.120 of
00:21:27.300 Germany
00:21:27.640 which
00:21:27.880 was
00:21:27.980 only
00:21:28.160 comparable
00:21:28.620 to
00:21:28.880 places
00:21:29.160 like
00:21:29.520 Bavaria
00:21:30.360 and
00:21:30.660 Prussia
00:21:30.980 itself
00:21:31.600 and
00:21:32.600 indeed
00:21:32.860 of
00:21:33.060 course
00:21:33.240 the
00:21:33.400 notion
00:21:33.720 that
00:21:34.100 why
00:21:34.700 on
00:21:34.880 earth
00:21:35.100 would
00:21:35.240 Britain
00:21:35.500 tolerate
00:21:35.980 a
00:21:36.180 power
00:21:36.520 which
00:21:37.160 has
00:21:37.320 consolidated
00:21:38.020 control
00:21:38.700 over
00:21:39.000 the
00:21:39.140 entirety
00:21:39.540 of
00:21:39.720 the
00:21:39.840 continent
00:21:40.200 thereby
00:21:41.000 placing
00:21:41.520 Britain
00:21:41.880 in
00:21:42.240 a
00:21:42.540 position
00:21:42.840 of
00:21:43.020 existential
00:21:43.480 turmoil
00:21:44.120 which
00:21:44.920 has
00:21:45.820 been
00:21:46.000 basically
00:21:46.360 Britain's
00:21:46.800 policy
00:21:47.120 since
00:21:47.440 the
00:21:47.740 war
00:21:47.940 of
00:21:48.080 the
00:21:48.180 Spanish
00:21:48.380 succession
00:21:48.860 100
00:21:49.700 years
00:21:49.980 before
00:21:50.360 so
00:21:51.580 Napoleon
00:21:51.960 takes
00:21:52.360 that
00:21:52.580 piece
00:21:52.980 and
00:21:54.140 he
00:21:54.240 goes
00:21:54.440 a
00:21:54.560 little
00:21:54.700 bit
00:21:54.900 further
00:21:55.260 and
00:21:55.620 decides
00:21:55.940 I'm
00:21:56.200 going
00:21:56.380 to
00:21:57.200 annex
00:21:57.600 Switzerland
00:21:58.100 I'm
00:21:58.800 going
00:21:58.920 to
00:21:59.060 turn
00:21:59.280 it
00:21:59.440 into
00:21:59.620 a
00:21:59.780 client
00:22:00.040 state
00:22:00.400 the
00:22:00.600 Helvetic
00:22:01.000 Republic
00:22:01.440 even
00:22:02.680 though
00:22:03.120 and
00:22:03.680 this
00:22:03.840 is
00:22:04.020 something
00:22:04.380 which
00:22:04.600 is
00:22:04.700 really
00:22:04.880 important
00:22:05.160 to
00:22:05.320 understand
00:22:05.740 when
00:22:06.580 Talleyrand
00:22:07.060 was
00:22:07.440 negotiating
00:22:08.220 the
00:22:08.500 Treaty
00:22:08.740 of
00:22:08.920 Luneville
00:22:09.340 with
00:22:09.580 Austria
00:22:10.000 and
00:22:10.420 the
00:22:10.540 Treaty
00:22:14.920 that
00:22:15.440 this
00:22:15.880 is
00:22:16.040 the
00:22:16.200 summit
00:22:16.500 of
00:22:16.740 achievable
00:22:17.200 French
00:22:17.580 power
00:22:17.980 within
00:22:18.520 the
00:22:19.060 bounds
00:22:19.280 of
00:22:19.440 peace
00:22:19.820 that
00:22:20.980 being
00:22:21.500 France
00:22:22.120 has
00:22:22.300 achieved
00:22:22.680 what
00:22:22.940 it
00:22:23.100 wanted
00:22:23.500 in
00:22:23.740 the
00:22:23.900 Napoleonic
00:22:24.500 and
00:22:24.800 the
00:22:25.520 Revolutionary
00:22:26.120 Wars
00:22:26.500 a
00:22:28.000 new
00:22:28.380 border
00:22:28.740 where
00:22:29.340 France
00:22:29.620 was
00:22:29.780 protected
00:22:30.180 on all
00:22:30.760 sides
00:22:31.120 by
00:22:31.320 natural
00:22:31.680 frontiers
00:22:32.380 the
00:22:33.140 Pyrenees
00:22:33.760 in the
00:22:34.600 south
00:22:34.820 against
00:22:35.140 Spain
00:22:35.500 the
00:22:36.060 Alps
00:22:36.460 in the
00:22:36.880 east
00:22:37.180 against
00:22:37.560 Italy
00:22:37.980 the
00:22:39.200 Rhine
00:22:39.640 in the
00:22:40.380 north
00:22:40.700 against
00:22:41.240 Germany
00:22:41.740 and
00:22:42.660 again
00:22:42.980 you're
00:22:43.260 looking at
00:22:43.600 this
00:22:43.740 in terms
00:22:44.100 of
00:22:44.300 legacy
00:22:44.920 you're
00:22:45.240 looking at
00:22:45.500 this
00:22:45.660 in terms
00:22:46.100 of
00:22:46.380 German
00:22:47.300 nationalism
00:22:47.940 French
00:22:49.200 control
00:22:49.800 over
00:22:50.260 Belgium
00:22:50.680 over
00:22:51.540 the
00:22:52.440 left
00:22:52.760 bank
00:22:53.020 of
00:22:53.140 the
00:22:53.260 Rhine
00:22:53.600 and
00:22:54.700 potentially
00:22:55.200 over
00:22:55.520 areas
00:22:55.840 like
00:22:55.980 the
00:22:56.100 Rue
00:22:56.280 Valley
00:22:56.620 and
00:22:57.220 the
00:22:57.360 city
00:22:57.560 of
00:22:57.700 Mainz
00:22:58.180 or
00:22:58.380 Mainz
00:22:58.760 in
00:22:58.940 German
00:22:59.240 you can
00:23:00.860 understand
00:23:01.380 that had
00:23:01.860 France
00:23:02.180 been able
00:23:02.620 to
00:23:02.840 achieve
00:23:03.240 control
00:23:04.060 over
00:23:04.520 these
00:23:04.800 natural
00:23:05.300 borders
00:23:05.900 French
00:23:07.300 domination
00:23:08.060 of Europe
00:23:08.520 would have
00:23:08.780 been assured
00:23:09.300 up until
00:23:10.140 probably
00:23:10.540 this
00:23:11.080 day
00:23:11.440 given
00:23:12.060 the
00:23:12.980 wealth
00:23:13.460 of those
00:23:13.800 territories
00:23:14.300 and the
00:23:14.940 impetus
00:23:15.460 they gave
00:23:15.900 towards Prussian
00:23:16.560 and later
00:23:16.920 German
00:23:17.260 industrialization
00:23:18.320 so Talleyrand
00:23:19.900 understands this
00:23:20.740 and he understands
00:23:21.360 that any
00:23:22.040 further steps
00:23:23.300 will inevitably
00:23:24.260 lead to a
00:23:25.020 renewal of
00:23:25.420 hostilities
00:23:25.980 but Napoleon
00:23:27.200 can't help
00:23:27.740 himself
00:23:28.160 so as I
00:23:29.020 mentioned
00:23:29.320 he annexes
00:23:30.300 the Helvetic
00:23:31.260 Republic
00:23:31.680 and that's also
00:23:32.900 another point
00:23:33.740 the French
00:23:34.680 revolutionaries
00:23:35.460 in terms of
00:23:36.200 historical
00:23:36.680 reenactment
00:23:37.340 were obsessed
00:23:38.120 with renaming
00:23:38.980 historic polities
00:23:39.980 and giving them
00:23:40.900 Roman era names
00:23:42.360 so obviously
00:23:43.420 you'll be
00:23:44.000 familiar
00:23:44.320 it's not
00:23:45.320 enough to
00:23:45.600 be Switzerland
00:23:46.160 one needs
00:23:46.640 to be
00:23:46.900 Helvetia
00:23:47.540 after the
00:23:48.240 Helvetic
00:23:48.660 in the same
00:23:49.720 way that it's
00:23:50.100 not enough
00:23:50.520 to be the
00:23:50.960 Netherlands
00:23:51.260 one needs
00:23:51.720 to be
00:23:51.960 Batavia
00:23:52.400 after the
00:23:53.100 original
00:23:53.360 Batavians
00:23:54.140 there is
00:23:54.800 the
00:23:54.940 Cisalpine
00:23:55.620 Republic
00:23:56.120 which are
00:23:57.440 called
00:23:57.580 Cisalpine
00:23:58.240 Gaul
00:23:58.660 they even
00:23:59.940 tried to
00:24:00.560 rename
00:24:00.980 the Neapolitan
00:24:01.900 state
00:24:02.240 at one
00:24:02.580 point
00:24:02.820 to a
00:24:03.120 name
00:24:03.300 which is
00:24:03.560 so obscure
00:24:04.000 that it's
00:24:05.720 left me
00:24:06.580 but nevertheless
00:24:07.140 it sort of
00:24:07.700 demonstrates
00:24:08.200 that
00:24:08.520 the French
00:24:10.560 took this
00:24:11.020 process
00:24:11.560 of neoclassical
00:24:12.620 reenactment
00:24:12.960 very seriously
00:24:13.900 and they
00:24:14.500 eventually
00:24:14.880 annexed the
00:24:15.720 territories of
00:24:16.220 Piedmont
00:24:16.560 which threw
00:24:18.100 up the
00:24:18.400 whole situation
00:24:19.080 in Italy
00:24:19.560 and also
00:24:20.160 put France
00:24:21.040 on another
00:24:21.420 collision course
00:24:22.220 with Austria
00:24:23.580 as well
00:24:24.080 there are also
00:24:25.660 you can say
00:24:26.780 a series of
00:24:27.640 attempts
00:24:29.040 by the
00:24:29.520 royalists
00:24:30.000 the royalists
00:24:30.580 basically assumed
00:24:31.340 that with the
00:24:31.760 directory in
00:24:32.360 charge
00:24:32.660 they would
00:24:33.000 come back
00:24:33.340 into power
00:24:33.840 but Napoleon
00:24:34.960 has basically
00:24:35.760 undermined the
00:24:37.220 royalist
00:24:37.580 programme
00:24:37.960 by doing
00:24:39.080 a lot
00:24:39.380 of what
00:24:39.600 the royalists
00:24:40.080 wanted
00:24:40.500 essentially
00:24:41.020 and so
00:24:42.140 there was
00:24:42.620 a royalist
00:24:43.200 plot to
00:24:43.660 assassinate
00:24:44.140 Napoleon
00:24:44.540 and that
00:24:45.920 again
00:24:47.220 leads
00:24:47.500 Napoleon
00:24:47.900 down a
00:24:48.300 very dark
00:24:48.860 track
00:24:49.260 where
00:24:49.640 he
00:24:50.400 begins
00:24:51.620 to assume
00:24:52.220 consular authority
00:24:52.980 for ten years
00:24:53.720 and then
00:24:55.000 he assumes
00:24:55.580 consular authority
00:24:56.340 for life
00:24:56.920 and he does
00:24:57.560 this for a
00:24:58.040 series of
00:24:58.520 popular
00:24:58.880 plebiscites
00:24:59.560 but eventually
00:25:00.740 the royalists
00:25:02.280 antipathy
00:25:02.700 towards Napoleon
00:25:03.440 the fact that
00:25:04.380 they will never
00:25:04.920 recognise him
00:25:05.680 despite the fact
00:25:06.340 he's appealing
00:25:06.780 to the
00:25:07.060 Catholic Church
00:25:07.780 and he's appealing
00:25:08.860 to normalisation
00:25:10.660 of relations
00:25:11.200 because he is
00:25:11.920 the usurper
00:25:12.480 he is not the
00:25:13.100 rightful king of
00:25:13.740 France
00:25:14.000 the rightful king
00:25:14.600 of France
00:25:15.020 is Louis XVIII
00:25:16.200 who is still in
00:25:16.940 exile at this time
00:25:17.920 leads him to the
00:25:19.680 murder of the
00:25:20.320 Duke of Anguillen
00:25:20.940 who is a scion
00:25:23.040 of the House of
00:25:23.660 Bourbon
00:25:24.000 in fact specifically
00:25:24.940 is a member of
00:25:25.580 the French House
00:25:26.080 of Condé
00:25:26.680 and what that does
00:25:28.480 is undo all of
00:25:30.440 the goodwill
00:25:30.960 that Napoleon
00:25:31.580 and Talleyrand
00:25:32.160 have built up
00:25:32.740 among the European
00:25:33.440 powers in terms
00:25:34.440 of the mediatisations
00:25:35.500 the policies
00:25:36.920 towards Italy
00:25:37.560 and Spain
00:25:38.080 the policies
00:25:38.620 towards the
00:25:39.080 papacy
00:25:39.560 it's not enough
00:25:40.880 that Britain
00:25:41.340 feels imperilled
00:25:42.300 by the fact
00:25:42.900 that Napoleon
00:25:43.900 is willfully
00:25:44.940 annexing more
00:25:45.680 territory
00:25:46.140 in Europe
00:25:47.200 and showing
00:25:47.720 complete contempt
00:25:48.500 for a safe
00:25:49.000 example
00:25:49.400 the British
00:25:49.920 right to hold
00:25:50.460 on to Hanover
00:25:51.120 which is the
00:25:52.140 dynastic possession
00:25:52.920 of the British
00:25:53.380 monarchy
00:25:53.820 Napoleon
00:25:54.720 goes a step
00:25:55.280 further
00:25:55.620 he tries to
00:25:56.780 reconquer Haiti
00:25:57.720 which had been
00:25:58.620 taken over
00:25:59.240 during the
00:25:59.580 Haitian revolution
00:26:00.260 and what that
00:26:01.320 means is
00:26:01.820 right before
00:26:02.760 Britain had
00:26:03.320 abolished the
00:26:04.080 slave trade
00:26:04.740 Britain was
00:26:05.720 now faced
00:26:06.220 with a major
00:26:06.780 competitor
00:26:07.340 in the
00:26:08.400 sugar trade
00:26:10.500 in the
00:26:12.380 Caribbean
00:26:12.740 again you can
00:26:14.060 say that
00:26:14.620 if you are
00:26:16.120 thinking more
00:26:17.300 in terms of
00:26:17.720 long term
00:26:18.120 policy
00:26:18.660 and lasting
00:26:19.740 peace
00:26:20.240 you won't
00:26:21.220 imperil Britain
00:26:22.040 on so many
00:26:22.720 fronts
00:26:23.040 simultaneously
00:26:23.740 which ultimately
00:26:24.860 is what
00:26:25.320 forces Britain
00:26:26.180 to make a
00:26:27.120 very risky
00:26:27.620 step which is
00:26:28.260 the renewal
00:26:28.560 of hostilities
00:26:29.240 because the
00:26:30.140 British understand
00:26:30.840 that going
00:26:32.120 to war
00:26:32.400 against France
00:26:32.920 again basically
00:26:33.660 means that they
00:26:34.420 will lose
00:26:34.800 Hanover
00:26:35.260 perhaps indefinitely
00:26:36.860 and they do
00:26:37.680 up until the
00:26:38.300 restoration back
00:26:39.020 in 1814
00:26:39.680 1815
00:26:40.420 because you have
00:26:41.220 to understand
00:26:41.760 that with the
00:26:42.580 experience in
00:26:43.280 Egypt as we've
00:26:44.760 gone over
00:26:45.220 and the experience
00:26:46.080 in Haiti
00:26:46.480 and the experience
00:26:47.260 in Louisiana
00:26:47.840 it seems that
00:26:49.120 Napoleon is actually
00:26:50.060 focusing more
00:26:51.020 on anti-colonial
00:26:51.920 policy as much
00:26:53.760 as he is in
00:26:54.340 terms of
00:26:54.640 consolidating
00:26:55.260 European power
00:26:55.900 at the same
00:26:56.320 time
00:26:56.740 but the Duke
00:26:57.680 of Anguillon's
00:26:58.400 assassination
00:27:00.000 by Napoleon
00:27:00.960 which even
00:27:02.060 I believe
00:27:03.080 Josephine Bonaparte
00:27:04.260 was determined
00:27:05.720 to avoid
00:27:07.040 because even
00:27:08.020 she knew
00:27:08.580 the ramifications
00:27:10.260 of doing so
00:27:11.100 was enough
00:27:11.940 to basically
00:27:12.580 give the impression
00:27:13.580 to Europe's
00:27:14.480 ruling elite
00:27:15.440 the Austrian
00:27:16.220 emperor
00:27:16.620 the princes
00:27:17.580 of the Holy Roman
00:27:18.400 Empire
00:27:18.880 the King of Prussia
00:27:20.320 albeit that we
00:27:20.820 slightly later
00:27:21.340 but certainly
00:27:21.840 the Tsar of Russia
00:27:22.560 that Napoleon
00:27:23.720 was just a
00:27:24.340 Jacobite menace
00:27:25.200 and ultimately
00:27:26.340 you can say
00:27:26.800 in many ways
00:27:27.400 he was
00:27:27.960 he was a
00:27:28.540 Jacobite
00:27:28.960 revolutionary
00:27:29.500 emperor
00:27:29.900 who showed
00:27:31.080 ultimately
00:27:31.640 no respect
00:27:34.140 for any
00:27:35.340 country
00:27:35.820 other than
00:27:36.380 the revolutionary
00:27:37.420 manifestation
00:27:38.100 of the French
00:27:38.640 Republic
00:27:39.020 later the Empire
00:27:40.120 which again
00:27:41.120 comes back
00:27:41.620 to your point
00:27:42.200 about the
00:27:43.040 Spanish
00:27:43.440 incident
00:27:44.420 being
00:27:44.840 we can say
00:27:45.480 that in hindsight
00:27:46.060 it was a
00:27:47.740 bad decision
00:27:48.520 no I think
00:27:49.260 it's a culmination
00:27:50.080 it's a culmination
00:27:51.500 of bad decisions
00:27:53.580 whereby Napoleon
00:27:54.520 assumes his own
00:27:55.720 aura of
00:27:58.060 Caesarean
00:27:58.760 infallibility
00:27:59.460 I am Caesar
00:28:00.960 and Caesar
00:28:01.380 can do no wrong
00:28:02.380 and thereby
00:28:03.440 all of these
00:28:04.400 puffed up
00:28:05.700 corpulent
00:28:06.580 princes that I
00:28:07.620 have to deal
00:28:08.140 with
00:28:08.500 if I remove
00:28:10.260 them willy-nilly
00:28:11.260 then of course
00:28:12.660 the peoples of
00:28:14.440 Europe will love
00:28:15.040 me
00:28:15.220 they will come
00:28:15.700 to embrace
00:28:16.260 me
00:28:16.600 I will impose
00:28:18.040 upon them
00:28:18.640 the code
00:28:19.560 Napoleon
00:28:20.040 I will give
00:28:21.380 them equality
00:28:21.940 before the law
00:28:22.600 I will give
00:28:23.200 them rights
00:28:24.360 and prosperity
00:28:25.580 he doesn't seem
00:28:26.700 to understand
00:28:27.360 that having
00:28:29.460 those rights
00:28:30.140 imposed
00:28:30.880 don't seem
00:28:31.880 to be so much
00:28:32.480 as a blessing
00:28:33.080 so much as
00:28:33.760 a foreign
00:28:34.280 imposition
00:28:34.840 and indeed
00:28:35.320 a symptom
00:28:35.700 of conquest
00:28:36.480 and again
00:28:37.760 that comes
00:28:38.540 back to
00:28:38.940 Napoleon
00:28:39.360 despite all
00:28:40.220 of these
00:28:40.480 moderating
00:28:41.040 influences
00:28:41.500 that I
00:28:41.880 mentioned
00:28:42.120 during the
00:28:42.520 consulate
00:28:42.940 ultimately
00:28:43.980 Napoleon
00:28:44.460 is a scion
00:28:45.200 of the
00:28:45.480 revolution
00:28:45.880 and the
00:28:46.880 scion
00:28:47.140 of the
00:28:47.640 Jacobite
00:28:49.040 sorry
00:28:49.640 the Jacobin
00:28:50.280 not the Jacobite
00:28:51.780 the Jacobin
00:28:52.340 element
00:28:52.660 of the
00:28:52.880 revolutionaries
00:28:53.660 whereby
00:28:54.680 the presets
00:28:56.640 of the
00:28:56.860 French
00:28:57.040 revolution
00:28:57.400 are ultimately
00:28:57.960 infallible
00:28:58.580 and so
00:28:59.940 it is only
00:29:01.000 logical
00:29:01.500 that as
00:29:02.140 the French
00:29:02.540 revolution
00:29:02.980 expands
00:29:03.600 across
00:29:03.980 Europe
00:29:04.340 the peoples
00:29:05.180 of Europe
00:29:05.720 breaking
00:29:06.440 out of the
00:29:06.840 shackles
00:29:07.280 of the
00:29:07.660 chains
00:29:07.960 of feudalism
00:29:08.680 basically
00:29:09.080 is how
00:29:09.380 Napoleon
00:29:09.780 would see
00:29:10.120 it
00:29:10.300 will come
00:29:10.900 to embrace
00:29:11.560 embrace
00:29:12.280 Napoleon
00:29:12.780 as this
00:29:14.620 new
00:29:14.940 modern
00:29:15.620 Carolingian
00:29:16.960 restoration
00:29:17.760 it's funny
00:29:18.860 isn't it
00:29:19.140 what an
00:29:20.380 odd thing
00:29:20.940 it is
00:29:21.380 because it's
00:29:21.700 not
00:29:21.900 to have
00:29:23.320 a
00:29:24.520 Jacobin
00:29:25.440 emperor
00:29:26.500 right
00:29:28.420 what an
00:29:29.000 odd thing
00:29:29.540 if you
00:29:30.600 if you'd
00:29:31.080 gone to
00:29:31.460 the
00:29:31.880 Jacobin
00:29:33.080 club
00:29:33.380 and said
00:29:33.760 one of
00:29:34.140 your number
00:29:34.520 one day
00:29:34.980 will be
00:29:35.460 an
00:29:36.280 emperor
00:29:36.720 they would
00:29:38.580 have
00:29:38.840 I don't know
00:29:39.460 scoffed
00:29:39.900 laughed
00:29:40.300 been incredulous
00:29:41.520 I don't know
00:29:42.140 anyway
00:29:42.460 that's
00:29:42.740 so
00:29:43.180 keeping our
00:29:44.180 eye on
00:29:44.540 the priors
00:29:45.000 of was
00:29:45.360 Napoleon
00:29:45.800 good
00:29:46.180 for
00:29:46.400 France
00:29:46.820 you've
00:29:47.480 mentioned
00:29:47.860 loads
00:29:48.760 of
00:29:48.900 things
00:29:49.180 there
00:29:49.560 on both
00:29:50.560 sides
00:29:50.800 of the
00:29:51.040 ledger
00:29:51.320 good
00:29:51.680 things
00:29:51.980 for
00:29:52.120 France
00:29:52.360 and
00:29:52.580 terrible
00:29:52.960 things
00:29:53.560 for
00:29:53.760 France
00:29:54.120 one of
00:29:55.700 the first
00:29:56.000 things
00:29:56.260 if we could
00:29:56.780 try and go
00:29:57.400 through it
00:29:57.700 chronologically
00:29:58.700 one of the
00:30:00.420 first things
00:30:01.020 where I
00:30:02.360 questioned
00:30:02.880 my own gut
00:30:03.840 reaction
00:30:04.380 of saying
00:30:04.780 no Napoleon
00:30:05.300 is terrible
00:30:05.760 for France
00:30:06.360 one of the
00:30:07.420 first things
00:30:07.840 where I
00:30:08.040 thought to
00:30:08.280 myself
00:30:08.480 oh no
00:30:08.780 wait
00:30:09.020 that was
00:30:10.020 surely
00:30:10.960 good
00:30:11.320 though
00:30:11.560 for France
00:30:12.060 was when
00:30:14.320 the terror
00:30:16.520 ends
00:30:17.160 or when
00:30:18.300 the
00:30:18.420 Poland
00:30:18.640 was
00:30:18.800 brought
00:30:19.020 into
00:30:19.420 Paris
00:30:19.980 to put
00:30:20.420 down
00:30:20.840 a mob
00:30:22.020 in Paris
00:30:23.020 you know
00:30:23.280 the whiff of
00:30:23.720 grapeshot
00:30:24.160 that moment
00:30:24.740 that's surely
00:30:27.240 good for
00:30:27.840 France
00:30:28.300 I mean
00:30:28.640 not good
00:30:28.940 for the
00:30:29.160 people
00:30:29.340 that got
00:30:29.580 massacred
00:30:29.980 that day
00:30:30.440 but that's
00:30:32.140 good for
00:30:32.580 France
00:30:32.880 isn't it
00:30:33.180 that it
00:30:33.520 draws a line
00:30:34.240 under the
00:30:34.860 worst
00:30:35.420 violent mob
00:30:37.980 excesses
00:30:38.640 of the
00:30:38.940 Parisians
00:30:39.720 who were
00:30:41.320 the mob
00:30:41.780 well
00:30:42.680 okay
00:30:43.280 sure
00:30:44.280 well they
00:30:44.900 were
00:30:45.080 they were
00:30:45.400 pro-royalists
00:30:46.300 they were
00:30:46.520 pro-royalists
00:30:47.380 but still
00:30:49.160 what Napoleon
00:30:49.760 was doing
00:30:50.440 he was
00:30:51.280 defending
00:30:51.780 the republic
00:30:52.680 at any
00:30:53.760 means
00:30:54.140 necessary
00:30:54.680 effectively
00:30:55.260 that
00:30:56.580 that
00:30:56.960 underpins
00:30:57.660 you can say
00:30:58.120 so much
00:30:58.580 of what I
00:30:58.900 would call
00:30:59.160 his own
00:30:59.680 inherent
00:31:00.720 radicalism
00:31:01.880 throughout
00:31:02.280 the first
00:31:02.740 sort of
00:31:02.940 10 years
00:31:03.400 from 1795
00:31:04.320 when that
00:31:04.860 incident
00:31:05.160 happened
00:31:05.560 up until
00:31:05.980 his
00:31:06.320 assumption
00:31:07.620 of the
00:31:08.300 imperial
00:31:08.780 office
00:31:09.260 the office
00:31:09.680 of
00:31:09.860 France
00:31:10.320 was that
00:31:11.100 1804
00:31:12.120 1804
00:31:13.200 December
00:31:13.740 the 4th
00:31:14.060 so like
00:31:14.420 nine years
00:31:15.020 later
00:31:15.400 nine years
00:31:16.340 later
00:31:16.700 I believe
00:31:17.900 that
00:31:18.200 what Napoleon
00:31:20.140 basically
00:31:20.600 did
00:31:20.920 like I
00:31:21.540 said
00:31:21.660 there's so
00:31:22.000 much
00:31:22.300 opportunities
00:31:24.360 that Napoleon
00:31:24.980 had
00:31:25.520 because the
00:31:26.680 obvious
00:31:27.460 alternative to
00:31:28.800 Napoleon
00:31:29.120 was a
00:31:29.480 restoration
00:31:29.800 of royal
00:31:30.300 power
00:31:30.720 and in
00:31:31.640 that
00:31:31.780 incident
00:31:32.180 all of
00:31:33.980 the
00:31:34.180 moderating
00:31:34.700 influences
00:31:35.120 against
00:31:35.500 the
00:31:35.660 revolution
00:31:36.020 would have
00:31:36.620 happened
00:31:36.880 the same
00:31:37.300 way
00:31:37.620 effectively
00:31:38.120 that
00:31:38.580 they
00:31:39.420 occurred
00:31:39.700 under
00:31:39.920 Napoleon
00:31:40.440 what Napoleon
00:31:41.640 was able
00:31:42.120 to bring
00:31:42.720 to the
00:31:43.320 new
00:31:43.480 government
00:31:43.960 right from
00:31:44.980 the onset
00:31:45.420 with the
00:31:47.200 Battle of
00:31:47.640 Marengo
00:31:48.100 was a
00:31:50.320 strengthened
00:31:52.360 territorial
00:31:53.200 position
00:31:54.020 within
00:31:54.880 Europe
00:31:55.320 because
00:31:55.900 Napoleon
00:31:56.300 was not
00:31:56.740 so fussed
00:31:57.540 say for
00:31:57.820 example
00:31:58.100 about the
00:31:58.700 ancient
00:31:59.460 land rights
00:32:00.220 of the
00:32:00.500 various
00:32:00.860 German
00:32:01.260 holders
00:32:01.680 in the
00:32:01.960 left bank
00:32:02.360 of the
00:32:02.600 Rhine
00:32:02.900 or the
00:32:03.520 Austrian
00:32:03.880 Empire
00:32:04.240 in the
00:32:04.480 Netherlands
00:32:04.840 was one
00:32:05.880 of the
00:32:06.020 reasons
00:32:06.320 why
00:32:06.540 Louis
00:32:06.800 18th
00:32:07.360 became
00:32:07.580 so unpopular
00:32:08.220 when he
00:32:08.580 came back
00:32:08.940 in 1814
00:32:09.680 was that he
00:32:10.720 was seen as
00:32:11.220 giving away
00:32:11.880 that patrimony
00:32:12.780 basically of
00:32:13.620 France
00:32:14.100 my contention
00:32:15.620 has been
00:32:16.120 that Napoleon
00:32:17.080 had achieved
00:32:17.680 that patrimony
00:32:18.520 and then
00:32:19.360 seemed to do
00:32:19.920 everything in
00:32:20.440 his power
00:32:20.800 subsequently
00:32:21.380 to alienate
00:32:22.860 that patrimony
00:32:23.760 from France
00:32:24.760 having basically
00:32:25.460 already achieved
00:32:26.380 France's best
00:32:27.520 possible result
00:32:28.380 very early on
00:32:29.420 by providing
00:32:30.920 that leadership
00:32:31.660 and you can
00:32:32.720 say a
00:32:33.100 necessary
00:32:33.520 conservative
00:32:34.240 revolt
00:32:35.940 against his
00:32:37.000 predecessors
00:32:37.660 in order to
00:32:38.840 ensure some
00:32:39.580 form of
00:32:40.000 peaceful
00:32:40.480 stable
00:32:41.060 regime
00:32:41.580 and again
00:32:42.580 you can
00:32:42.880 say that
00:32:43.440 there is a
00:32:45.100 part of
00:32:45.720 many European
00:32:46.400 leaders that
00:32:47.120 would still
00:32:47.780 of course
00:32:48.140 have preferred
00:32:48.620 that the
00:32:50.060 royalty come
00:32:50.700 back
00:32:51.120 Louis XVIII
00:32:52.520 becomes king
00:32:53.180 again which
00:32:53.620 of course was
00:32:54.140 the overarching
00:32:55.260 question which
00:32:56.540 concerned Napoleon
00:32:57.300 during those
00:32:57.840 days and
00:32:58.720 compelled him
00:32:59.400 he believed
00:32:59.940 the necessity
00:33:01.900 of assuming
00:33:03.140 to himself
00:33:03.700 more grandiose
00:33:05.080 offices like
00:33:05.800 that of the
00:33:06.360 emperor of
00:33:06.980 France or
00:33:07.600 the emperor
00:33:08.020 of the French
00:33:08.600 part of the
00:33:09.880 reason he
00:33:10.280 assumed that
00:33:10.720 office was
00:33:11.600 the assumption
00:33:12.000 of equality
00:33:12.680 with his
00:33:13.480 European
00:33:13.740 neighbours
00:33:14.200 but of course
00:33:15.100 it has the
00:33:15.500 opposite effect
00:33:16.180 because it's
00:33:17.240 not equality
00:33:17.860 clearly that
00:33:18.580 when Napoleon
00:33:19.100 is seeking
00:33:19.600 or is interpreted
00:33:20.460 by say for
00:33:21.180 example the
00:33:21.660 Holy Roman
00:33:22.020 Emperor
00:33:22.320 the emperor
00:33:22.720 of Austria
00:33:23.220 it is to
00:33:26.000 be supplanted
00:33:26.660 by Napoleon
00:33:28.300 you know
00:33:29.620 they still
00:33:30.440 see him
00:33:30.860 as an
00:33:31.040 upstart
00:33:31.440 regardless
00:33:32.300 of wearing
00:33:33.300 of course
00:33:34.100 they do
00:33:34.540 because this
00:33:35.640 is might
00:33:36.320 makes right
00:33:36.900 this is I
00:33:37.800 found the
00:33:38.740 throne of
00:33:39.780 the crown
00:33:40.420 of France
00:33:40.980 in the gutter
00:33:41.880 and I picked
00:33:42.280 it up with
00:33:42.620 my sword
00:33:43.160 it's just
00:33:43.840 you know
00:33:45.080 he who was
00:33:46.180 made essentially
00:33:46.840 by military
00:33:47.340 might could be
00:33:47.880 unmade by
00:33:48.400 military might
00:33:49.160 and effectively
00:33:49.920 that is what
00:33:50.500 the European
00:33:50.900 leaders see
00:33:52.140 him as
00:33:52.540 and ultimately
00:33:53.060 that is how
00:33:53.600 he is treated
00:33:54.160 what I find
00:33:55.320 remarkable about
00:33:55.980 Napoleon
00:33:56.440 is all of
00:33:58.260 the opportunities
00:33:58.980 where he
00:34:00.760 could have
00:34:01.140 stabilised a
00:34:01.940 political system
00:34:02.720 with himself
00:34:04.380 as the emperor
00:34:05.200 effectively
00:34:05.880 or indeed
00:34:06.740 as the consul
00:34:07.540 and he seems
00:34:08.720 to surrender
00:34:10.480 all of those
00:34:11.000 opportunities
00:34:11.540 and again
00:34:12.020 we're not even
00:34:12.460 talking about
00:34:13.260 the betrayal
00:34:16.300 of the French
00:34:16.760 Revolution
00:34:17.140 as an angle
00:34:17.720 because we're
00:34:18.100 ultimately
00:34:18.380 talking about
00:34:19.140 what is good
00:34:20.140 for France
00:34:20.800 not what is
00:34:22.020 good for the
00:34:22.480 legacy of the
00:34:23.000 French Revolution
00:34:23.600 we're not
00:34:23.960 going to talk
00:34:24.320 about Marxist
00:34:25.620 critiques about
00:34:26.300 Bonapartism
00:34:27.260 and aspects
00:34:29.000 of that
00:34:29.600 and the
00:34:30.820 fear of
00:34:31.620 some sort
00:34:32.040 of military
00:34:33.000 leader
00:34:33.960 taking control
00:34:35.780 of France
00:34:36.360 I actually want
00:34:37.680 to turn it
00:34:38.100 on its head
00:34:38.600 and say
00:34:39.000 that actually
00:34:39.500 applies more
00:34:40.040 to Napoleon
00:34:40.620 as much
00:34:42.020 as anyone
00:34:42.360 else
00:34:42.800 because
00:34:43.640 Napoleon
00:34:44.700 suffers from
00:34:45.680 this great
00:34:46.360 loss of
00:34:47.660 legitimacy
00:34:48.080 from the
00:34:48.540 beginning
00:34:48.800 due to the
00:34:49.420 fact that
00:34:49.780 he took
00:34:50.100 power in
00:34:50.880 a military
00:34:51.240 coup
00:34:51.600 against the
00:34:52.400 revolution
00:34:52.820 and then
00:34:54.180 he continues
00:34:56.500 on in that
00:34:57.400 vein by
00:34:58.140 justifying the
00:34:59.080 control of the
00:34:59.760 Bonaparte all
00:35:00.360 across Europe
00:35:00.880 by simply
00:35:01.740 taking away
00:35:02.840 the thrones of
00:35:03.440 other people
00:35:03.960 like King
00:35:05.220 Ferdinand of
00:35:05.880 Spain and
00:35:06.400 giving it to
00:35:06.920 Joseph and
00:35:07.520 giving it to
00:35:08.280 his older
00:35:08.920 brother Joseph
00:35:09.500 what is
00:35:10.780 interesting is
00:35:11.300 that as
00:35:11.600 Napoleon is
00:35:12.280 aware that
00:35:13.640 he is a
00:35:14.100 usurper to
00:35:14.880 the other
00:35:15.240 European royals
00:35:16.180 in many ways
00:35:17.240 he is also
00:35:17.740 a usurper to
00:35:19.860 the French
00:35:22.860 political
00:35:23.220 establishment
00:35:23.680 domestically
00:35:24.420 Napoleon has
00:35:26.300 to own
00:35:27.180 France's
00:35:27.720 military glory
00:35:28.480 in a way
00:35:28.960 that compels
00:35:29.560 him to go
00:35:30.000 out and
00:35:30.320 personally lead
00:35:31.040 all these
00:35:31.360 campaigns
00:35:31.900 which during
00:35:32.880 this time
00:35:33.280 really should
00:35:33.660 have been
00:35:33.860 delegated to
00:35:34.580 other generals
00:35:35.200 why can't
00:35:36.160 Napoleon
00:35:36.560 delegate power
00:35:37.340 to generals
00:35:37.860 because
00:35:38.760 Napoleon
00:35:39.600 assumed power
00:35:40.700 by able to
00:35:41.900 bypass the
00:35:42.880 French government
00:35:43.440 through his
00:35:44.480 monopolization of
00:35:45.500 foreign policy
00:35:46.020 and strategy
00:35:46.600 so he couldn't
00:35:47.540 allow anyone
00:35:48.000 else to do
00:35:48.480 that
00:35:48.760 I mentioned
00:35:49.240 Marengo
00:35:49.700 the decisive
00:35:51.440 battle during
00:35:52.760 the war of
00:35:53.800 the second
00:35:54.100 coalition which
00:35:54.860 was that
00:35:55.860 victory which
00:35:56.480 leads to the
00:35:57.420 first peace
00:35:57.920 that I
00:35:58.180 mentioned
00:35:58.580 was not
00:35:59.440 Marengo
00:35:59.840 it was the
00:36:00.140 battle of
00:36:00.420 Hohenbinden
00:36:00.840 it was
00:36:02.540 commanded by
00:36:03.580 General
00:36:03.960 Jean Mareau
00:36:04.600 and the
00:36:06.100 effect of
00:36:06.580 that
00:36:06.900 basically
00:36:07.760 meant
00:36:08.260 that
00:36:08.940 Napoleon
00:36:09.360 had
00:36:09.880 a
00:36:10.420 obvious
00:36:11.080 arrival
00:36:11.600 for
00:36:11.920 political
00:36:12.200 power
00:36:12.640 in the
00:36:13.280 same way
00:36:13.620 that
00:36:13.760 Napoleon
00:36:14.200 had assumed
00:36:14.820 power
00:36:15.280 because of
00:36:15.740 his
00:36:15.860 military
00:36:16.140 excellence
00:36:16.760 why not
00:36:17.680 before it
00:36:18.440 would have
00:36:18.640 been someone
00:36:18.940 like a
00:36:19.240 Desailles
00:36:19.640 but now
00:36:20.100 it's a
00:36:20.520 Moreau
00:36:21.040 why could
00:36:22.020 he not
00:36:22.360 assume
00:36:22.740 political
00:36:23.220 power
00:36:23.500 in France
00:36:24.060 and so
00:36:24.920 inevitably
00:36:25.300 that means
00:36:25.920 that Moreau
00:36:26.520 is forming
00:36:27.060 his own
00:36:27.600 salons
00:36:28.620 and eventually
00:36:29.140 he is exiled
00:36:29.900 from France
00:36:30.660 because there
00:36:31.080 cannot be
00:36:31.600 a military
00:36:32.420 competitor
00:36:32.940 in the same
00:36:33.840 way that
00:36:34.160 France
00:36:34.520 ennobles
00:36:35.380 so many
00:36:36.400 of its
00:36:36.640 generals
00:36:36.960 and they
00:36:37.260 become
00:36:37.520 marshals
00:36:38.080 of the
00:36:38.380 empire
00:36:38.820 what do
00:36:39.860 so many
00:36:40.180 of them
00:36:40.420 do
00:36:40.760 salt
00:36:41.540 for example
00:36:42.280 wants to
00:36:43.360 supplant
00:36:44.100 Joseph
00:36:44.420 as king
00:36:44.800 of Spain
00:36:45.320 what does
00:36:46.180 Jean
00:36:46.640 Bernadotte do
00:36:47.340 he goes
00:36:48.280 off and
00:36:48.600 becomes
00:36:48.980 king of
00:36:49.400 Sweden
00:36:49.760 it's the
00:36:50.860 same
00:36:51.020 justification
00:36:51.600 you basically
00:36:52.360 open the
00:36:53.500 doors of
00:36:53.880 hell
00:36:54.160 and all
00:36:54.640 of a
00:36:54.840 sudden
00:36:55.020 any
00:36:55.500 Tom
00:36:56.080 Dick
00:36:56.280 and Harry
00:36:56.720 or whatever
00:36:57.440 can become
00:36:58.540 ruler of this
00:36:59.240 and ruler
00:36:59.640 of that
00:37:00.180 and so
00:37:01.000 they are
00:37:01.420 not just
00:37:02.120 aspiring
00:37:03.140 to overthrow
00:37:05.520 Napoleon
00:37:05.920 because he's
00:37:06.440 a usurper
00:37:06.900 but these
00:37:07.360 usurpers
00:37:07.940 are in turn
00:37:08.660 looking to
00:37:09.440 Napoleon
00:37:09.780 as an
00:37:10.120 example
00:37:10.460 why can't
00:37:11.360 we overthrow
00:37:11.800 Napoleon
00:37:12.280 I could be
00:37:13.340 king of Sweden
00:37:14.200 salt could be
00:37:14.720 king of Spain
00:37:15.340 why do we need
00:37:16.360 this man
00:37:16.820 and so
00:37:17.520 the logic
00:37:19.640 as I mentioned
00:37:20.240 with the
00:37:20.500 continental system
00:37:21.420 means more
00:37:22.520 control
00:37:23.000 I can't
00:37:24.260 rely on
00:37:24.660 any of
00:37:24.940 these
00:37:25.100 upstarts
00:37:25.720 even though
00:37:26.240 they're my
00:37:26.500 own family
00:37:27.060 like Louis
00:37:27.700 or Jerome
00:37:28.200 so I'm
00:37:29.060 going to
00:37:29.320 depose
00:37:29.720 them
00:37:30.020 thereby
00:37:30.940 there's
00:37:31.280 this whole
00:37:31.600 friction
00:37:32.080 within the
00:37:32.640 Napoleonic
00:37:33.120 system
00:37:33.520 which is
00:37:33.900 based
00:37:34.120 essentially
00:37:34.540 on this
00:37:34.800 lack of
00:37:35.120 legitimacy
00:37:35.540 that Napoleon
00:37:36.180 has
00:37:36.660 I mean
00:37:37.320 it should
00:37:37.500 be mentioned
00:37:37.880 the absurdity
00:37:38.660 of having
00:37:39.080 his older
00:37:39.920 brother
00:37:40.340 be the
00:37:41.120 junior
00:37:41.400 ruler
00:37:41.760 within
00:37:42.080 this
00:37:42.280 coalition
00:37:42.700 from the
00:37:43.140 point of
00:37:43.400 view of
00:37:43.620 primogeniture
00:37:44.240 again it's
00:37:44.720 nonsense
00:37:45.080 but such is
00:37:45.760 the whole
00:37:46.020 nature of
00:37:46.500 the Napoleonic
00:37:47.080 system
00:37:47.620 during the
00:37:48.400 period of
00:37:48.960 the
00:37:49.360 consuls
00:37:50.100 no
00:37:53.000 being king
00:37:53.580 of Spain
00:37:54.100 and Joseph
00:37:55.820 was the
00:37:56.200 older brother
00:37:56.740 so Lucien
00:37:57.720 was Napoleon
00:37:58.460 older than
00:37:59.080 Lucien
00:37:59.560 yes
00:38:00.020 the second
00:38:01.100 oldest brother
00:38:01.580 Lucien
00:38:02.520 was the
00:38:03.560 president
00:38:03.940 of the
00:38:04.340 council
00:38:04.560 of the
00:38:04.840 500
00:38:05.300 during the
00:38:06.040 coup of
00:38:06.320 Brumaire
00:38:06.660 and eventually
00:38:07.140 he was one
00:38:07.560 of the few
00:38:08.580 brothers of
00:38:09.180 Napoleon
00:38:09.560 that would
00:38:09.880 not receive
00:38:10.320 a title
00:38:10.800 even though
00:38:11.640 can I
00:38:12.340 just touch
00:38:12.780 on that
00:38:13.260 that moment
00:38:13.840 there
00:38:14.140 the
00:38:14.480 Brumaire
00:38:16.640 what's it
00:38:18.380 actually called
00:38:19.100 the coup
00:38:20.020 of Brumaire
00:38:20.520 I forget
00:38:20.980 the exact
00:38:21.380 date
00:38:21.580 yeah
00:38:21.900 that was
00:38:24.040 another thing
00:38:24.740 that pinged
00:38:25.840 off in my
00:38:26.220 mind
00:38:26.500 when I
00:38:26.700 thought
00:38:26.800 no actually
00:38:27.200 that is
00:38:27.580 good for
00:38:28.060 France
00:38:28.580 would you
00:38:29.760 agree
00:38:30.120 when Napoleon
00:38:32.100 and Lucien
00:38:32.820 did that
00:38:33.600 did away
00:38:34.980 with
00:38:35.300 really quite
00:38:36.500 a week
00:38:36.760 I think
00:38:37.040 already
00:38:37.360 in this
00:38:37.820 conversation
00:38:38.220 you called
00:38:38.660 it
00:38:38.800 a weak
00:38:40.880 body
00:38:41.580 to do away
00:38:42.840 with that
00:38:43.200 surely that's
00:38:43.760 in France's
00:38:44.500 interest
00:38:44.980 like I said
00:38:45.940 I think
00:38:46.240 the issue
00:38:47.000 is
00:38:47.480 I have
00:38:49.840 been looking
00:38:50.220 at Napoleon
00:38:50.760 as a
00:38:51.560 series of
00:38:51.940 lost
00:38:52.160 opportunities
00:38:52.800 for France
00:38:53.560 and this
00:38:55.140 actually makes
00:38:55.660 the whole
00:38:55.940 conversation
00:38:56.420 that much
00:38:56.780 more frustrating
00:38:57.420 because Napoleon
00:38:59.180 given the
00:39:01.520 political situation
00:39:02.560 of France
00:39:03.000 at the time
00:39:03.380 this is 1799
00:39:04.420 the consulate
00:39:06.920 was an
00:39:07.420 improvement
00:39:07.880 over all
00:39:09.480 of the
00:39:09.760 republican
00:39:10.240 governments
00:39:10.680 that have
00:39:10.960 preceded it
00:39:11.600 that's
00:39:12.240 inevitable
00:39:12.900 but the
00:39:13.960 point is
00:39:14.340 Napoleon
00:39:14.700 lost it
00:39:15.360 and the
00:39:15.920 point is
00:39:16.260 Napoleon
00:39:16.600 didn't have
00:39:17.260 to lose
00:39:17.880 it
00:39:18.180 as I
00:39:19.000 mentioned
00:39:19.380 with
00:39:19.780 Napoleon's
00:39:21.120 original
00:39:21.480 foreign
00:39:21.760 policy
00:39:22.100 that had
00:39:22.460 achieved
00:39:22.880 peace
00:39:23.460 but nevertheless
00:39:24.500 the
00:39:25.100 assassination
00:39:26.080 of the
00:39:26.520 Duke of
00:39:26.820 Anguillain
00:39:27.240 and Britain's
00:39:28.540 declaration
00:39:28.860 of war
00:39:29.320 precipitated
00:39:29.920 the wars
00:39:30.340 of the
00:39:30.580 third
00:39:30.780 coalition
00:39:31.280 of course
00:39:32.300 Napoleon
00:39:32.680 was lucky
00:39:33.220 and Napoleon
00:39:34.680 won
00:39:35.000 you can say
00:39:35.900 again
00:39:36.180 glorious
00:39:36.900 that's
00:39:37.340 great
00:39:37.500 for France
00:39:37.980 but again
00:39:38.400 it just
00:39:38.720 demonstrates
00:39:39.140 a pattern
00:39:39.560 Napoleon
00:39:41.240 can only
00:39:42.160 survive
00:39:42.620 so long
00:39:43.020 as he
00:39:43.220 continues
00:39:43.680 to obtain
00:39:44.200 military
00:39:44.800 victories
00:39:45.460 I mean
00:39:46.340 if you
00:39:46.820 look at
00:39:47.380 the war
00:39:47.800 of the
00:39:48.020 third
00:39:48.220 coalition
00:39:48.660 there's
00:39:49.860 no reason
00:39:51.360 essentially
00:39:51.820 why Napoleon
00:39:52.540 should have
00:39:52.960 won that
00:39:53.380 war
00:39:53.740 Napoleon
00:39:54.820 starts off
00:39:55.620 with his
00:39:56.960 camp at
00:39:57.320 Boulog
00:39:57.660 trying to
00:39:58.760 invade
00:39:59.000 Britain
00:39:59.340 and then
00:40:00.920 the Russians
00:40:02.080 and the
00:40:02.460 Austrians
00:40:02.820 have arrived
00:40:03.280 in the
00:40:03.540 heart of
00:40:03.840 Europe
00:40:04.080 there is a
00:40:06.260 famous error
00:40:07.180 I'm not sure
00:40:08.080 whether to
00:40:08.480 corroborate this
00:40:09.140 or not
00:40:09.500 but the
00:40:10.440 old logic
00:40:11.380 is that
00:40:12.000 the army
00:40:12.820 of Kutuzov
00:40:13.520 and the
00:40:14.220 army
00:40:14.460 of
00:40:14.620 von
00:40:14.780 Mack
00:40:15.080 didn't
00:40:16.740 coordinate
00:40:17.640 their efforts
00:40:18.180 because the
00:40:18.580 Russians were
00:40:19.020 using the
00:40:19.420 old Russian
00:40:20.040 calendar
00:40:20.460 rather than
00:40:21.140 the modern
00:40:22.620 Union
00:40:22.920 calendar
00:40:23.380 but nevertheless
00:40:24.780 Napoleon
00:40:26.720 is able to
00:40:27.360 win a
00:40:27.640 decisive victory
00:40:28.440 unexpectedly
00:40:29.060 in the same
00:40:31.140 way that
00:40:31.680 we see
00:40:33.520 the
00:40:34.360 war of the
00:40:35.660 fifth coalition
00:40:36.200 against Austria
00:40:36.920 Napoleon
00:40:38.400 could have
00:40:38.700 very easily
00:40:39.180 lost that
00:40:39.620 war
00:40:39.880 ultimately
00:40:41.080 the saving
00:40:41.620 grace was
00:40:42.160 that Austria
00:40:42.840 attack
00:40:43.140 prematurely
00:40:43.860 but Napoleon
00:40:45.340 had invaded
00:40:45.980 Spain
00:40:46.500 and he had
00:40:47.980 created a
00:40:48.440 situation
00:40:48.880 essentially
00:40:49.380 where he
00:40:49.940 had forced
00:40:50.800 himself to
00:40:51.480 apply garrisons
00:40:52.400 where he
00:40:52.780 didn't have
00:40:53.140 to before
00:40:53.640 the Austrians
00:40:55.260 took the
00:40:55.580 opportunity
00:40:56.020 and they
00:40:58.280 actually inflicted
00:40:59.040 upon him
00:40:59.580 his first
00:41:01.060 decisive defeat
00:41:01.800 in a decade
00:41:02.380 at the
00:41:03.760 Battle of
00:41:04.060 Essling
00:41:04.420 and Napoleon
00:41:05.900 was only able
00:41:06.720 to reprieve
00:41:08.080 himself
00:41:08.600 at the
00:41:10.000 Battle of
00:41:10.340 Wagram
00:41:10.620 and by
00:41:12.020 this time
00:41:12.400 it should
00:41:12.620 be noted
00:41:13.040 at the
00:41:14.620 beginning of
00:41:15.020 the Napoleonic
00:41:15.540 wars
00:41:16.020 Napoleon
00:41:16.460 had the
00:41:16.800 benefit
00:41:17.120 of having
00:41:18.160 tactical
00:41:18.740 innovations
00:41:19.340 over the
00:41:20.720 other coalition
00:41:21.880 powers
00:41:22.460 and the
00:41:23.940 Levy en masse
00:41:24.580 which wasn't
00:41:25.560 a Napoleonic
00:41:26.120 innovation
00:41:26.600 it was an
00:41:27.000 innovation
00:41:27.420 of
00:41:27.860 Lezac
00:41:29.240 during the
00:41:31.760 height of
00:41:32.240 the French
00:41:32.540 Revolution
00:41:33.020 the benefit
00:41:35.180 of the
00:41:35.520 Levy en masse
00:41:36.100 basically meant
00:41:36.760 that France
00:41:37.340 could assume
00:41:39.440 the mantle
00:41:39.840 of dividing
00:41:40.420 armies into
00:41:41.400 corps
00:41:41.960 you know
00:41:42.640 march divided
00:41:43.560 fight concentrated
00:41:45.020 as they achieved
00:41:46.140 at the Battle of
00:41:46.660 Ulm
00:41:46.900 encircling the
00:41:47.580 Austrian army
00:41:48.120 and destroying
00:41:48.560 it
00:41:48.800 ensuring that
00:41:49.380 you have
00:41:49.640 more manpower
00:41:50.560 at any one
00:41:51.560 given time
00:41:52.180 in order to
00:41:52.660 commit to a
00:41:53.140 battle
00:41:53.460 which is very
00:41:55.720 important
00:41:56.120 but when you
00:41:56.600 get to
00:41:56.840 somewhere like
00:41:57.200 Wagram
00:41:57.560 the Austrians
00:41:59.760 are imitating
00:42:00.420 Napoleon
00:42:00.900 they're able
00:42:01.960 to assume
00:42:02.800 one of the
00:42:03.600 largest armies
00:42:04.460 in the history
00:42:05.020 of the Austrian
00:42:05.520 empire at that
00:42:06.180 point
00:42:06.600 we're talking
00:42:07.580 about battles
00:42:08.620 in the 1790s
00:42:10.560 from 20,000
00:42:11.600 now 80,000
00:42:12.960 100,000
00:42:13.980 at Borondino
00:42:14.800 we're talking
00:42:15.280 about nearly
00:42:16.200 400,000
00:42:18.000 combatants
00:42:18.700 in the Battle
00:42:19.100 of Borondino
00:42:19.640 against Russia
00:42:20.300 perhaps more
00:42:20.820 I don't have
00:42:21.160 the exact numbers
00:42:21.860 at my disposal
00:42:23.200 Wagram
00:42:24.120 is one of the
00:42:24.580 biggest battles
00:42:25.420 that most people
00:42:26.300 even Napoleon
00:42:27.320 nerds might
00:42:28.160 not know
00:42:28.740 anything about
00:42:29.480 indeed
00:42:30.140 it's a giant
00:42:31.560 battle
00:42:32.060 wasn't it
00:42:32.680 and of course
00:42:33.720 then we have
00:42:34.160 Leipzig
00:42:34.680 the Battle of the
00:42:35.920 Nations
00:42:36.260 we're talking
00:42:36.840 about
00:42:37.200 hundreds of
00:42:39.200 thousands
00:42:39.440 over half a
00:42:40.300 million men
00:42:40.840 this is again
00:42:43.180 you can say
00:42:43.540 the necessity
00:42:44.120 of Napoleon's
00:42:45.220 constant need
00:42:46.400 to achieve
00:42:47.900 power
00:42:48.340 and consolidation
00:42:49.020 of power
00:42:49.640 through conquest
00:42:50.540 due to the
00:42:51.400 fundamental
00:42:51.740 lack of
00:42:52.160 legitimacy
00:42:52.600 and due
00:42:52.980 to the fact
00:42:53.280 that he
00:42:53.520 has decided
00:42:53.960 to own
00:42:54.520 the basis
00:42:55.520 of general
00:42:56.280 Bonaparte
00:42:56.940 basically
00:42:57.400 overriding
00:42:57.960 anything
00:42:58.460 it creates
00:42:59.820 an atmosphere
00:43:00.480 in Europe
00:43:01.080 of the
00:43:02.020 mobilisation
00:43:02.680 of popular
00:43:03.860 armies
00:43:04.440 you know
00:43:05.160 wherever it
00:43:05.540 be the
00:43:05.980 landisphere
00:43:06.900 in Prussia
00:43:08.180 the creation
00:43:09.020 of new
00:43:09.400 vast
00:43:09.900 national militias
00:43:11.180 which didn't
00:43:11.600 really exist
00:43:12.080 before
00:43:12.500 the use
00:43:13.640 of nationalism
00:43:14.360 as a tool
00:43:15.660 to be used
00:43:16.160 against
00:43:16.540 French
00:43:17.000 aggrandisement
00:43:17.840 all of
00:43:18.880 these things
00:43:19.340 that were
00:43:19.660 inconceivable
00:43:20.380 a decade
00:43:21.280 or a little
00:43:22.200 bit before
00:43:22.660 then
00:43:23.020 are now
00:43:23.760 coming to
00:43:24.180 the fore
00:43:24.560 the very
00:43:24.940 forces
00:43:25.440 of the
00:43:26.060 bourgeois
00:43:26.480 French
00:43:26.840 revolution
00:43:27.280 the consolidation
00:43:28.380 of the
00:43:29.500 unitary
00:43:29.820 state
00:43:30.180 in France
00:43:30.900 the creation
00:43:31.860 of the
00:43:32.260 département
00:43:32.920 the levée
00:43:33.760 en masse
00:43:34.280 all of
00:43:34.660 these things
00:43:35.080 are now
00:43:35.320 being used
00:43:35.740 by Napoleonic
00:43:36.580 adversaries
00:43:37.320 against
00:43:38.080 Napoleon
00:43:38.540 himself
00:43:39.100 and so
00:43:39.880 the nature
00:43:40.340 of total
00:43:40.860 war
00:43:41.180 and total
00:43:41.960 conquest
00:43:42.540 inevitably
00:43:43.360 reverberates
00:43:44.360 on Napoleon
00:43:44.900 and so
00:43:45.880 you know
00:43:46.240 go to
00:43:46.800 Prussia
00:43:47.080 you know
00:43:47.380 what was
00:43:47.860 what was
00:43:48.480 the great
00:43:48.820 sort of
00:43:49.160 saving grace
00:43:49.840 for Prussia
00:43:50.280 during the
00:43:50.680 19th century
00:43:51.340 the old
00:43:52.380 army of
00:43:52.900 Frederick the
00:43:53.360 Great
00:43:53.620 had been
00:43:54.160 able to
00:43:55.000 lapse in
00:43:56.100 stagnation
00:43:57.440 without being
00:43:58.700 tested
00:43:59.080 effectively
00:43:59.620 and then
00:44:00.460 you have
00:44:00.700 the geniuses
00:44:01.460 of
00:44:01.720 Neisenau
00:44:02.620 and Scharnhorst
00:44:03.340 coming to
00:44:04.400 radically
00:44:04.880 transform
00:44:05.560 the Prussian
00:44:06.280 state
00:44:06.660 which become
00:44:07.120 the basis
00:44:07.600 of great
00:44:08.480 power
00:44:08.820 Prussia
00:44:09.240 for the
00:44:10.020 19th century
00:44:10.820 in the
00:44:11.560 same way
00:44:11.920 that I
00:44:12.280 can look
00:44:12.600 at 1809
00:44:13.420 and say
00:44:13.820 it was
00:44:14.140 Austria's
00:44:14.820 great
00:44:15.080 lost
00:44:15.560 opportunity
00:44:16.160 to establish
00:44:17.520 a German
00:44:18.180 empire
00:44:18.700 under
00:44:19.200 Austrian
00:44:19.620 auspices
00:44:20.200 all of
00:44:21.120 these things
00:44:21.580 were effectively
00:44:22.040 very near
00:44:22.660 misses
00:44:23.060 and of course
00:44:23.960 Napoleon then
00:44:24.600 commits himself
00:44:25.260 to the
00:44:25.600 disastrous
00:44:26.040 strategy
00:44:26.640 of
00:44:27.580 invading
00:44:28.960 Russia
00:44:29.420 ostensibly
00:44:30.420 to force
00:44:30.960 him to be
00:44:31.700 Russia
00:44:32.200 to be
00:44:32.880 France's
00:44:33.400 ally again
00:44:34.000 in the
00:44:34.280 continental
00:44:34.580 system
00:44:35.140 and of
00:44:36.220 course
00:44:36.480 because that's
00:44:38.000 such a
00:44:38.300 bizarre
00:44:38.600 notion
00:44:39.140 Napoleon
00:44:40.520 ultimately
00:44:41.100 has to
00:44:41.600 lean on
00:44:41.900 other
00:44:42.180 causes
00:44:42.560 like
00:44:43.500 expanding
00:44:44.640 Poland
00:44:45.240 you know
00:44:45.740 I'm going
00:44:46.080 to lob
00:44:46.800 off the
00:44:47.260 Lithuanian
00:44:47.980 and the
00:44:48.280 Ukrainian
00:44:48.660 parts of
00:44:49.520 Russia
00:44:49.900 and I'm
00:44:50.440 going to
00:44:50.780 award them
00:44:51.200 back to
00:44:51.540 Poland
00:44:51.800 of course
00:44:52.120 the Russians
00:44:52.660 aren't going
00:44:52.980 to be very
00:44:53.260 happy with
00:44:53.680 that
00:44:53.840 they're going
00:44:54.240 to be
00:44:54.440 compelled
00:44:54.760 to be
00:44:55.000 an ally
00:44:55.400 again
00:44:55.820 so
00:44:56.880 you can
00:44:59.100 almost
00:44:59.340 forgive
00:44:59.580 all of
00:44:59.880 this
00:45:00.180 all of
00:45:01.180 these
00:45:01.620 military
00:45:02.440 blunders
00:45:03.020 the
00:45:03.380 intensification
00:45:04.540 of
00:45:04.760 warfare
00:45:05.260 the deaths
00:45:05.940 of millions
00:45:06.380 of people
00:45:07.040 which
00:45:07.900 we've seen
00:45:09.160 carnage
00:45:09.660 which wasn't
00:45:10.080 seen
00:45:10.340 really
00:45:10.620 until
00:45:10.860 since the
00:45:11.680 Thirty Years
00:45:12.220 War
00:45:12.540 during which
00:45:14.020 most people
00:45:14.480 died of
00:45:15.100 diseases
00:45:16.180 rather
00:45:16.700 and consumption
00:45:17.820 of course
00:45:18.240 that's also
00:45:18.940 the case
00:45:19.360 in the
00:45:19.880 Napoleonic
00:45:20.220 War
00:45:20.440 before the
00:45:20.860 advent
00:45:21.140 of modern
00:45:21.680 military
00:45:21.940 medicine
00:45:22.380 but
00:45:24.200 during
00:45:24.840 1813
00:45:25.560 I've
00:45:26.520 often
00:45:26.720 looked at
00:45:27.120 say for
00:45:27.360 example
00:45:27.680 the
00:45:27.960 Frankfurt
00:45:28.240 proposals
00:45:28.840 one of
00:45:30.940 the great
00:45:32.840 diplomatic
00:45:33.380 revolutions
00:45:34.000 of the
00:45:34.340 19th
00:45:34.640 century
00:45:35.020 was when
00:45:36.320 Metternich
00:45:36.720 took power
00:45:37.200 in Austria
00:45:37.760 Clemens von
00:45:39.340 Metternich
00:45:39.740 was a
00:45:40.340 chancellor
00:45:40.680 who came
00:45:41.140 to
00:45:41.460 dominate
00:45:42.200 the
00:45:42.520 post-war
00:45:42.940 period
00:45:43.380 to the
00:45:43.640 point
00:45:43.840 it was
00:45:44.060 known
00:45:44.260 as
00:45:44.420 the
00:45:44.580 Metternich
00:45:44.980 system
00:45:45.540 he was
00:45:46.440 basically
00:45:46.820 the host
00:45:47.400 of the
00:45:47.740 Congress
00:45:48.420 of Vienna
00:45:49.000 and the
00:45:50.720 Concert
00:45:51.080 of Europe
00:45:51.500 but
00:45:52.380 Metternich
00:45:52.740 came to
00:45:53.100 power
00:45:53.440 on the
00:45:54.120 basis
00:45:54.400 basically
00:45:54.880 of
00:45:55.180 acting
00:45:55.840 as
00:45:56.140 Austrius
00:45:56.580 Kissinger
00:45:56.940 and he
00:45:58.020 was going
00:45:58.420 to appease
00:45:59.180 Napoleon
00:45:59.780 a former
00:46:00.700 rapprochement
00:46:01.340 and bring
00:46:02.280 Napoleon
00:46:02.820 into the
00:46:03.260 European
00:46:03.500 political
00:46:03.860 system
00:46:04.340 normalize
00:46:05.180 the fact
00:46:05.480 that he'd
00:46:05.800 be an
00:46:06.020 emperor
00:46:06.300 and give
00:46:07.160 him
00:46:07.420 a
00:46:07.700 Habsburg
00:46:08.120 princess
00:46:08.680 and a
00:46:08.960 woman
00:46:09.160 of Mary
00:46:09.520 Louise
00:46:10.000 and so
00:46:13.480 there was a
00:46:13.840 lot riding
00:46:14.380 you can say
00:46:14.820 on Austria
00:46:15.420 and its
00:46:16.200 policy of
00:46:16.900 detente
00:46:17.280 towards
00:46:17.720 France
00:46:18.220 in terms
00:46:18.740 of using
00:46:19.240 Napoleon
00:46:19.700 as a
00:46:20.140 necessary
00:46:20.540 ball
00:46:20.780 work
00:46:21.080 against
00:46:21.480 other
00:46:22.660 major
00:46:22.900 adversaries
00:46:23.500 whether it
00:46:23.960 be
00:46:24.240 Prussia
00:46:25.340 or whether
00:46:26.020 it be
00:46:26.260 Russia
00:46:26.560 but
00:46:28.660 Napoleon
00:46:29.780 during
00:46:30.500 1813
00:46:31.300 showed
00:46:31.740 he had
00:46:32.100 no
00:46:32.240 interest
00:46:32.580 in
00:46:32.780 peace
00:46:33.140 he
00:46:34.160 only
00:46:34.400 had
00:46:34.580 interest
00:46:35.080 in
00:46:35.940 ensuring
00:46:36.640 temporary
00:46:37.140 ceasefires
00:46:37.840 for which
00:46:38.740 he could
00:46:39.060 remobilize
00:46:39.860 his forces
00:46:40.460 conscript
00:46:41.180 more young
00:46:41.700 boys
00:46:42.080 into the
00:46:42.500 army
00:46:42.860 and attain
00:46:43.900 a
00:46:44.380 turnaround
00:46:45.240 from which
00:46:45.860 he could
00:46:46.060 then defeat
00:46:46.480 his opponents
00:46:47.020 and when
00:46:49.000 Napoleon
00:46:49.440 rejected
00:46:50.300 the
00:46:50.460 Frank
00:46:50.660 proposals
00:46:51.200 by
00:46:51.540 Metternich
00:46:52.060 which
00:46:52.300 were
00:46:52.420 basically
00:46:52.780 you could
00:46:53.060 say
00:46:53.320 the
00:46:53.940 restoration
00:46:54.360 of
00:46:54.740 France
00:46:55.160 on
00:46:55.540 her
00:46:56.120 1802
00:46:58.320 boundaries
00:46:59.960 he
00:47:00.260 absolutely
00:47:00.620 should
00:47:00.980 have
00:47:01.160 accepted
00:47:01.740 that
00:47:02.040 absolutely
00:47:02.480 it was
00:47:02.780 crazy
00:47:03.160 not to
00:47:03.580 given the
00:47:03.920 situation
00:47:04.440 and again
00:47:05.760 you can
00:47:06.000 almost say
00:47:06.420 that this
00:47:06.980 actually speaks
00:47:07.520 to something
00:47:07.900 more
00:47:08.460 regarding the
00:47:09.440 whole notion
00:47:10.040 of Napoleon
00:47:10.520 was good
00:47:10.860 to France
00:47:11.200 I don't
00:47:11.640 associate
00:47:12.060 Napoleon
00:47:12.480 with France
00:47:13.160 as much
00:47:14.240 as a lot
00:47:14.600 of other
00:47:14.840 people do
00:47:15.360 Napoleon
00:47:17.080 was born
00:47:18.940 Napoleon
00:47:20.620 ne
00:47:20.920 buon
00:47:21.180 pate
00:47:21.640 the
00:47:23.540 lion
00:47:23.860 of
00:47:24.040 Naples
00:47:24.400 his
00:47:25.540 family
00:47:26.020 Carlo
00:47:26.460 the
00:47:27.240 later
00:47:28.520 Frenchified
00:47:29.160 who
00:47:29.360 became
00:47:29.660 the
00:47:30.380 Corsican
00:47:30.940 representative
00:47:31.600 at the
00:47:32.420 court
00:47:32.600 of
00:47:32.740 Versailles
00:47:33.180 Genoese
00:47:34.540 extraction
00:47:35.100 ruling
00:47:36.780 over
00:47:37.060 Corsica
00:47:37.500 which
00:47:37.800 had
00:47:37.940 always
00:47:38.480 been
00:47:38.700 a
00:47:39.040 Genoese
00:47:39.500 colony
00:47:39.900 for
00:47:40.160 hundreds
00:47:40.480 of
00:47:40.700 years
00:47:40.940 had
00:47:41.100 been
00:47:41.280 annexed
00:47:41.780 by
00:47:41.920 France
00:47:42.280 in
00:47:42.460 1768
00:47:44.380 and
00:47:46.620 what is
00:47:47.300 fascinating
00:47:47.760 is that
00:47:48.260 Napoleon
00:47:48.780 I've
00:47:51.100 discussed
00:47:51.380 this
00:47:51.580 elsewhere
00:47:51.900 but
00:47:52.120 the
00:47:52.300 logic
00:47:52.580 of
00:47:52.740 Napoleon's
00:47:53.260 campaigns
00:47:53.660 because
00:47:53.920 they were
00:47:54.160 Carolingian
00:47:54.880 they
00:47:56.160 focused
00:47:56.620 more
00:47:57.040 on
00:47:57.260 areas
00:47:57.660 like
00:47:57.860 northern
00:47:58.200 Italy
00:47:58.580 and
00:47:59.620 western
00:47:59.960 Germany
00:48:00.500 and
00:48:01.440 the
00:48:01.580 Netherlands
00:48:01.980 more so
00:48:02.900 than
00:48:03.080 France
00:48:03.380 itself
00:48:03.860 so
00:48:05.080 Napoleon's
00:48:05.740 whole
00:48:05.960 political
00:48:06.420 logic
00:48:07.060 from
00:48:07.460 the
00:48:07.700 war of
00:48:07.940 the
00:48:08.040 third
00:48:08.200 coalition
00:48:08.620 onwards
00:48:09.000 seemed
00:48:10.460 to
00:48:10.660 to
00:48:10.680 hold
00:48:11.280 hold
00:48:11.360 to
00:48:11.760 places
00:48:12.040 like
00:48:12.440 Bavaria
00:48:13.200 annexing
00:48:14.320 the
00:48:14.480 Tyrol
00:48:14.920 say
00:48:15.220 for
00:48:15.340 example
00:48:15.660 away
00:48:15.920 from
00:48:16.140 Austria
00:48:16.620 even
00:48:17.500 the
00:48:17.700 Illyrian
00:48:18.280 provinces
00:48:18.840 where
00:48:19.380 France
00:48:19.840 annexed
00:48:20.260 the
00:48:20.360 Dalmatian
00:48:20.840 coast
00:48:21.240 and
00:48:21.440 the
00:48:21.620 sententular
00:48:22.660 republics
00:48:23.360 where
00:48:23.620 France
00:48:24.360 annexed
00:48:24.780 the
00:48:24.880 Greek
00:48:25.080 islands
00:48:25.460 all of
00:48:26.080 this
00:48:26.240 sort
00:48:26.420 of
00:48:26.540 thing
00:48:26.840 eventually
00:48:28.880 France
00:48:30.380 would annex
00:48:31.040 as I
00:48:31.360 mentioned
00:48:31.800 the
00:48:32.440 Batavian
00:48:33.880 kingdom
00:48:34.360 and the
00:48:35.240 north
00:48:35.480 coast
00:48:35.880 of
00:48:36.280 Germany
00:48:37.200 it
00:48:38.020 would
00:48:38.140 also
00:48:38.420 annex
00:48:38.740 most
00:48:39.000 of
00:48:39.120 Italy
00:48:39.460 indeed
00:48:40.520 Napoleon's
00:48:41.300 desire
00:48:41.680 was
00:48:42.120 to
00:48:42.600 live
00:48:43.480 out
00:48:43.660 the
00:48:43.800 rest
00:48:44.000 of
00:48:44.120 his
00:48:44.240 days
00:48:44.540 in
00:48:44.720 Rome
00:48:45.100 in
00:48:45.880 the
00:48:46.180 former
00:48:46.560 palace
00:48:46.920 of
00:48:47.060 the
00:48:47.180 popes
00:48:47.680 so
00:48:49.000 the
00:48:49.240 whole
00:48:49.460 logic
00:48:49.840 of
00:48:50.080 this
00:48:50.260 expanding
00:48:50.840 France
00:48:51.280 ultimately
00:48:51.700 means
00:48:52.020 that
00:48:52.220 France
00:48:52.660 as a
00:48:52.980 concept
00:48:53.340 in
00:48:53.540 and
00:48:53.640 of
00:48:53.740 itself
00:48:54.060 becomes
00:48:54.420 diminished
00:48:54.920 because
00:48:55.820 it
00:48:55.960 simply
00:48:56.180 becomes
00:48:56.680 an
00:48:57.100 element
00:48:57.540 of
00:48:57.780 a
00:48:57.900 grander
00:48:58.320 imperial
00:48:58.740 superstructure
00:48:59.660 what
00:49:01.500 ultimately
00:49:01.960 does
00:49:02.220 France
00:49:02.480 become
00:49:02.960 if
00:49:03.320 Napoleon
00:49:03.820 decides
00:49:04.240 to
00:49:04.400 become
00:49:04.700 the
00:49:04.940 emperor
00:49:05.220 of
00:49:05.420 Europe
00:49:05.660 France
00:49:06.460 becomes
00:49:06.820 the
00:49:07.020 main
00:49:07.220 purveyor
00:49:07.600 of
00:49:07.800 manpower
00:49:08.440 to
00:49:08.880 the
00:49:09.020 system
00:49:09.400 in
00:49:09.980 the
00:49:10.100 same
00:49:10.280 way
00:49:10.460 say
00:49:10.660 for
00:49:10.760 example
00:49:11.040 that
00:49:11.260 Castile
00:49:11.840 did
00:49:12.140 during
00:49:12.360 the
00:49:12.500 days
00:49:12.720 of
00:49:12.840 the
00:49:12.940 Spanish
00:49:13.280 Empire
00:49:13.720 which
00:49:14.340 also
00:49:14.760 like
00:49:15.120 the
00:49:15.280 Napoleonic
00:49:15.760 Empire
00:49:16.160 had
00:49:16.520 a
00:49:16.780 transnational
00:49:17.860 dimension
00:49:18.400 to
00:49:18.700 it
00:49:18.960 so
00:49:19.800 areas
00:49:20.280 like
00:49:20.700 northern
00:49:21.140 Italy
00:49:21.580 and
00:49:22.620 western
00:49:23.140 Germany
00:49:23.680 were
00:49:24.400 more
00:49:24.680 enamored
00:49:25.020 of
00:49:25.160 Napoleon
00:49:25.580 than
00:49:26.120 areas
00:49:26.520 like
00:49:26.860 Aquitaine
00:49:27.600 Western
00:49:28.760 France
00:49:29.400 Southern
00:49:30.120 France
00:49:30.640 areas
00:49:31.260 that
00:49:31.440 still
00:49:31.640 had
00:49:31.820 strong
00:49:32.340 moral
00:49:32.860 moralist
00:49:34.340 scruples
00:49:34.860 and
00:49:35.580 were
00:49:35.680 not
00:49:35.840 going
00:49:36.040 to
00:49:36.400 abide
00:49:37.000 by
00:49:37.340 the
00:49:37.760 continued
00:49:38.420 presence
00:49:38.900 of
00:49:39.100 the
00:49:39.200 usurper
00:49:39.720 you could
00:49:40.560 almost
00:49:40.800 say
00:49:41.000 in many
00:49:41.260 ways
00:49:41.580 this
00:49:41.800 was
00:49:41.960 Napoleon's
00:49:42.400 attempt
00:49:42.640 to
00:49:42.820 get
00:49:42.980 away
00:49:43.260 from
00:49:43.540 the
00:49:43.700 whole
00:49:43.960 cause
00:49:44.620 of
00:49:44.860 legitimism
00:49:45.520 in
00:49:45.740 France
00:49:46.060 by
00:49:46.300 making
00:49:46.580 him
00:49:46.820 less
00:49:47.180 French
00:49:47.680 and
00:49:48.120 more
00:49:48.320 German
00:49:48.680 and
00:49:49.240 more
00:49:49.400 Italian
00:49:49.800 but
00:49:50.520 in
00:49:50.700 and
00:49:50.800 of
00:49:50.940 itself
00:49:51.300 he
00:49:51.620 then
00:49:51.940 engenders
00:49:52.580 German
00:49:53.220 and
00:49:53.420 Italian
00:49:53.800 nationalism
00:49:54.380 ultimately
00:49:56.020 to the
00:49:56.300 detriment
00:49:56.560 of
00:49:56.800 France
00:49:57.060 as well
00:49:57.620 because
00:49:59.140 there's
00:49:59.300 so many
00:49:59.560 things
00:49:59.780 if
00:50:00.000 we
00:50:00.220 keep
00:50:01.000 the
00:50:01.220 focus
00:50:02.360 on
00:50:02.760 the
00:50:03.200 reason
00:50:03.400 why
00:50:03.620 I
00:50:03.820 keep
00:50:04.080 mentioning
00:50:04.440 things
00:50:04.840 oh
00:50:05.040 actually
00:50:05.340 this
00:50:05.700 was
00:50:05.980 good
00:50:06.440 this
00:50:06.960 was
00:50:07.100 something
00:50:07.360 that
00:50:07.540 was
00:50:07.820 in
00:50:08.500 France's
00:50:09.540 interest
00:50:10.200 this
00:50:11.060 thing
00:50:11.840 here
00:50:12.060 this
00:50:12.220 detail
00:50:12.580 here
00:50:12.800 or
00:50:12.920 there
00:50:13.180 shows
00:50:13.920 that
00:50:14.220 Napoleon
00:50:14.840 was
00:50:15.660 good
00:50:15.880 for
00:50:16.040 France
00:50:16.340 I
00:50:16.760 keep
00:50:16.940 pointing
00:50:17.240 those
00:50:17.480 out
00:50:17.620 because
00:50:18.100 there's
00:50:19.920 so
00:50:20.100 many
00:50:20.360 that
00:50:20.540 aren't
00:50:21.020 so
00:50:21.780 to
00:50:21.980 sort
00:50:22.200 of
00:50:22.400 almost
00:50:22.800 play
00:50:23.240 devil's
00:50:23.600 advocate
00:50:23.920 point
00:50:24.500 out
00:50:24.680 a few
00:50:25.040 where
00:50:25.380 there
00:50:26.420 are
00:50:26.580 because
00:50:26.920 it
00:50:27.280 seems
00:50:27.480 that
00:50:27.620 the
00:50:27.760 ledger
00:50:28.000 is
00:50:28.140 so
00:50:28.380 heavily
00:50:28.720 weighted
00:50:29.060 towards
00:50:29.440 the
00:50:29.640 fact
00:50:29.920 that
00:50:30.800 there
00:50:30.900 wasn't
00:50:31.120 for
00:50:31.420 example
00:50:31.940 you
00:50:32.240 touched
00:50:32.580 on
00:50:32.960 you
00:50:34.080 said
00:50:34.260 just
00:50:34.480 in
00:50:34.880 passing
00:50:35.200 there
00:50:35.400 once
00:50:35.860 like
00:50:37.820 the
00:50:38.020 bloodshed
00:50:38.840 and
00:50:39.080 the
00:50:39.200 human
00:50:39.420 misery
00:50:39.800 and
00:50:40.900 I
00:50:41.000 feel
00:50:41.140 like
00:50:41.340 that
00:50:41.540 was
00:50:41.880 truly
00:50:42.740 the
00:50:42.980 first
00:50:43.180 thing
00:50:43.300 that
00:50:43.420 popped
00:50:43.580 into
00:50:43.760 my
00:50:43.940 mind
00:50:44.140 when
00:50:44.320 you
00:50:44.460 said
00:50:44.740 why
00:50:45.060 don't
00:50:45.160 we
00:50:45.280 talk
00:50:45.420 about
00:50:45.620 this
00:50:45.920 I
00:50:46.480 immediately
00:50:46.920 thought
00:50:47.300 well
00:50:47.860 a whole
00:50:48.640 generation
00:50:49.240 ruined
00:50:50.680 the
00:50:50.900 amount
00:50:51.220 of
00:50:51.540 blood
00:50:52.080 and
00:50:52.360 human
00:50:52.660 misery
00:50:53.020 the
00:50:53.240 number
00:50:53.440 of
00:50:53.600 families
00:50:53.960 ruined
00:50:54.360 that
00:50:55.300 whole
00:50:55.540 aspect
00:50:55.880 of
00:50:56.220 it
00:50:56.480 particularly
00:50:58.520 for
00:50:58.840 France
00:50:59.280 surely
00:51:00.260 that
00:51:00.680 outweighs
00:51:01.200 almost
00:51:01.560 anything
00:51:01.880 else
00:51:02.080 the
00:51:02.200 Napoleonic
00:51:02.720 Code
00:51:03.180 all
00:51:03.640 sorts
00:51:03.860 of
00:51:04.000 things
00:51:04.380 that
00:51:05.140 outweighs
00:51:05.820 everything
00:51:06.460 surely
00:51:06.920 ruining
00:51:07.620 a
00:51:08.360 generation
00:51:08.860 of
00:51:09.160 Frenchmen
00:51:09.700 you
00:51:10.960 must
00:51:11.360 say
00:51:11.800 then
00:51:12.200 that
00:51:12.720 Napoleon
00:51:13.200 if you
00:51:14.300 have to
00:51:14.520 come down
00:51:14.860 on one
00:51:15.120 side
00:51:15.320 or the
00:51:15.560 other
00:51:15.780 was
00:51:16.960 not
00:51:17.300 good
00:51:17.560 for
00:51:17.760 France
00:51:18.240 for
00:51:19.300 me
00:51:19.500 that
00:51:19.720 is
00:51:20.900 still
00:51:21.140 the
00:51:21.340 biggest
00:51:21.600 thing
00:51:22.040 although
00:51:23.280 there
00:51:23.620 are
00:51:23.880 things
00:51:24.200 we
00:51:24.340 can
00:51:24.480 point
00:51:24.700 to
00:51:25.040 certainly
00:51:26.600 there
00:51:26.860 are
00:51:26.980 some
00:51:27.200 things
00:51:27.400 you
00:51:27.480 can
00:51:27.580 point
00:51:27.740 to
00:51:27.900 that
00:51:28.020 are
00:51:28.420 good
00:51:28.700 for
00:51:28.880 France
00:51:29.380 that
00:51:31.520 one
00:51:31.880 aspect
00:51:32.360 alone
00:51:32.780 I
00:51:33.840 think
00:51:34.100 it's
00:51:34.400 a
00:51:34.680 combination
00:51:35.140 of
00:51:35.380 factors
00:51:35.820 I
00:51:36.580 haven't
00:51:38.180 looked
00:51:38.380 into
00:51:38.620 the
00:51:38.820 specifics
00:51:39.300 as to
00:51:39.760 whether
00:51:39.960 I
00:51:40.120 can
00:51:40.260 corroborate
00:51:41.000 this
00:51:41.240 which
00:51:41.440 is
00:51:41.560 the
00:51:41.680 argument
00:51:41.980 that
00:51:42.320 Napoleon
00:51:43.100 wars
00:51:43.680 and
00:51:43.900 indeed
00:51:44.100 the
00:51:44.280 actual
00:51:44.500 effects
00:51:44.800 of
00:51:44.920 the
00:51:45.020 Code
00:51:45.180 Napoleon
00:51:45.680 involving
00:51:46.680 aspects
00:51:47.180 like
00:51:47.520 primogeniture
00:51:48.640 meant
00:51:49.800 that
00:51:50.160 it
00:51:50.340 caused
00:51:50.620 a
00:51:50.840 demographic
00:51:51.360 crisis
00:51:52.100 in
00:51:52.380 France
00:51:52.700 that
00:51:52.860 it
00:51:52.940 never
00:51:53.140 recovered
00:51:53.540 from
00:51:53.860 basically
00:51:55.140 France
00:51:55.660 at the
00:51:55.860 beginning
00:51:56.040 of
00:51:56.220 the
00:51:56.320 Napoleonic
00:51:56.760 Wars
00:51:57.180 had
00:51:58.040 a
00:51:58.280 population
00:51:58.760 which
00:51:59.040 was
00:51:59.180 larger
00:51:59.460 than
00:51:59.600 the
00:51:59.700 Russian
00:51:59.940 Empire
00:52:00.400 and
00:52:02.140 then
00:52:03.120 eventually
00:52:03.620 Germany
00:52:04.400 eclipses
00:52:05.840 France
00:52:06.180 in terms
00:52:06.540 of
00:52:06.680 population
00:52:07.180 during
00:52:07.460 the
00:52:07.640 19th
00:52:08.320 century
00:52:08.620 and
00:52:08.780 that
00:52:08.900 is
00:52:09.040 key
00:52:09.260 in
00:52:09.420 terms
00:52:09.580 of
00:52:09.700 being
00:52:09.800 able
00:52:09.920 to
00:52:10.020 understand
00:52:10.420 the
00:52:10.940 relative
00:52:11.280 imbalance
00:52:11.780 between
00:52:12.100 the
00:52:12.260 two
00:52:12.400 nations
00:52:12.780 ever
00:52:13.020 since
00:52:13.480 is
00:52:14.020 that
00:52:14.160 demographic
00:52:14.640 collapse
00:52:15.160 you
00:52:17.520 unites
00:52:18.140 them
00:52:18.540 the
00:52:19.240 population
00:52:20.180 of
00:52:21.480 Germany
00:52:22.220 was
00:52:22.480 larger
00:52:22.980 when
00:52:23.560 Bismarck
00:52:24.200 launched
00:52:25.080 the
00:52:25.220 Franco-Prussian
00:52:25.760 War
00:52:26.040 in
00:52:26.200 1870
00:52:26.760 than
00:52:26.960 France
00:52:27.260 at that
00:52:27.540 point
00:52:27.800 but
00:52:28.340 it
00:52:28.480 was
00:52:28.580 still
00:52:28.780 disunited
00:52:29.400 but
00:52:29.720 back
00:52:29.900 to
00:52:30.000 your
00:52:30.120 point
00:52:30.380 it's
00:52:32.240 justifying
00:52:32.820 those
00:52:33.160 deaths
00:52:33.560 effectively
00:52:34.300 and
00:52:35.380 one
00:52:35.880 can
00:52:36.380 justify
00:52:37.020 those
00:52:37.360 deaths
00:52:37.620 in
00:52:37.800 saying
00:52:38.040 that
00:52:38.220 we
00:52:38.340 were
00:52:38.500 victorious
00:52:39.160 and
00:52:40.400 it's
00:52:42.600 the
00:52:42.700 combination
00:52:43.160 of
00:52:45.220 death
00:52:46.020 and
00:52:46.180 defeat
00:52:46.620 which
00:52:47.520 I
00:52:47.820 believe
00:52:48.100 makes
00:52:48.400 the
00:52:48.560 whole
00:52:48.780 Napoleonic
00:52:49.380 myth
00:52:49.660 again
00:52:49.980 it's
00:52:50.220 so
00:52:50.580 bizarre
00:52:52.280 and
00:52:52.580 it
00:52:52.660 can
00:52:52.760 only
00:52:53.040 basically
00:52:53.460 come
00:52:53.780 out
00:52:54.040 of
00:52:54.240 a
00:52:54.560 nationalistic
00:52:57.320 bourgeois
00:52:57.880 sense
00:52:58.220 of
00:52:58.400 ennui
00:52:58.860 which
00:52:59.180 envelops
00:52:59.680 France
00:53:00.000 during
00:53:00.260 the
00:53:00.460 1830s
00:53:01.240 and
00:53:01.340 40s
00:53:01.840 where
00:53:01.980 everyone
00:53:02.220 is
00:53:02.380 bored
00:53:02.820 with
00:53:03.140 Louis
00:53:03.500 Philippe
00:53:04.040 and
00:53:04.220 he
00:53:04.780 brings
00:53:05.080 Napoleon
00:53:05.540 back
00:53:06.000 there
00:53:06.380 is
00:53:06.560 the
00:53:06.840 burial
00:53:07.220 of
00:53:07.520 Napoleon
00:53:08.380 in
00:53:08.600 that
00:53:08.760 preposterous
00:53:09.700 marble
00:53:10.500 ornate
00:53:11.100 tomb
00:53:12.500 in
00:53:12.780 Lausanne
00:53:13.700 Vélide
00:53:14.140 and
00:53:15.360 then
00:53:15.500 you
00:53:15.620 have
00:53:15.780 the
00:53:16.180 construction
00:53:16.860 of the
00:53:17.160 Arc de
00:53:17.480 Triomphe
00:53:17.900 which
00:53:18.080 wasn't
00:53:18.360 built
00:53:18.580 during
00:53:18.740 Napoleon's
00:53:19.300 time
00:53:19.500 he only
00:53:19.820 constructed
00:53:20.240 elements
00:53:20.740 like the
00:53:21.160 Arc de
00:53:21.720 Carousel
00:53:22.340 but no
00:53:23.520 it's the
00:53:23.860 fact that
00:53:24.380 you combine
00:53:25.140 all of
00:53:25.480 these
00:53:25.700 deaths
00:53:26.080 and
00:53:26.360 ultimately
00:53:26.760 say
00:53:27.260 to what
00:53:28.280 end
00:53:28.740 and what
00:53:29.260 I find
00:53:29.620 is ultimately
00:53:30.060 so damning
00:53:30.560 about
00:53:30.780 Napoleon
00:53:31.200 is that
00:53:32.480 I
00:53:32.820 am
00:53:33.640 convinced
00:53:34.360 that
00:53:34.980 Napoleon
00:53:35.400 believed
00:53:35.840 all of
00:53:36.200 these
00:53:36.400 deaths
00:53:36.780 were
00:53:37.380 necessary
00:53:38.340 for the
00:53:39.540 sake
00:53:39.700 of his
00:53:39.960 star
00:53:40.340 in other
00:53:41.080 words
00:53:41.340 I don't
00:53:41.980 believe
00:53:42.380 that
00:53:42.640 despite
00:53:43.000 all of
00:53:43.540 Napoleon's
00:53:44.080 grandiose
00:53:44.600 affectations
00:53:45.240 about
00:53:45.600 salvation
00:53:46.880 of the
00:53:47.180 nation
00:53:47.520 and all
00:53:47.840 that
00:53:48.220 that
00:53:49.600 he ever
00:53:50.660 cared
00:53:51.120 about
00:53:51.680 the
00:53:51.900 ordinary
00:53:52.160 soldier
00:53:52.620 and I
00:53:53.720 think
00:53:53.940 the most
00:53:54.240 telling
00:53:54.480 fact
00:53:54.680 that's
00:53:55.900 monstrous
00:53:57.660 to me
00:53:58.060 that is
00:53:59.240 monstrous
00:53:59.780 isn't it
00:54:00.180 but just
00:54:00.560 think about
00:54:01.080 when we
00:54:01.860 have his
00:54:02.320 letters
00:54:03.520 after his
00:54:04.300 deposition
00:54:04.840 he basically
00:54:07.100 has assumed
00:54:07.800 a false
00:54:08.460 martyrdom
00:54:09.080 the notion
00:54:10.040 that to
00:54:10.640 die defeated
00:54:11.320 is to
00:54:11.660 die every
00:54:12.080 day
00:54:12.340 I have
00:54:12.800 assumed
00:54:13.280 a crown
00:54:14.480 of thorns
00:54:15.100 for the
00:54:15.600 crown of
00:54:15.980 France
00:54:16.360 and the
00:54:16.760 fate of
00:54:17.080 my
00:54:17.220 country
00:54:17.680 and it's
00:54:18.680 just
00:54:18.920 you were
00:54:19.460 given so
00:54:19.980 many
00:54:20.340 opportunities
00:54:21.020 to ensure
00:54:21.640 a peaceful
00:54:22.080 resolution
00:54:22.680 for France
00:54:23.280 but you
00:54:24.060 could only
00:54:24.560 opt for
00:54:25.500 total victory
00:54:26.380 or total
00:54:27.280 defeat
00:54:27.700 there was
00:54:28.140 no middle
00:54:28.540 ground
00:54:28.860 for you
00:54:29.380 you know
00:54:30.040 you could
00:54:30.440 say for
00:54:30.840 example
00:54:31.120 demonstrate
00:54:31.980 military
00:54:33.180 brilliance
00:54:33.660 during the
00:54:34.000 six days
00:54:34.400 campaign
00:54:34.940 in 1814
00:54:35.880 when you're
00:54:36.860 reduced to
00:54:37.320 only commanding
00:54:38.020 about 40,000
00:54:39.020 men again
00:54:39.640 like you
00:54:40.400 were during
00:54:40.820 the Italian
00:54:41.780 campaign days
00:54:42.660 of the
00:54:42.940 1790s
00:54:43.980 but ultimately
00:54:44.980 it doesn't
00:54:45.520 matter
00:54:45.880 because you
00:54:46.840 have been
00:54:47.140 able to
00:54:47.500 create a
00:54:47.860 political
00:54:48.080 situation
00:54:48.620 for yourself
00:54:49.300 where you're
00:54:49.940 now assailed
00:54:50.620 by forces
00:54:51.320 which are
00:54:51.620 nearly 10
00:54:52.100 times your
00:54:52.720 size
00:54:53.100 and it is
00:54:53.920 all your
00:54:54.200 fault
00:54:54.380 again another
00:54:54.860 Napoleonic
00:54:55.440 quotation
00:54:55.960 I think it
00:54:56.880 was during
00:54:57.120 the battle
00:54:57.380 of Leipzig
00:54:57.980 today all
00:54:58.720 of Europe
00:54:59.020 yesterday all
00:55:00.020 of Europe
00:55:00.260 marched with
00:55:00.940 us
00:55:01.220 today all
00:55:02.060 of Europe
00:55:02.280 marches
00:55:02.700 against us
00:55:03.500 again it's
00:55:04.580 just the
00:55:05.200 logic of
00:55:05.920 you would have
00:55:07.100 thought wouldn't
00:55:07.640 you that
00:55:08.100 conquering over
00:55:09.180 so much
00:55:09.620 territory and
00:55:10.380 putting your
00:55:10.940 family members
00:55:13.020 and all these
00:55:13.500 thrones it would
00:55:14.640 form a part of a
00:55:15.420 dynastic consolidation
00:55:16.400 wouldn't you
00:55:17.260 but it seems that
00:55:18.280 this isn't
00:55:18.740 consolidation at all
00:55:19.860 it's further
00:55:21.040 establishing a
00:55:22.460 precarious state
00:55:23.360 of affairs
00:55:23.980 from which one
00:55:25.260 day everyone
00:55:26.000 including your
00:55:26.700 most fervent
00:55:27.340 allies like
00:55:28.000 the Bavarians
00:55:28.700 decide to
00:55:29.900 turn on you
00:55:30.600 and join
00:55:32.840 forces of the
00:55:33.420 coalition
00:55:33.800 you know one
00:55:34.640 of the few
00:55:35.100 countries that
00:55:36.800 don't join
00:55:37.680 against Napoleon
00:55:38.540 one is
00:55:40.020 Saxony and
00:55:41.260 that's only
00:55:41.560 because the
00:55:42.020 French occupy
00:55:42.720 Saxony during
00:55:43.500 most of the
00:55:44.240 campaigns of
00:55:44.860 1813
00:55:45.520 but Italy
00:55:47.120 why doesn't
00:55:48.200 Italy change
00:55:49.140 hands because
00:55:49.880 it is technically
00:55:50.680 ruled over my
00:55:51.480 Napoleon who is
00:55:52.140 also king of
00:55:52.680 Italy and it
00:55:53.840 is ruled in
00:55:54.880 fact by
00:55:55.760 Eugene de
00:55:56.560 Boanet who
00:55:57.360 is by far the
00:55:58.480 most competent
00:55:59.060 of all of
00:55:59.700 Napoleon's
00:56:00.200 relatives
00:56:00.560 Eugene de
00:56:01.020 Boanet is
00:56:01.500 the son of
00:56:02.200 Josephine
00:56:02.760 so therefore
00:56:03.900 we can
00:56:04.320 understand why
00:56:05.260 that territory
00:56:06.420 in particular
00:56:06.860 but everywhere
00:56:07.280 else including
00:56:08.100 Sweden under
00:56:09.460 Jean Bernadotte
00:56:10.920 goes against
00:56:11.960 Napoleon and
00:56:12.740 again it's
00:56:13.140 just a lot
00:56:15.060 of people can
00:56:15.620 then use okay
00:56:16.280 well what does
00:56:17.020 Napoleon represent
00:56:17.860 he's the
00:56:18.340 triumph of will
00:56:19.340 yeah we go
00:56:20.240 into Nietzschean
00:56:20.900 arguments you
00:56:21.660 know a lot of
00:56:22.660 people have
00:56:23.180 tried to
00:56:23.520 extrapolate
00:56:24.100 Nietzsche's
00:56:24.620 interpretations
00:56:25.260 of Napoleon
00:56:25.880 and say well
00:56:26.540 he was the
00:56:27.380 manifestation of
00:56:28.260 true freedom
00:56:29.060 in terms of
00:56:29.860 the death of
00:56:30.480 ego that
00:56:31.480 Napoleon is
00:56:32.240 all about
00:56:32.740 the will
00:56:33.220 triumphant
00:56:33.880 and self
00:56:34.440 discipline
00:56:34.840 and he is
00:56:35.460 the the
00:56:36.020 martial man
00:56:36.780 he is the
00:56:37.240 ubermensch
00:56:37.840 he is the
00:56:39.060 counter to
00:56:39.740 slave morality
00:56:40.420 if anything I
00:56:41.720 believe is the
00:56:42.180 opposite I
00:56:42.700 believe Napoleon
00:56:43.380 was the slave
00:56:44.820 to ambition
00:56:45.500 which is all
00:56:47.300 the more obvious
00:56:47.840 and then you
00:56:48.200 can get into
00:56:48.700 the more
00:56:49.080 sort of
00:56:49.820 far
00:56:51.060 sort of
00:56:52.060 arguments
00:56:52.480 like for
00:56:52.980 say for
00:56:53.220 example
00:56:53.440 someone like
00:56:54.020 Gabriele
00:56:54.580 D'Annunzio
00:56:55.100 a Italian
00:56:57.720 poet and
00:56:58.740 soldier during
00:56:59.820 the First
00:57:00.460 World War
00:57:00.960 who later
00:57:02.060 basically becomes
00:57:02.880 you can almost
00:57:03.280 say an
00:57:03.560 antecedent
00:57:04.140 towards someone
00:57:04.600 like a
00:57:04.840 Mussolini
00:57:05.360 goes out
00:57:06.420 and says
00:57:06.820 you know
00:57:07.060 well the
00:57:08.140 Italian
00:57:09.280 involvement in
00:57:10.120 the First
00:57:10.400 World War
00:57:10.720 is a
00:57:11.000 necessary
00:57:11.400 baptism of
00:57:12.580 fire
00:57:12.900 you know
00:57:13.500 we are
00:57:13.780 basically
00:57:14.100 going to
00:57:14.520 soak our
00:57:15.020 ledges in
00:57:15.440 blood
00:57:15.740 and it
00:57:16.040 is going
00:57:16.300 to be
00:57:16.520 a glorious
00:57:16.980 thing
00:57:17.500 in that
00:57:18.300 sense
00:57:18.720 you know
00:57:19.080 France
00:57:19.580 needs to
00:57:20.220 come to
00:57:21.240 its national
00:57:22.060 culmination
00:57:22.860 through glory
00:57:23.720 and glory
00:57:24.560 inevitably means
00:57:25.340 the shedding
00:57:25.720 of blood
00:57:26.180 you can almost
00:57:26.660 say again
00:57:27.080 it's the
00:57:27.440 perfect
00:57:28.160 conversion
00:57:28.720 of Christ
00:57:29.360 you know
00:57:30.460 I'm not
00:57:31.960 going to
00:57:32.360 shed myself
00:57:33.260 and sacrifice
00:57:33.840 myself for
00:57:34.620 the sake of
00:57:35.040 salvation of
00:57:35.880 man
00:57:36.140 I'm going
00:57:36.640 to compel
00:57:37.800 the salvation
00:57:38.380 of my
00:57:38.760 nation
00:57:39.100 through the
00:57:39.560 blood of
00:57:40.040 countless
00:57:40.460 youths
00:57:41.120 effectively
00:57:41.460 which is
00:57:41.900 what Napoleon's
00:57:42.640 campaign
00:57:42.980 ultimately amounts
00:57:43.780 to
00:57:44.020 so you
00:57:46.840 mentioned
00:57:47.280 before
00:57:48.380 his star
00:57:49.240 and that's
00:57:50.840 not just
00:57:51.380 like modern
00:57:53.040 parlance
00:57:53.540 that's what
00:57:53.920 he said
00:57:54.600 he talked
00:57:55.820 about
00:57:56.220 explicitly
00:57:57.160 many times
00:57:58.080 his star
00:57:58.920 that Josephine
00:57:59.520 was one of
00:57:59.880 the rays of
00:58:00.380 his star
00:58:00.920 and all that
00:58:01.680 sort of thing
00:58:02.080 and so he
00:58:03.020 had this
00:58:03.520 I think
00:58:04.360 very clear
00:58:05.080 idea
00:58:06.620 about himself
00:58:08.120 about his
00:58:08.840 ambition
00:58:09.220 about his
00:58:09.840 place in
00:58:10.260 history
00:58:10.480 and all that
00:58:10.840 sort of thing
00:58:11.280 and earlier
00:58:12.580 on you also
00:58:13.140 mentioned the
00:58:13.680 idea that
00:58:14.000 Talleyrand
00:58:14.680 saw at a
00:58:15.380 certain point
00:58:15.800 quite early
00:58:16.320 on the
00:58:17.120 sort of
00:58:17.320 the natural
00:58:18.080 boundaries
00:58:19.220 that France
00:58:20.380 could have
00:58:20.780 had
00:58:21.220 could have
00:58:21.940 sat on
00:58:22.460 with the
00:58:24.340 Rye and
00:58:24.700 the Alps
00:58:24.980 of Pyrenees
00:58:25.540 and that
00:58:26.340 that would
00:58:27.060 have been
00:58:27.380 should have
00:58:27.760 been good
00:58:28.060 enough
00:58:28.280 but then
00:58:28.860 you've got
00:58:29.480 Napoleon
00:58:30.960 in his
00:58:31.380 concept
00:58:31.820 of his
00:58:32.220 own star
00:58:32.940 and
00:58:33.660 the fact
00:58:35.000 that there's
00:58:35.820 some sort
00:58:36.280 of deep
00:58:36.680 seated
00:58:37.340 lack of
00:58:41.060 how would you
00:58:42.580 say
00:58:42.720 of self-confidence
00:58:43.660 about his
00:58:44.200 own position
00:58:44.880 that he is
00:58:45.400 a usurper
00:58:46.140 that he has
00:58:48.160 to keep
00:58:48.520 winning
00:58:48.660 again he said
00:58:49.740 this explicitly
00:58:50.360 didn't he in
00:58:50.900 letters that
00:58:51.400 I have to keep
00:58:53.000 winning battles
00:58:53.960 if I stop
00:58:56.280 winning battles
00:58:56.780 I can't just sit
00:58:57.440 on my laurels
00:58:58.200 not forever
00:58:59.260 my power comes
00:59:00.860 from going out
00:59:03.180 and winning battles
00:59:03.980 personally
00:59:04.440 and I have to
00:59:06.140 keep doing it
00:59:06.600 so
00:59:06.840 like you're in
00:59:09.500 this unstoppable
00:59:10.160 war machine
00:59:10.940 that cannot
00:59:12.180 be stopped
00:59:12.800 in some sense
00:59:14.040 or he doesn't
00:59:14.600 want to stop
00:59:15.180 it
00:59:15.280 he can't
00:59:15.600 stop it
00:59:15.880 I don't
00:59:16.220 believe
00:59:16.480 I believe
00:59:16.980 he could
00:59:17.280 have stopped
00:59:17.640 it
00:59:17.800 but like I
00:59:18.200 said
00:59:18.400 it's
00:59:18.720 his direct
00:59:19.380 association
00:59:20.040 I mean
00:59:21.340 I think
00:59:21.720 the quote
00:59:23.100 again
00:59:23.480 is in
00:59:23.800 comparison
00:59:24.240 to other
00:59:24.660 European
00:59:25.000 leaders
00:59:25.600 when a
00:59:26.800 European
00:59:27.120 leader
00:59:27.540 loses
00:59:27.980 a war
00:59:28.460 it concerns
00:59:29.440 the fate
00:59:29.860 of a
00:59:30.360 province
00:59:30.760 or this
00:59:31.140 and that
00:59:31.560 when I
00:59:32.320 lose a
00:59:32.680 war
00:59:32.860 it's always
00:59:33.360 a fight
00:59:34.280 for my
00:59:34.580 very
00:59:34.820 existence
00:59:35.240 and
00:59:36.640 but again
00:59:37.760 I don't
00:59:38.300 believe
00:59:38.580 that is
00:59:39.560 necessarily
00:59:40.120 the case
00:59:40.840 Europe
00:59:41.800 during the
00:59:42.660 Polonic
00:59:42.960 Wars
00:59:43.340 was
00:59:43.700 mostly
00:59:44.340 exhausted
00:59:44.820 and fighting
00:59:45.300 out of
00:59:45.640 a sense
00:59:45.960 of
00:59:46.200 a sense
00:59:47.100 of
00:59:47.260 desperation
00:59:47.820 I mean
00:59:48.520 one of the
00:59:48.820 remarkable
00:59:49.160 things of
00:59:49.860 the period
00:59:50.420 during the
00:59:50.740 peace of
00:59:51.020 Armia
00:59:51.260 with Britain
00:59:51.840 is the
00:59:52.660 fact that
00:59:53.140 so many
00:59:54.080 emigres
00:59:54.520 and so
00:59:55.140 many
00:59:55.340 British
00:59:55.680 tourists
00:59:56.220 and traders
00:59:56.800 use the
00:59:57.300 opportunity
00:59:57.720 to resume
00:59:58.380 relations
00:59:58.900 essentially
00:59:59.460 again
00:59:59.880 so
01:00:00.960 I believe
01:00:02.520 that
01:00:02.800 Napoleon's
01:00:03.520 own
01:00:03.780 inextricable
01:00:04.520 political
01:00:04.980 logic
01:00:05.540 leads him
01:00:06.640 down the
01:00:07.000 path
01:00:07.420 that
01:00:08.140 military
01:00:08.780 glory
01:00:09.160 is me
01:00:09.840 and thereby
01:00:10.960 so long
01:00:12.040 as I can
01:00:12.640 associate
01:00:13.220 France
01:00:14.040 with political
01:00:14.540 glory
01:00:15.100 then my
01:00:16.240 own star
01:00:16.860 is assured
01:00:18.000 effectively
01:00:18.680 you know
01:00:19.700 basically
01:00:21.040 Ad Astra
01:00:21.680 to the
01:00:22.420 stars
01:00:22.820 I'm not
01:00:24.820 sure whether
01:00:25.140 this is
01:00:25.520 an exact
01:00:26.160 quote or
01:00:26.580 not
01:00:26.780 but again
01:00:27.200 France
01:00:27.920 will follow
01:00:28.280 me to
01:00:28.680 the moon
01:00:29.100 if I
01:00:29.980 give her
01:00:30.340 another
01:00:30.540 victory
01:00:30.940 that sort
01:00:31.400 of thing
01:00:31.740 but again
01:00:33.260 glory
01:00:33.800 the whole
01:00:34.260 notion
01:00:34.540 of glory
01:00:34.980 it's
01:00:35.740 post hoc
01:00:36.400 it's
01:00:37.240 it's
01:00:37.460 ephemeral
01:00:38.000 it's emotive
01:00:38.860 and I
01:00:39.740 think
01:00:40.060 so much
01:00:41.780 of Napoleon's
01:00:42.540 own sort of
01:00:42.980 basis of power
01:00:43.620 I think
01:00:43.900 actually
01:00:44.220 comes from
01:00:45.300 the fact
01:00:45.540 that he
01:00:45.800 himself
01:00:46.160 was an
01:00:46.460 atheist
01:00:46.760 and so
01:00:48.080 he is
01:00:48.360 looking at
01:00:48.760 this from
01:00:49.160 a very
01:00:49.920 as I
01:00:52.320 mentioned
01:00:52.660 that so
01:00:53.060 much of
01:00:53.380 the French
01:00:53.660 Revolution
01:00:53.980 is about
01:00:54.440 conscious
01:00:54.860 reenactment
01:00:55.640 when he
01:00:57.380 is looking
01:00:57.780 to say
01:00:58.120 for example
01:00:58.460 the coronation
01:00:59.280 Napoleon's
01:01:00.380 own coronation
01:01:01.060 it is
01:01:01.420 always
01:01:01.840 conscious
01:01:02.380 reenactment
01:01:02.920 I'm going
01:01:03.360 to recreate
01:01:04.120 the original
01:01:05.320 crown of
01:01:06.000 Charlemagne
01:01:06.520 I am going
01:01:08.360 to have
01:01:08.840 the Pope
01:01:09.280 bless me
01:01:09.900 not crown
01:01:10.420 me
01:01:10.700 thereby
01:01:11.100 surpassing
01:01:12.860 Charlemagne
01:01:13.380 who he
01:01:14.300 believed made
01:01:14.780 a mistake
01:01:15.180 in allowing
01:01:15.580 the Pope
01:01:15.940 to crown
01:01:16.300 himself
01:01:16.760 and thereby
01:01:17.180 he was in
01:01:17.620 some way
01:01:17.920 beholden
01:01:18.500 to the Pope
01:01:19.280 I am going
01:01:20.560 to have
01:01:20.920 David
01:01:21.320 the great
01:01:22.780 French painter
01:01:23.460 turn
01:01:24.420 Notre Dame
01:01:25.080 into a
01:01:26.160 Greco-Roman
01:01:27.020 pantheon
01:01:27.860 celebrating
01:01:29.180 the rights
01:01:29.620 of the nation
01:01:30.080 and I am
01:01:30.440 going to be
01:01:30.760 at the
01:01:30.980 centre
01:01:31.260 and I am
01:01:33.200 going to
01:01:33.560 paint my
01:01:34.260 mother
01:01:34.640 in the
01:01:35.900 wings
01:01:36.220 even though
01:01:36.860 she wasn't
01:01:37.320 there
01:01:37.540 because she
01:01:37.880 was not
01:01:38.140 prepared to
01:01:38.640 see the
01:01:38.900 glorification
01:01:39.480 of
01:01:39.800 Josephine
01:01:40.360 who she
01:01:41.220 considered
01:01:41.680 quite rightly
01:01:42.360 to be
01:01:42.600 a harlot
01:01:43.020 so that's
01:01:45.440 so much
01:01:46.520 of the
01:01:46.720 essence
01:01:47.040 of Napoleon
01:01:47.520 you can
01:01:47.820 say it's
01:01:48.600 Catholicism
01:01:49.500 without God
01:01:50.340 in so many
01:01:51.620 ways
01:01:52.040 it is
01:01:52.540 the vestments
01:01:54.800 I need to
01:01:55.640 wear that
01:01:56.100 ridiculous
01:01:57.100 get up
01:01:57.720 where I am
01:01:58.480 holding the
01:01:58.980 sceptre
01:01:59.420 I have my
01:02:00.300 Napoleonic
01:02:00.900 laurels
01:02:01.480 that grand
01:02:02.560 imperial style
01:02:03.560 circular throne
01:02:04.640 and it is
01:02:06.520 going to
01:02:06.860 impress people
01:02:07.960 that's what so
01:02:08.960 much of glory
01:02:09.600 is essentially
01:02:10.220 it's impressing
01:02:11.000 upon people
01:02:11.660 something which
01:02:12.340 is metaphysical
01:02:14.040 but it's also
01:02:15.360 unsubstantial
01:02:16.720 in the same
01:02:17.660 way that
01:02:18.200 it's important
01:02:19.340 to have
01:02:19.780 French grenadiers
01:02:20.600 dressed up
01:02:21.320 in those
01:02:21.800 tall hats
01:02:22.960 and those
01:02:23.640 epaulettes
01:02:24.520 and make them
01:02:25.560 feel again
01:02:26.180 stronger and
01:02:27.640 more powerful
01:02:28.200 than they are
01:02:28.820 the uniforms
01:02:29.640 themselves
01:02:30.220 are basically
01:02:30.960 giving
01:02:32.200 and again
01:02:33.300 the titles
01:02:33.900 the distinction
01:02:35.020 it's not enough
01:02:36.060 basically to have
01:02:36.820 a levelling effect
01:02:37.620 of like how
01:02:38.500 the communists
01:02:39.120 treated the
01:02:39.660 military in
01:02:40.100 the 1920s
01:02:40.920 and 1930s
01:02:42.020 instead we
01:02:43.140 need to
01:02:43.840 ostensibly
01:02:45.020 imbibe the
01:02:47.160 French political
01:02:47.620 system with
01:02:48.120 grandeur
01:02:48.680 and again
01:02:49.720 how can you
01:02:50.520 credit that
01:02:51.380 with anything
01:02:51.780 else but
01:02:52.200 compensating for
01:02:53.000 this lack
01:02:53.360 of legitimacy
01:02:54.020 I'm going to
01:02:57.660 make a
01:02:58.120 so and so
01:02:59.580 prince of
01:03:00.080 that and
01:03:00.500 so and so
01:03:00.960 king of
01:03:01.380 that and
01:03:01.800 so and so
01:03:02.220 king of
01:03:02.560 that and
01:03:03.120 I have
01:03:04.700 done so
01:03:05.140 through my
01:03:05.700 right of
01:03:06.760 military victory
01:03:07.480 again and
01:03:08.540 again and
01:03:09.040 again and
01:03:10.360 of course as
01:03:11.740 it was made
01:03:12.320 so it was
01:03:12.800 so easily
01:03:13.300 unmade
01:03:13.840 so the key
01:03:15.160 our question
01:03:15.860 again was
01:03:16.560 Napoleon good
01:03:17.320 for France
01:03:17.920 it does boil
01:03:19.060 down to
01:03:19.580 doesn't it
01:03:19.920 when we can
01:03:20.420 look at it
01:03:20.920 with our
01:03:21.320 God's eye
01:03:22.300 view as
01:03:23.560 the historian
01:03:24.660 centuries
01:03:25.300 later
01:03:25.700 the fact that
01:03:27.660 ultimately he
01:03:28.480 lost the fact
01:03:29.080 that ultimately
01:03:29.680 the entire
01:03:30.280 project was
01:03:31.980 a complete
01:03:32.900 failure
01:03:33.660 surely then
01:03:36.660 we can only
01:03:37.460 come to the
01:03:38.060 conclusion
01:03:38.580 that he
01:03:39.720 wasn't good
01:03:40.600 for France
01:03:41.400 I mean
01:03:41.920 you can
01:03:42.440 point to
01:03:42.860 a few
01:03:43.400 things
01:03:44.040 absolutely
01:03:45.120 I mean
01:03:45.900 like the
01:03:47.260 code Napoleon
01:03:47.940 it's obviously
01:03:48.460 not as good
01:03:48.900 as English
01:03:49.820 common law
01:03:50.260 but still
01:03:50.700 surely that
01:03:51.480 was better
01:03:52.040 than what
01:03:52.880 France had
01:03:53.360 had before
01:03:53.900 things like
01:03:54.340 this
01:03:54.560 you can
01:03:55.040 point to
01:03:55.440 that and
01:03:56.140 that was
01:03:56.600 obviously
01:03:57.380 in France's
01:03:58.440 interest
01:03:58.700 what does
01:03:58.880 the code
01:03:59.260 Napoleon
01:03:59.660 represent
01:04:00.220 it's the
01:04:01.200 corollary to
01:04:01.760 the continental
01:04:02.200 system
01:04:02.820 I mean
01:04:03.560 I hate
01:04:03.840 to sound
01:04:04.140 my fear
01:04:05.820 to people
01:04:07.260 listening
01:04:07.740 is that
01:04:08.660 it's basically
01:04:09.200 going to
01:04:09.620 sound as
01:04:10.060 if I'm
01:04:10.700 a
01:04:11.220 I have
01:04:13.980 antipathy
01:04:14.560 towards
01:04:15.160 you know
01:04:15.500 Napoleon
01:04:15.980 because I'm
01:04:16.600 representing
01:04:17.140 the position
01:04:17.960 of Pitt
01:04:19.000 or Liverpool
01:04:19.700 basically
01:04:21.500 I'm just
01:04:21.860 representing
01:04:22.400 you know
01:04:22.860 little sort
01:04:23.920 of England
01:04:24.260 Britishness
01:04:25.460 but no
01:04:25.920 I'm
01:04:26.300 I'm
01:04:27.720 enamoured
01:04:28.260 of French
01:04:28.660 culture
01:04:29.060 I love
01:04:29.780 French
01:04:30.040 history
01:04:30.380 I
01:04:30.720 am more
01:04:31.800 invested
01:04:32.220 and have
01:04:32.740 great expertise
01:04:33.400 in French
01:04:33.880 history
01:04:34.160 than I do
01:04:34.560 British
01:04:34.820 history
01:04:35.340 I
01:04:37.080 have
01:04:38.860 examined
01:04:39.320 someone
01:04:39.600 extensively
01:04:41.220 like
01:04:41.680 Louis XIV
01:04:42.420 or Charles
01:04:43.700 de Gaulle
01:04:44.140 I can
01:04:45.420 look at
01:04:46.100 the
01:04:46.200 Annales
01:04:46.540 school
01:04:46.880 and fall
01:04:47.780 in love
01:04:48.060 with a
01:04:48.420 geographical
01:04:48.840 approach
01:04:49.320 to
01:04:49.720 French
01:04:50.460 history
01:04:50.860 the idea
01:04:51.680 of the
01:04:51.900 long
01:04:52.100 durée
01:04:52.500 the enduring
01:04:53.060 systems
01:04:53.560 institutions
01:04:54.200 of France
01:04:54.960 and
01:04:56.280 I look
01:04:57.320 at Napoleon
01:04:57.800 and I
01:04:58.260 see
01:04:58.640 Napoleon
01:04:59.180 as the
01:04:59.520 antipathy
01:05:00.040 to essentially
01:05:01.020 everything that
01:05:01.600 could have
01:05:01.880 made France
01:05:02.380 great
01:05:02.700 I almost
01:05:03.900 say to
01:05:04.720 that sort
01:05:05.060 of person
01:05:06.020 you know
01:05:06.360 how can
01:05:07.380 you be
01:05:07.720 a French
01:05:08.100 nationalist
01:05:08.460 and not
01:05:08.940 hate
01:05:09.160 Napoleon
01:05:09.560 for the
01:05:10.480 heights
01:05:10.820 he brought
01:05:11.340 to you
01:05:11.680 and for
01:05:12.000 the
01:05:12.180 devastation
01:05:12.860 he also
01:05:13.320 wrought
01:05:13.800 and it
01:05:14.640 comes back
01:05:15.020 to the
01:05:15.360 question
01:05:15.980 you point
01:05:16.560 out
01:05:16.740 well
01:05:16.920 obviously
01:05:17.220 the
01:05:17.380 code
01:05:17.520 Napoleon
01:05:17.900 is a good
01:05:18.220 thing
01:05:18.400 well
01:05:18.620 ostensibly
01:05:19.600 the code
01:05:19.960 Napoleon
01:05:20.300 is a good
01:05:20.620 thing
01:05:20.800 because
01:05:21.020 there's a
01:05:21.320 standardisation
01:05:22.060 of French
01:05:23.280 law
01:05:23.620 and the
01:05:24.440 abolition
01:05:24.820 of
01:05:25.180 seigneurial
01:05:25.840 Jews
01:05:26.220 and
01:05:26.460 seigneurial
01:05:27.000 justice
01:05:27.400 which
01:05:27.780 establish
01:05:28.180 different
01:05:28.740 legal
01:05:29.880 arenas
01:05:30.440 for the
01:05:30.820 nobility
01:05:31.220 the estates
01:05:32.020 versus the
01:05:32.740 third estate
01:05:33.520 everyone else
01:05:34.220 but
01:05:35.060 it's worse
01:05:36.400 than that
01:05:36.940 it's the
01:05:37.820 idea that
01:05:38.600 we should
01:05:39.060 have a
01:05:39.560 political
01:05:39.860 system
01:05:40.360 built
01:05:40.740 around
01:05:41.500 systematisation
01:05:43.260 and harmonisation
01:05:44.320 in other
01:05:45.300 words
01:05:45.560 it's the
01:05:45.880 precursor
01:05:46.280 to the
01:05:46.480 European
01:05:46.700 Union
01:05:47.160 we have
01:05:48.460 a
01:05:48.860 political
01:05:49.420 system
01:05:49.900 which is
01:05:50.400 inaccessible
01:05:51.920 stratified
01:05:53.000 no accountability
01:05:54.320 in the form
01:05:55.240 of the
01:05:55.460 commission
01:05:55.780 and the
01:05:56.760 commission
01:05:57.060 is using
01:05:58.420 various
01:05:59.260 political
01:05:59.840 rubber stamps
01:06:00.400 like the
01:06:00.700 parliament
01:06:01.000 the
01:06:01.600 core
01:06:02.100 legislatif
01:06:03.120 in the
01:06:03.580 case of
01:06:03.880 Napoleon
01:06:04.260 and I'm
01:06:05.860 going to
01:06:06.340 push through
01:06:07.100 laws which
01:06:07.820 ensure that
01:06:08.320 there is
01:06:08.620 harmonisation
01:06:09.420 throughout all
01:06:10.300 of the
01:06:10.500 countries of
01:06:10.980 Europe
01:06:11.260 irrespective of
01:06:12.400 what their
01:06:12.700 respective
01:06:13.060 parliaments
01:06:13.620 and political
01:06:14.240 institutions
01:06:14.740 want
01:06:15.160 effectively
01:06:15.680 it is the
01:06:16.740 origin of
01:06:17.220 that
01:06:17.460 in the
01:06:18.160 same way
01:06:18.520 that the
01:06:18.960 continental
01:06:19.600 system
01:06:20.200 is the
01:06:21.000 imposition
01:06:21.500 from on
01:06:21.960 high
01:06:22.280 of a
01:06:23.200 integrated
01:06:23.900 political
01:06:24.500 and economic
01:06:25.100 system
01:06:25.640 one that's
01:06:26.600 based around
01:06:27.280 antipathy
01:06:27.900 towards
01:06:28.520 Britain
01:06:29.900 you can
01:06:30.380 say
01:06:30.540 the
01:06:30.700 modern
01:06:30.960 continental
01:06:31.380 system
01:06:31.940 is
01:06:32.200 sanctions
01:06:32.500 against
01:06:32.860 Russia
01:06:33.220 it's
01:06:34.120 the
01:06:34.240 same
01:06:34.440 thing
01:06:34.680 it's
01:06:34.820 the
01:06:34.920 same
01:06:35.080 logic
01:06:35.460 yeah
01:06:37.760 so I mean
01:06:38.680 in that
01:06:39.760 case
01:06:40.000 well we're
01:06:40.760 absolutely
01:06:41.020 on the
01:06:41.400 same
01:06:41.620 page
01:06:42.020 essentially
01:06:42.540 that
01:06:43.460 Napoleon
01:06:43.860 was
01:06:44.340 a
01:06:44.700 disaster
01:06:45.280 ultimately
01:06:47.000 for
01:06:48.040 France
01:06:48.320 would
01:06:49.120 you say
01:06:50.040 I mean
01:06:51.060 even
01:06:51.360 calling up
01:06:53.080 issues
01:06:53.380 with
01:06:53.600 the
01:06:53.820 Napoleon
01:06:54.020 would
01:06:54.420 you
01:06:54.540 say
01:06:54.780 there
01:06:55.040 is
01:06:55.340 anything
01:06:56.360 or
01:06:56.560 what
01:06:56.680 are
01:06:56.740 the
01:06:56.840 things
01:06:57.140 that
01:06:57.400 pop
01:06:57.680 into
01:06:57.880 your
01:06:58.100 mind
01:06:58.440 that
01:06:58.660 Napoleon
01:06:59.040 did
01:06:59.420 or
01:06:59.580 achieved
01:07:00.040 that
01:07:00.940 were
01:07:01.260 good
01:07:01.500 for
01:07:01.660 France
01:07:01.920 do you think
01:07:02.200 there's
01:07:02.360 anything
01:07:02.780 anything
01:07:03.740 that endured
01:07:04.560 let's say
01:07:05.280 well
01:07:05.820 ironically
01:07:06.460 one of the most
01:07:07.000 enduring
01:07:07.360 things was
01:07:08.080 the 1801
01:07:08.880 Concordat
01:07:09.700 with the
01:07:10.500 Catholic
01:07:10.760 Church
01:07:11.280 okay
01:07:11.780 it basically
01:07:12.540 ensured
01:07:13.120 he made his
01:07:13.580 son king of
01:07:14.260 Rome
01:07:14.520 didn't he
01:07:14.920 at some
01:07:15.260 point
01:07:15.420 yes
01:07:15.880 after having
01:07:17.240 deposed
01:07:17.660 the Pope
01:07:18.860 from Rome
01:07:19.180 he did
01:07:19.500 have contempt
01:07:20.340 really
01:07:20.700 didn't he
01:07:21.180 for
01:07:21.500 Christianity
01:07:23.580 he literally
01:07:24.320 locked the
01:07:24.780 Pope up
01:07:25.300 right
01:07:25.620 he
01:07:26.720 I think
01:07:28.280 it was during
01:07:29.720 the fifth
01:07:30.000 coalition war
01:07:30.780 in 1809
01:07:31.600 he was in
01:07:32.080 Vienna
01:07:32.360 having occupied
01:07:33.060 the city
01:07:33.620 and he
01:07:35.060 took it
01:07:35.800 upon himself
01:07:36.300 to declare
01:07:37.180 that
01:07:37.520 I have
01:07:38.300 rescinded
01:07:38.920 the donation
01:07:39.460 of Pepin
01:07:40.060 which was
01:07:40.940 this
01:07:41.240 ancient
01:07:41.980 legal guarantee
01:07:43.160 by
01:07:44.180 Charlemagne's
01:07:45.240 father
01:07:46.020 or grandfather
01:07:46.840 to guarantee
01:07:48.100 the temporal
01:07:48.960 status
01:07:49.400 of the
01:07:49.640 papal
01:07:49.940 states
01:07:50.460 so I
01:07:51.500 as the
01:07:51.840 new
01:07:52.280 Charlemagne
01:07:53.380 the new
01:07:54.200 Carolingian
01:07:54.880 emperor
01:07:55.220 I'm going
01:07:55.560 to dispossess
01:07:56.320 the Pope
01:07:56.840 and I
01:07:57.660 do so
01:07:58.040 because I
01:07:58.440 am the
01:07:58.660 new
01:07:58.840 Charlemagne
01:07:59.400 who says
01:08:00.040 so I
01:08:00.340 say so
01:08:00.900 and I'm
01:08:02.320 going to
01:08:02.620 lock him
01:08:03.340 up
01:08:03.580 and I'm
01:08:04.620 going to
01:08:04.900 exist
01:08:05.200 excommunicate
01:08:06.080 effectively
01:08:07.640 but regardless
01:08:08.280 of that
01:08:08.740 the legal
01:08:10.040 structure
01:08:10.920 of the
01:08:11.240 1801
01:08:11.760 Concordat
01:08:12.600 existed
01:08:13.340 until the
01:08:14.220 Dreyfus
01:08:15.140 Affair
01:08:15.540 and the
01:08:17.200 imposed
01:08:18.260 secularization
01:08:18.960 of France
01:08:19.580 in 1904
01:08:20.280 and 1905
01:08:21.080 and 1906
01:08:21.900 so that
01:08:23.740 is one
01:08:24.740 credible
01:08:25.320 legacy
01:08:25.700 you know
01:08:26.060 the code
01:08:26.340 Napoleon
01:08:26.720 is obvious
01:08:27.620 in terms
01:08:28.400 of its
01:08:28.660 endurance
01:08:29.040 and legacy
01:08:29.580 the abolition
01:08:30.580 of feudalism
01:08:31.440 which
01:08:32.340 the French
01:08:34.760 belief in
01:08:35.500 feudalism
01:08:36.440 as bad
01:08:36.980 is axiomatic
01:08:38.520 in reality
01:08:39.720 feudalism
01:08:40.400 in France
01:08:40.920 had more
01:08:41.840 or less
01:08:42.100 effectively
01:08:42.520 been
01:08:42.920 terminated
01:08:44.420 in any
01:08:44.760 meaningful
01:08:45.160 sense
01:08:45.740 by the
01:08:46.500 time we
01:08:46.800 get to
01:08:47.040 the
01:08:47.140 French
01:08:47.340 Revolution
01:08:47.840 and so
01:08:48.920 you can
01:08:49.180 say that
01:08:49.600 it became
01:08:49.980 more of
01:08:50.320 an ideological
01:08:51.040 supposition
01:08:51.780 that feudalism
01:08:52.520 is bad
01:08:52.920 and feudalism
01:08:53.900 needs to be
01:08:54.280 destroyed
01:08:54.620 everywhere
01:08:54.980 in Europe
01:08:55.520 rather than
01:08:56.440 that having
01:08:56.860 any sort
01:08:57.300 of grandiose
01:08:58.000 tangible
01:08:58.400 results
01:08:59.060 but again
01:09:00.380 one of the
01:09:02.080 ironic
01:09:02.420 effects
01:09:02.840 if you
01:09:03.280 establish
01:09:03.880 equality
01:09:04.360 before the
01:09:04.900 law
01:09:05.180 and you're
01:09:06.040 also trying
01:09:06.580 to establish
01:09:07.040 a
01:09:07.220 domestic
01:09:07.540 system
01:09:07.920 of
01:09:08.080 political
01:09:08.340 power
01:09:08.820 you're
01:09:09.440 basically
01:09:09.760 also
01:09:10.040 establishing
01:09:10.520 the
01:09:10.820 basis
01:09:11.140 of
01:09:11.460 well
01:09:11.760 if
01:09:12.420 everyone
01:09:12.720 is
01:09:12.880 supposed
01:09:13.020 to be
01:09:13.500 legally
01:09:15.000 equal
01:09:15.460 why are
01:09:16.560 you emperor
01:09:16.980 of the
01:09:17.260 French
01:09:17.580 and you're
01:09:18.240 emperor
01:09:18.480 of the
01:09:18.680 French
01:09:18.920 because
01:09:19.340 you're
01:09:20.420 a general
01:09:20.780 and you
01:09:21.140 command
01:09:21.440 armies
01:09:21.980 effectively
01:09:22.540 again
01:09:22.980 it's just
01:09:23.520 pure
01:09:24.520 might makes
01:09:25.180 right
01:09:25.460 you can adorn
01:09:26.080 it with
01:09:26.460 all of this
01:09:27.040 grandiose
01:09:28.160 imperial
01:09:28.680 splendor
01:09:29.540 and all
01:09:29.840 these
01:09:30.120 incredible
01:09:30.520 paintings
01:09:31.100 and there
01:09:33.640 was one
01:09:33.920 thing again
01:09:34.380 which I was
01:09:34.900 thinking about
01:09:35.680 that the
01:09:36.700 constant wars
01:09:37.540 meant that
01:09:38.100 France was
01:09:38.640 in many ways
01:09:39.180 destitute
01:09:39.780 during Napoleon
01:09:41.400 its time
01:09:41.960 you know
01:09:42.260 you can look
01:09:42.660 during the
01:09:43.140 economically
01:09:43.740 destitute
01:09:45.240 it was
01:09:46.620 cut off
01:09:47.180 and Napoleon's
01:09:48.260 solution to
01:09:48.740 this was
01:09:49.180 loot
01:09:49.660 in a way
01:09:51.280 we were
01:09:51.540 some sort
01:09:51.840 of Mongolian
01:09:52.620 Khan
01:09:53.220 you're going
01:09:54.340 over and
01:09:54.820 I'm going
01:09:55.120 to take
01:09:55.560 the horses
01:09:56.260 of Saint
01:09:56.700 Mark
01:09:57.020 and I'm
01:09:57.340 going to
01:09:57.600 put them
01:09:57.900 in Louve
01:09:58.380 which I
01:09:58.700 have renamed
01:09:59.160 the
01:09:59.680 Musée
01:10:00.080 Napoleon
01:10:00.580 because of
01:10:02.580 course I
01:10:02.940 have
01:10:03.260 that is
01:10:05.640 again a
01:10:06.360 basis of
01:10:07.020 Napoleon's
01:10:07.720 necessity
01:10:08.200 for further
01:10:08.680 conquest
01:10:09.080 it's not
01:10:09.840 just to
01:10:11.060 expand
01:10:11.520 France
01:10:11.940 and to
01:10:12.180 expand
01:10:12.580 ideas of
01:10:13.880 the French
01:10:14.080 Revolution
01:10:14.480 it's also
01:10:14.860 to get
01:10:15.200 rich by
01:10:15.920 seizing the
01:10:16.980 wealth and
01:10:17.400 the property
01:10:17.820 of other
01:10:18.180 people
01:10:18.500 effectively
01:10:19.020 and subordinating
01:10:20.260 them to
01:10:20.620 France
01:10:21.020 so as a
01:10:22.900 result of
01:10:23.280 that
01:10:23.580 France
01:10:24.100 doesn't have
01:10:24.860 a great
01:10:25.340 building
01:10:25.760 program
01:10:26.280 during the
01:10:27.160 time of
01:10:28.060 Napoleon
01:10:28.980 say for
01:10:29.840 example
01:10:30.100 comparable
01:10:30.620 with
01:10:31.040 Louis XIV
01:10:31.720 or even
01:10:33.060 someone like
01:10:33.760 Catherine de
01:10:34.360 Medici
01:10:34.720 who was
01:10:35.480 responsible for
01:10:36.080 building the
01:10:36.580 original Louvre
01:10:37.300 and so
01:10:38.240 ironically
01:10:38.680 people associate
01:10:40.920 the building
01:10:42.680 legacy of
01:10:43.320 someone like
01:10:43.700 a Louis
01:10:44.000 Philippe
01:10:44.580 and the
01:10:44.940 Arc de
01:10:45.260 Triomphe
01:10:45.780 as Napoleon
01:10:46.800 having built
01:10:47.400 it when in
01:10:47.800 reality it was
01:10:48.640 post hoc
01:10:49.700 like so much
01:10:50.500 with Napoleonic
01:10:51.300 myth
01:10:51.680 it's
01:10:52.480 we are so
01:10:54.040 we are
01:10:54.500 distanced from
01:10:55.140 the original
01:10:55.520 memory of the
01:10:56.180 devastation that
01:10:56.920 wrought and
01:10:57.480 the constant
01:10:58.000 need for
01:10:58.700 conscripts to
01:10:59.540 churn into
01:11:00.080 the Napoleonic
01:11:00.680 meat grinder
01:11:01.260 that we can
01:11:02.200 now look at
01:11:02.740 the Napoleonic
01:11:03.260 myth as
01:11:03.640 something
01:11:03.880 beautiful and
01:11:04.680 wonderful and
01:11:05.540 you know
01:11:06.400 you know
01:11:07.320 Chevaliers
01:11:09.440 and Curassiers
01:11:10.500 you know in
01:11:11.360 Moscow and
01:11:12.020 all that sort
01:11:12.560 of thing and
01:11:13.160 again another
01:11:13.960 very telling
01:11:14.580 quote regarding
01:11:15.520 Napoleon
01:11:15.900 I should have
01:11:16.300 died in
01:11:16.680 Moscow
01:11:17.000 it was almost
01:11:18.780 as if by
01:11:19.560 the end of
01:11:20.420 his time
01:11:21.340 as emperor
01:11:21.880 he had
01:11:23.100 become I
01:11:23.560 think we
01:11:23.860 all understand
01:11:24.360 he had
01:11:24.600 become
01:11:24.800 prematurely
01:11:25.460 old through
01:11:26.660 overexertion
01:11:27.600 and through
01:11:28.160 a series of
01:11:28.740 injuries like
01:11:29.280 Alexandre the
01:11:29.820 Great became
01:11:30.900 prematurely old
01:11:32.120 in his 30s
01:11:33.200 Napoleon was
01:11:33.820 basically mentally
01:11:35.560 and physically
01:11:36.160 in his 60s
01:11:36.960 when he was
01:11:37.260 in his 40s
01:11:38.080 and the
01:11:40.220 effect of this
01:11:40.700 meant you can
01:11:41.160 almost say that
01:11:41.800 Napoleon like
01:11:42.540 Alexandre the
01:11:43.160 Great and
01:11:44.680 his will to
01:11:45.380 say for example
01:11:45.920 find the
01:11:46.880 elusive
01:11:47.880 sea
01:11:50.220 corridor
01:11:50.640 that would
01:11:51.020 take him
01:11:51.340 all the
01:11:51.540 way back
01:11:52.020 to
01:11:52.420 Macedon
01:11:53.440 and to
01:11:54.880 go back
01:11:55.340 by finding
01:11:55.960 basically the
01:11:57.400 end of the
01:11:57.860 world at
01:11:58.260 the end of
01:11:58.620 India etc
01:11:59.320 Napoleon
01:12:01.320 almost becomes
01:12:02.300 a figure of
01:12:03.400 tragic Greek
01:12:04.540 dimensions
01:12:05.180 he becomes a
01:12:06.860 Greek hero
01:12:07.460 there's nothing
01:12:08.060 Christian about
01:12:08.720 this at all
01:12:09.320 it becomes
01:12:10.440 a tale of
01:12:12.020 hubris
01:12:12.500 it's like
01:12:13.520 I may be
01:12:15.120 wrong on this
01:12:15.660 but the
01:12:16.220 Greek god
01:12:16.600 Phaeton
01:12:17.000 who takes
01:12:18.380 over the
01:12:19.260 chariot of
01:12:19.980 Helios
01:12:20.480 which causes
01:12:21.060 the sun
01:12:21.580 to go around
01:12:22.280 the earth
01:12:22.820 and instead
01:12:23.660 of riding
01:12:24.400 it successfully
01:12:25.080 he crashes
01:12:25.620 it into
01:12:26.140 the land
01:12:27.800 and creates
01:12:28.280 the Sahara
01:12:28.800 desert as
01:12:29.380 a result
01:12:29.700 of that
01:12:30.200 so much
01:12:31.640 so in
01:12:31.940 terms of
01:12:32.220 aspiring to
01:12:32.900 a star
01:12:33.320 again
01:12:33.620 you talk
01:12:34.040 about
01:12:34.240 figures
01:12:34.480 like
01:12:34.660 Icarus
01:12:35.200 the man
01:12:35.940 who flew
01:12:36.400 too high
01:12:37.080 then burns
01:12:38.040 then drops
01:12:38.500 to the sea
01:12:38.920 and dies
01:12:39.600 really if
01:12:41.320 you look
01:12:41.600 at Napoleon
01:12:42.060 it almost
01:12:42.460 seems that
01:12:42.940 his own
01:12:43.320 conceit
01:12:43.840 becomes
01:12:44.320 something
01:12:44.740 like an
01:12:45.100 Icarus
01:12:45.500 figure
01:12:45.820 like a
01:12:46.460 figure
01:12:46.640 of tragic
01:12:47.240 Greek
01:12:47.560 dimensions
01:12:48.080 but of course
01:12:48.960 as your
01:12:49.420 hubris
01:12:50.000 grows
01:12:50.340 and as
01:12:50.620 your
01:12:50.740 delusion
01:12:51.120 grows
01:12:51.660 inevitably
01:12:52.760 your
01:12:53.680 effectiveness
01:12:54.160 as a
01:12:54.640 political
01:12:55.000 leader
01:12:55.560 are going
01:12:56.400 to be
01:12:56.660 very
01:12:56.880 conducive
01:12:57.380 to that
01:12:57.680 sort
01:12:57.880 of
01:12:58.000 mentality
01:12:58.500 in the
01:12:59.580 same
01:12:59.760 way
01:12:59.940 that
01:13:00.180 Ney
01:13:00.620 during
01:13:01.260 the
01:13:01.440 battle
01:13:01.680 of
01:13:01.860 Waterloo
01:13:02.380 was
01:13:02.980 determined
01:13:03.400 to die
01:13:03.980 during
01:13:04.320 battle
01:13:04.680 and had
01:13:05.140 I think
01:13:05.500 over a dozen
01:13:06.240 horses
01:13:06.620 shot from
01:13:07.120 under him
01:13:07.620 during the
01:13:08.040 course
01:13:08.240 of the
01:13:08.440 battle
01:13:08.760 as if
01:13:09.540 he had
01:13:09.780 a death
01:13:10.100 wish
01:13:10.440 and his
01:13:11.260 dramatic
01:13:11.620 charge
01:13:12.140 against
01:13:12.480 the
01:13:12.780 British
01:13:13.760 square
01:13:14.180 formations
01:13:14.800 again
01:13:15.240 which was
01:13:15.560 completely
01:13:15.880 doomed
01:13:16.320 it seems
01:13:16.840 that
01:13:17.120 the late
01:13:18.700 Napoleonic
01:13:19.320 empire
01:13:19.660 has this
01:13:20.700 horror
01:13:21.920 of apocalyptic
01:13:23.000 Greek
01:13:23.620 proportions
01:13:24.160 in the
01:13:24.720 end
01:13:25.120 and
01:13:26.120 that is
01:13:27.020 not the
01:13:27.320 sort of
01:13:27.580 thing
01:13:27.780 you want
01:13:28.120 in the
01:13:28.360 ruler
01:13:28.580 who has
01:13:29.080 the best
01:13:29.560 interests
01:13:30.260 of
01:13:31.300 the people
01:13:32.340 in mind
01:13:32.900 especially
01:13:33.360 during
01:13:33.820 the pivotal
01:13:34.940 years of
01:13:35.380 1813
01:13:35.960 where you
01:13:37.120 have a
01:13:37.420 political
01:13:37.700 advocate
01:13:38.080 in the
01:13:38.500 form of
01:13:38.800 a
01:13:38.900 Metanish
01:13:39.420 and again
01:13:40.560 who
01:13:40.940 ultimately
01:13:41.900 tries to
01:13:42.460 come to
01:13:42.800 save
01:13:43.020 France
01:13:43.500 it is
01:13:44.060 the man
01:13:44.940 who is
01:13:45.580 bemoaned
01:13:46.920 as this
01:13:47.260 great
01:13:47.480 nefarious
01:13:48.100 betrayer
01:13:48.900 and corrupt
01:13:49.980 cripple
01:13:53.260 which is
01:13:53.720 Talleyrand
01:13:54.300 Talleyrand
01:13:55.720 is the one
01:13:56.200 negotiating
01:13:56.840 France's
01:13:57.480 position
01:13:57.900 in the
01:13:58.380 concert
01:13:58.760 of Europe
01:13:59.280 and the
01:14:00.180 Congress
01:14:00.540 of Vienna
01:14:01.100 and then
01:14:01.800 oh no
01:14:02.140 Napoleon's
01:14:02.780 come back
01:14:03.220 from Elba
01:14:03.780 now all of
01:14:04.440 my work
01:14:04.900 has been
01:14:05.260 undone
01:14:05.720 and I'm
01:14:06.060 going to
01:14:06.260 have to
01:14:06.500 cede
01:14:06.680 more
01:14:06.920 territories
01:14:07.440 I really
01:14:09.080 must do
01:14:09.740 an epoch
01:14:10.520 on Talleyrand
01:14:11.380 I've
01:14:11.600 meant to
01:14:12.020 for years
01:14:12.780 but I
01:14:13.000 really
01:14:13.120 must do
01:14:13.400 that
01:14:13.560 so
01:14:14.580 when we
01:14:15.560 look at
01:14:15.900 France
01:14:16.240 post
01:14:16.780 Napoleon
01:14:17.280 I mean
01:14:17.620 post
01:14:18.020 hundred
01:14:18.540 days
01:14:19.000 he's
01:14:19.460 in
01:14:20.260 St Helena
01:14:21.000 or he's
01:14:21.400 dead
01:14:21.660 the rest
01:14:24.320 of the
01:14:24.540 19th century
01:14:25.360 we've got
01:14:27.400 the restoration
01:14:28.100 of the
01:14:30.220 Bourbons
01:14:30.660 right
01:14:31.280 but then
01:14:31.680 that doesn't
01:14:32.180 last all
01:14:32.680 that long
01:14:33.320 and then
01:14:34.500 we've got
01:14:34.800 various
01:14:35.240 republics
01:14:35.960 and even
01:14:36.300 to this
01:14:36.600 day
01:14:36.800 as you
01:14:37.020 say
01:14:37.200 I mean
01:14:37.480 I think
01:14:38.340 the
01:14:38.580 French
01:14:38.820 demographic
01:14:39.380 was
01:14:41.620 terribly
01:14:42.320 terribly
01:14:42.900 wounded
01:14:45.960 by
01:14:46.400 World
01:14:46.860 War
01:14:47.020 I
01:14:47.320 but even
01:14:48.420 before that
01:14:48.900 the Napoleonic
01:14:49.680 era
01:14:50.320 you know
01:14:50.560 it's a hundred
01:14:51.020 years before
01:14:51.620 but still
01:14:52.280 on a demographic
01:14:54.140 level
01:14:54.720 it wounded
01:14:56.140 France
01:14:56.960 right
01:14:58.240 you would
01:14:58.820 say
01:14:59.100 I don't think
01:15:00.180 it's an exaggeration
01:15:00.900 to say
01:15:01.260 that a
01:15:02.260 generation
01:15:02.860 of men
01:15:04.500 folk
01:15:04.800 was sort of
01:15:05.200 smashed
01:15:05.540 or very
01:15:05.940 nearly
01:15:06.240 something like
01:15:06.840 that
01:15:07.160 but do you
01:15:08.420 think
01:15:08.800 and this is pure
01:15:09.820 sort of
01:15:10.840 alternative history
01:15:11.820 speculation
01:15:12.460 and stuff
01:15:12.940 but do you
01:15:13.660 think
01:15:13.920 imagine
01:15:14.560 the campaign
01:15:16.320 of 1812
01:15:17.160 had been
01:15:17.540 successful
01:15:18.120 so to say
01:15:19.380 and imagine
01:15:20.720 Napoleon
01:15:22.260 had lived
01:15:23.200 to a fairly
01:15:24.040 decent old age
01:15:24.980 and he'd
01:15:25.320 kept
01:15:25.680 imagine
01:15:27.820 eventually
01:15:28.500 he was
01:15:28.980 victorious
01:15:30.020 in Spain
01:15:30.500 and Portugal
01:15:30.960 and just
01:15:32.240 imagine
01:15:32.520 the whole
01:15:32.780 project
01:15:33.120 wasn't a
01:15:33.680 failure
01:15:33.980 and he'd
01:15:35.120 lived out
01:15:35.560 his days
01:15:36.340 like a
01:15:37.260 Charlemagne
01:15:37.740 would we
01:15:40.040 then
01:15:40.480 do you
01:15:41.000 think
01:15:41.220 would history
01:15:41.860 would people
01:15:43.800 like us
01:15:44.400 200 years
01:15:45.180 later
01:15:45.620 say
01:15:48.420 it was
01:15:48.740 still
01:15:49.080 he was
01:15:49.720 still
01:15:49.920 basically
01:15:50.360 a complete
01:15:51.080 a catastrophe
01:15:52.380 for France
01:15:53.300 despite
01:15:54.260 still
01:15:54.820 the millions
01:15:55.460 of men
01:15:56.040 that will
01:15:56.340 have died
01:15:56.800 the millions
01:15:57.780 of families
01:15:58.380 that went
01:15:58.840 through the
01:15:59.220 misery
01:15:59.540 and etc
01:16:00.160 etc
01:16:00.540 do you
01:16:01.300 think
01:16:01.440 it's
01:16:01.620 really
01:16:03.040 mainly
01:16:03.420 because
01:16:03.860 the whole
01:16:04.780 project
01:16:05.280 was a
01:16:06.140 failure
01:16:06.460 that we
01:16:07.040 view him
01:16:09.580 this way
01:16:10.080 was the
01:16:14.200 glory worth it
01:16:15.020 I suppose
01:16:15.400 I'm asking
01:16:15.820 to my answer
01:16:17.260 to my answer
01:16:17.280 again
01:16:17.720 it's
01:16:18.020 the fact
01:16:19.940 that the
01:16:20.200 failure
01:16:20.460 was complete
01:16:21.320 and the
01:16:21.900 fact that
01:16:22.160 the failure
01:16:22.540 was avoidable
01:16:23.300 is my
01:16:24.080 issue
01:16:24.320 I mean
01:16:24.560 if we're
01:16:25.200 going to
01:16:25.440 go into
01:16:25.720 alternative
01:16:26.360 history
01:16:26.980 it's an
01:16:27.500 interesting
01:16:27.720 question
01:16:28.220 okay what
01:16:29.360 would a
01:16:29.640 victory in
01:16:30.360 Russia look
01:16:31.460 like
01:16:31.860 you have
01:16:33.540 the Tsar
01:16:34.380 kowtowing
01:16:35.060 to Napoleon
01:16:36.000 and saying
01:16:36.440 please don't
01:16:36.980 hurt me
01:16:37.320 I will do
01:16:37.820 anything for
01:16:38.460 you
01:16:38.720 well that
01:16:39.660 wasn't going
01:16:40.080 to happen
01:16:40.480 because Russia
01:16:41.420 had learnt
01:16:41.780 its lesson
01:16:42.220 by then
01:16:42.740 and had
01:16:43.040 greater
01:16:43.360 strategic
01:16:43.800 depth
01:16:44.200 so what
01:16:46.320 would a
01:16:46.620 victory
01:16:47.000 realistically
01:16:47.940 look like
01:16:48.560 in Russia
01:16:49.080 had Napoleon
01:16:50.000 okay
01:16:50.580 victory would
01:16:52.740 have looked
01:16:53.080 like Napoleon
01:16:54.040 not going
01:16:54.720 as far as
01:16:55.240 Borodino
01:16:55.760 and deciding
01:16:57.720 to carve
01:16:58.320 off western
01:16:59.220 Russia
01:16:59.700 and give it
01:17:00.320 to Poland
01:17:01.020 that feasibly
01:17:03.220 to my mind
01:17:03.860 is the best
01:17:04.580 you could have
01:17:04.940 got because
01:17:05.400 the further
01:17:05.900 the Grand
01:17:06.380 Armée
01:17:06.720 marches
01:17:07.140 into Russia
01:17:07.700 the more
01:17:08.540 devastation
01:17:09.140 is raw
01:17:09.440 people think
01:17:10.060 about the
01:17:10.620 retreat
01:17:11.500 from Moscow
01:17:12.260 no it
01:17:13.340 was the
01:17:13.600 march
01:17:13.980 through the
01:17:14.360 Pripyat
01:17:14.780 marches
01:17:15.340 that killed
01:17:16.020 more people
01:17:16.720 than the
01:17:17.220 exile from
01:17:18.120 Moscow
01:17:19.300 should have
01:17:20.740 never gone
01:17:21.080 beyond Smolensk
01:17:21.860 or something
01:17:22.260 well you
01:17:23.120 shouldn't
01:17:23.280 have even
01:17:23.440 gone to
01:17:23.760 Smolensk
01:17:24.320 really you
01:17:25.140 shouldn't
01:17:25.340 have gone
01:17:25.880 past
01:17:26.160 Vilnius
01:17:27.240 the capital
01:17:28.460 of Lithuania
01:17:29.120 go that
01:17:29.860 far
01:17:30.100 don't go
01:17:30.440 past
01:17:30.700 Minsk
01:17:31.300 you know
01:17:32.580 consolidate
01:17:33.580 a larger
01:17:34.540 Poland
01:17:34.920 but you
01:17:35.400 still have
01:17:35.840 a hostile
01:17:36.760 Russia
01:17:37.260 that's not
01:17:38.560 going to
01:17:38.840 treat you
01:17:39.180 any well
01:17:39.600 if we're
01:17:40.360 in the
01:17:40.540 realms of
01:17:40.880 fantasy
01:17:41.160 imagine
01:17:41.520 he'd
01:17:41.840 follow
01:17:42.160 Alexander
01:17:43.080 to the
01:17:43.500 ends of
01:17:43.860 the earth
01:17:44.260 to Siberia
01:17:45.320 and eventually
01:17:46.000 wiped him
01:17:46.460 out
01:17:46.660 just imagine
01:17:47.260 somehow
01:17:47.680 and somehow
01:17:49.840 we'd beaten
01:17:50.360 Wellington
01:17:50.840 in Spain
01:17:51.540 well like I
01:17:52.720 said I
01:17:53.080 mean
01:17:53.260 it would have
01:17:55.900 been predicated
01:17:56.600 around what
01:17:57.440 modern Europe
01:17:58.780 is trying to
01:17:59.300 do which is
01:17:59.900 the destruction
01:18:00.460 of Russian
01:18:01.480 civilization
01:18:02.080 and Russian
01:18:02.520 identity
01:18:02.980 and
01:18:04.240 realistically
01:18:05.520 the only way
01:18:06.200 Napoleon could
01:18:06.800 have done that
01:18:07.340 is by appeal
01:18:08.160 to Swedish
01:18:09.880 to Swedish
01:18:09.900 and Portuguese
01:18:10.960 and Ottomans
01:18:12.280 to seize
01:18:13.840 all the territory
01:18:14.500 that had been
01:18:15.060 taken from them
01:18:16.060 in the preceding
01:18:16.720 century
01:18:17.180 but even then
01:18:18.140 that wouldn't
01:18:18.460 have destroyed
01:18:18.900 Russia
01:18:19.340 that would have
01:18:20.100 simply made
01:18:20.640 Russia
01:18:21.000 relatively the
01:18:22.300 same size
01:18:22.940 of what she
01:18:23.380 is today
01:18:23.960 it was still
01:18:24.920 formidable
01:18:25.340 in the future
01:18:26.020 but ultimately
01:18:27.080 the idea
01:18:27.840 would have been
01:18:28.300 to give
01:18:28.660 Napoleon
01:18:29.080 enough time
01:18:29.860 to construct
01:18:31.040 a fleet
01:18:31.520 or allow
01:18:32.920 for the
01:18:33.440 trade interdiction
01:18:35.700 to bear fruits
01:18:36.820 and force
01:18:37.360 Britain
01:18:37.680 to make
01:18:38.060 peace
01:18:38.520 again
01:18:40.480 that's another
01:18:41.380 great question
01:18:42.160 even if
01:18:43.160 Napoleon
01:18:43.860 had arrived
01:18:44.360 in London
01:18:44.860 there's another
01:18:45.920 tragic element
01:18:46.720 to it
01:18:47.180 which is
01:18:47.920 as so much
01:18:48.580 of the
01:18:48.860 Napoleonic
01:18:49.380 political
01:18:49.920 system
01:18:50.340 was built
01:18:50.800 around
01:18:51.300 harnessing
01:18:52.520 all of
01:18:52.880 Europe's
01:18:53.280 might
01:18:53.600 and severing
01:18:54.600 British trade
01:18:55.280 from the
01:18:55.580 continent
01:18:55.940 okay
01:18:57.280 let's assume
01:18:58.300 Napoleon
01:18:58.800 took over
01:18:59.360 London
01:18:59.780 then
01:19:01.400 the reason
01:19:02.260 for your
01:19:02.580 empire
01:19:02.940 existing
01:19:03.560 has ceased
01:19:04.940 to be
01:19:05.620 your empire
01:19:06.460 is simply
01:19:06.860 there in fact
01:19:07.580 and has no
01:19:08.060 enemies anymore
01:19:08.920 and of course
01:19:10.240 as we know
01:19:10.760 when an empire
01:19:11.480 is basically
01:19:12.100 left without
01:19:12.760 you know
01:19:13.140 a reason
01:19:13.600 to exist
01:19:14.260 it can
01:19:15.700 eventually
01:19:16.280 lapse
01:19:16.840 into complacency
01:19:18.040 and in the
01:19:19.080 case of Napoleon
01:19:19.780 why I bring up
01:19:20.660 the examples
01:19:21.240 of German
01:19:21.920 British
01:19:22.300 and Italian
01:19:23.360 and Spanish
01:19:23.980 nationalism
01:19:24.560 so importantly
01:19:25.680 is the fact
01:19:27.460 that even
01:19:28.800 if you try
01:19:29.280 to create
01:19:29.820 a empire
01:19:30.680 of Europe
01:19:31.060 which is
01:19:32.080 ultimately
01:19:32.400 the Napoleonic
01:19:33.000 trajectory
01:19:33.440 the way
01:19:34.600 Napoleon
01:19:35.080 governed
01:19:35.560 dictatorially
01:19:36.840 unilaterally
01:19:38.960 without
01:19:40.060 consulting
01:19:40.920 anyone
01:19:41.260 even members
01:19:41.940 of his
01:19:42.420 smaller
01:19:43.640 ever growing
01:19:44.280 smaller circle
01:19:45.080 and his own
01:19:45.520 family
01:19:45.960 the fact
01:19:46.880 that he
01:19:47.160 would be
01:19:47.560 willing
01:19:47.800 to demean
01:19:49.440 his highest
01:19:50.280 ranking generals
01:19:51.040 in front of
01:19:51.620 their own men
01:19:52.200 thereby causing
01:19:53.020 loss of morale
01:19:54.480 and things like
01:19:55.060 that
01:19:55.460 inevitably
01:19:56.920 I believe
01:19:58.220 that Napoleon's
01:19:58.900 empire would
01:19:59.420 have collapsed
01:20:00.000 after his
01:20:00.700 death
01:20:01.000 given the
01:20:02.740 tides of
01:20:03.160 nationalism
01:20:03.660 and given
01:20:04.360 the whole
01:20:04.720 impetus
01:20:05.140 the French
01:20:05.580 Revolution
01:20:06.040 you will
01:20:07.120 instead have
01:20:07.800 a situation
01:20:08.380 like we
01:20:08.680 saw with
01:20:08.940 Alexander
01:20:09.360 you might
01:20:10.680 have local
01:20:11.240 rulers
01:20:11.580 or you
01:20:12.060 might have
01:20:12.440 the
01:20:12.960 marshals
01:20:14.400 turning into
01:20:14.960 the
01:20:15.100 diodoshi
01:20:15.640 the successors
01:20:17.200 or after
01:20:17.780 Charlemagne
01:20:18.340 I mean
01:20:19.120 Louis
01:20:19.600 his own
01:20:21.160 children
01:20:21.640 deposed him
01:20:22.300 didn't last
01:20:23.540 long after
01:20:24.040 Charlemagne
01:20:24.440 it was
01:20:25.100 only 50
01:20:26.400 years
01:20:26.860 after
01:20:27.620 Charlemagne
01:20:28.180 was made
01:20:28.600 emperor
01:20:28.940 that his
01:20:29.340 empire
01:20:29.660 began to
01:20:30.300 collapse
01:20:30.660 and divide
01:20:31.240 and even
01:20:32.160 then I think
01:20:32.820 we would
01:20:33.200 perhaps look
01:20:33.800 at this
01:20:34.140 and say
01:20:34.580 that
01:20:34.980 Napoleon
01:20:36.180 was a
01:20:36.860 great
01:20:37.260 military
01:20:37.620 conqueror
01:20:38.220 in the
01:20:38.480 same way
01:20:38.840 that we
01:20:39.220 perhaps
01:20:40.680 again we
01:20:41.580 can look
01:20:41.900 at him
01:20:42.180 more like
01:20:42.520 a
01:20:42.640 Charlemagne
01:20:43.060 figure
01:20:43.400 and there's
01:20:44.980 a greater
01:20:45.660 reverence to
01:20:46.340 him of
01:20:46.700 course
01:20:47.040 by that
01:20:47.460 extension
01:20:47.900 but
01:20:48.900 ultimately
01:20:49.380 even then
01:20:50.960 his legacy
01:20:52.140 for France
01:20:52.880 we still
01:20:54.300 have to
01:20:54.640 have various
01:20:55.560 inverted
01:20:55.900 question marks
01:20:56.580 as to
01:20:56.960 how good
01:20:57.940 that legacy
01:20:58.520 would have
01:20:58.920 been
01:20:59.240 a legacy
01:21:00.240 of conquest
01:21:00.840 but like
01:21:01.360 I said
01:21:01.800 what
01:21:03.080 distances
01:21:03.960 Napoleon
01:21:04.580 from the
01:21:04.980 beginning
01:21:05.340 of the
01:21:06.060 consulate
01:21:06.460 versus
01:21:06.800 late
01:21:07.120 empire
01:21:07.480 Napoleon
01:21:07.940 is that
01:21:09.080 the empire
01:21:09.640 becomes
01:21:10.120 less
01:21:10.460 distinctly
01:21:11.020 French
01:21:11.500 and France
01:21:12.640 only becomes
01:21:13.220 a component
01:21:13.680 of that
01:21:14.280 is it
01:21:15.040 better to
01:21:15.460 have a
01:21:15.940 greater
01:21:16.680 consolidated
01:21:17.500 unitary
01:21:18.340 monolingual
01:21:20.500 France
01:21:21.080 or to
01:21:22.280 have a
01:21:22.560 Napoleonic
01:21:23.040 empire
01:21:23.500 in which
01:21:24.540 France
01:21:24.820 is lost
01:21:25.420 again
01:21:26.460 it's so
01:21:27.120 much so
01:21:27.600 that
01:21:27.880 France
01:21:28.520 is only
01:21:29.060 an aspect
01:21:29.760 of Napoleon's
01:21:30.600 ambitions
01:21:31.020 because his
01:21:31.660 ambition is
01:21:32.120 limitless
01:21:32.680 effectively
01:21:33.360 in the same
01:21:34.720 way that
01:21:35.140 you know
01:21:35.500 one question
01:21:36.760 which I
01:21:37.120 think is
01:21:37.740 interesting to
01:21:39.940 consider
01:21:40.280 are we
01:21:41.280 better off
01:21:42.000 or worse
01:21:42.480 off having
01:21:42.920 the British
01:21:43.300 empire
01:21:43.740 ultimately
01:21:44.760 in France
01:21:47.120 of course
01:21:47.580 the issue
01:21:48.020 would have
01:21:48.300 been more
01:21:48.680 pronounced
01:21:49.120 because they
01:21:49.720 would have
01:21:49.940 been all
01:21:50.280 of France's
01:21:50.800 neighbours
01:21:51.100 and so
01:21:51.820 the reality
01:21:52.300 of empire
01:21:52.820 would have
01:21:53.120 been even
01:21:53.460 stronger to
01:21:54.100 France than
01:21:54.580 it is for
01:21:55.060 us
01:21:55.420 so
01:21:56.660 yes
01:21:58.280 everywhere I
01:21:58.840 look at
01:21:59.120 it
01:21:59.360 I
01:22:00.620 I'm reminded
01:22:03.980 of you know
01:22:04.640 all those
01:22:05.240 derogatory
01:22:06.700 almost cartoonish
01:22:08.460 not just
01:22:09.160 almost literal
01:22:10.000 cartoons of
01:22:10.720 Napoleon
01:22:11.120 you know
01:22:12.020 Boney the
01:22:13.400 Ogre
01:22:13.800 you know
01:22:14.700 Boney the
01:22:15.120 Monster
01:22:15.500 and all
01:22:16.560 that sort
01:22:16.880 of thing
01:22:17.260 and I
01:22:18.060 think in
01:22:18.360 terms of
01:22:18.680 someone who
01:22:19.160 was a
01:22:19.500 slave to
01:22:19.980 his own
01:22:20.280 ambition
01:22:20.680 in terms
01:22:21.700 of in
01:22:22.100 contrast to
01:22:22.900 Nietzsche
01:22:23.300 as being
01:22:23.720 liberty as
01:22:24.480 the death
01:22:24.800 of ego
01:22:25.160 a man
01:22:25.580 who was
01:22:25.960 ego
01:22:27.140 incarnate
01:22:27.800 I think
01:22:28.940 there is
01:22:29.180 something
01:22:29.480 primordial
01:22:30.400 and disturbing
01:22:31.160 about the
01:22:32.260 whole notion
01:22:32.800 of that
01:22:33.800 sort of
01:22:34.160 man
01:22:34.520 being able
01:22:35.440 to assume
01:22:35.940 total power
01:22:36.740 without
01:22:37.380 limitations
01:22:38.000 because as
01:22:39.140 I've described
01:22:39.700 Napoleon
01:22:40.360 with
01:22:40.600 limitations
01:22:41.140 worked
01:22:42.340 better
01:22:42.740 when
01:22:43.200 Napoleon
01:22:43.560 had to
01:22:44.140 cooperate
01:22:44.860 and establish
01:22:45.520 consensus
01:22:46.060 and he
01:22:46.900 represented
01:22:47.400 a clear
01:22:48.060 backing
01:22:49.040 from the
01:22:50.000 French
01:22:50.180 political
01:22:50.500 class
01:22:50.920 and he
01:22:51.080 was willing
01:22:51.380 to negotiate
01:22:52.120 with other
01:22:52.540 European
01:22:52.880 rulers
01:22:53.320 but Napoleon
01:22:54.940 alone
01:22:55.380 is something
01:22:56.860 terrible to
01:22:57.700 behold
01:22:58.120 as all
01:22:58.760 Europe did
01:22:59.220 in the
01:22:59.460 1810s
01:23:00.300 Do you
01:23:02.100 think it
01:23:02.420 would have
01:23:02.820 been
01:23:03.240 ideal
01:23:05.720 after the
01:23:07.760 war of
01:23:08.000 the
01:23:08.160 second
01:23:08.580 coalition
01:23:08.960 would have
01:23:09.200 been
01:23:09.300 after the
01:23:09.720 peace of
01:23:10.020 Amiens
01:23:10.260 that you
01:23:10.480 mentioned
01:23:10.920 after
01:23:12.480 Marengo
01:23:14.180 he's done
01:23:15.980 the northern
01:23:16.440 Italy thing
01:23:17.260 he's entered
01:23:18.300 Vienna
01:23:18.780 left Vienna
01:23:19.700 that period
01:23:21.900 if he could
01:23:24.080 have
01:23:24.320 somehow
01:23:25.760 stopped
01:23:27.160 there
01:23:27.300 I know
01:23:27.560 he wouldn't
01:23:28.060 have done
01:23:28.420 it wasn't
01:23:28.900 as we've
01:23:29.780 said
01:23:29.940 it wasn't
01:23:30.600 in his
01:23:30.900 nature
01:23:31.200 to sort
01:23:31.560 of stop
01:23:32.040 in inverted
01:23:32.700 commas
01:23:32.960 there
01:23:33.200 but
01:23:33.440 if he
01:23:34.200 could
01:23:34.320 have
01:23:34.500 stopped
01:23:36.940 himself
01:23:37.400 from
01:23:37.640 further
01:23:38.220 military
01:23:39.200 conquests
01:23:39.900 and
01:23:40.380 started
01:23:41.040 trying
01:23:41.360 to
01:23:41.740 play
01:23:43.080 ball
01:23:43.500 with
01:23:44.040 the
01:23:44.160 rest
01:23:44.360 of
01:23:44.480 the
01:23:44.580 world
01:23:44.980 if
01:23:47.200 he'd
01:23:48.020 done
01:23:48.220 that
01:23:48.620 do you
01:23:49.660 think
01:23:49.840 maybe
01:23:50.260 then
01:23:51.120 his
01:23:53.260 memory
01:23:53.880 his
01:23:54.140 legacy
01:23:54.540 his
01:23:55.080 place
01:23:55.360 in
01:23:55.520 history
01:23:55.960 and
01:23:59.180 his
01:24:00.720 ability
01:24:02.580 to make
01:24:03.120 France
01:24:04.020 great
01:24:05.040 again
01:24:05.440 I think
01:24:06.360 his legacy
01:24:07.080 to answer
01:24:07.500 your question
01:24:07.820 I think
01:24:08.200 his legacy
01:24:08.880 if that
01:24:10.100 had
01:24:10.240 happened
01:24:10.640 because
01:24:11.840 it would
01:24:12.080 have
01:24:12.180 literally
01:24:12.460 been
01:24:12.940 a
01:24:13.460 destabilizing
01:24:14.520 republic
01:24:14.980 he comes
01:24:16.120 in
01:24:16.440 wins
01:24:17.060 one
01:24:17.340 victory
01:24:17.780 his
01:24:18.180 general
01:24:18.420 also
01:24:19.000 wins
01:24:19.300 Hohenlinden
01:24:19.800 comes
01:24:20.520 back
01:24:20.940 and uses
01:24:21.720 Talleyrand
01:24:22.220 to secure
01:24:22.700 peace
01:24:23.100 and alliances
01:24:23.600 with all
01:24:24.080 other European
01:24:24.620 nations
01:24:25.220 that I
01:24:26.000 don't
01:24:26.220 continue
01:24:26.600 to
01:24:26.820 expand
01:24:27.240 I
01:24:28.380 work
01:24:28.680 within
01:24:29.000 the
01:24:29.320 bounds
01:24:29.740 of
01:24:29.880 international
01:24:30.300 diplomacy
01:24:30.860 and I
01:24:31.900 have
01:24:32.080 to try
01:24:32.440 a
01:24:32.680 very
01:24:33.160 delicate
01:24:33.540 balancing
01:24:34.060 act
01:24:34.400 to ensure
01:24:34.800 Britain
01:24:35.260 doesn't
01:24:36.360 feel
01:24:36.660 threatened
01:24:37.120 and thereby
01:24:38.220 have the
01:24:39.080 situation
01:24:39.500 where Britain
01:24:39.900 declared war
01:24:40.400 in 1803
01:24:41.040 because that
01:24:41.860 would have
01:24:42.380 been a very
01:24:42.740 difficult thing
01:24:43.340 to achieve
01:24:43.740 regardless
01:24:44.160 but Napoleon
01:24:44.760 was the
01:24:45.060 worst person
01:24:45.580 to have
01:24:45.900 for that
01:24:46.200 if
01:24:47.920 that had
01:24:48.760 been the
01:24:49.020 case
01:24:49.400 Napoleon
01:24:49.880 I think
01:24:50.180 would have
01:24:50.380 been
01:24:50.500 looked on
01:24:50.980 kind of
01:24:51.440 like
01:24:51.740 how
01:24:52.760 monarchists
01:24:54.140 and
01:24:54.460 Catholics
01:24:54.840 look at
01:24:55.200 Francisco
01:24:55.580 Franco
01:24:55.980 as in
01:24:58.500 someone who
01:24:59.080 comes in
01:24:59.780 and restores
01:25:00.780 order
01:25:01.180 and peace
01:25:02.320 effectively
01:25:03.220 and I think
01:25:04.800 a champion
01:25:05.800 and a hero
01:25:06.400 a champion
01:25:07.020 and a hero
01:25:07.600 and a nationalist
01:25:08.380 could genuinely
01:25:08.940 look up to him
01:25:09.640 as a shining star
01:25:11.400 yes
01:25:11.680 yes I mean
01:25:11.960 in the same
01:25:12.380 again
01:25:12.920 to look
01:25:13.200 at my
01:25:13.360 Franco
01:25:13.600 it's
01:25:13.760 embarrassing
01:25:14.160 people
01:25:15.080 in Franco's
01:25:16.840 instance
01:25:17.100 were frustrated
01:25:17.760 because
01:25:18.160 Franco
01:25:18.560 basically
01:25:20.020 eliminated
01:25:20.720 a political
01:25:21.360 faction
01:25:21.820 known as
01:25:22.240 Carlism
01:25:22.700 which were
01:25:23.120 the equivalent
01:25:23.700 to like
01:25:24.020 the Bourbon
01:25:24.520 legitimist
01:25:25.120 monarchists
01:25:25.580 in France
01:25:26.020 and he
01:25:27.600 also
01:25:28.020 basically
01:25:29.540 designated
01:25:30.240 a junior
01:25:30.940 prince
01:25:31.420 who was
01:25:31.680 later
01:25:31.840 Juan
01:25:32.140 Carlos
01:25:32.620 to become
01:25:34.160 his successor
01:25:34.640 of King
01:25:35.040 of Spain
01:25:35.480 so that
01:25:36.820 didn't
01:25:37.740 appease
01:25:38.180 anyone
01:25:38.420 really
01:25:38.800 he was
01:25:39.980 basically
01:25:40.320 a general
01:25:40.880 ruling as
01:25:41.720 regent
01:25:42.160 over Spain
01:25:42.800 very similar
01:25:44.400 to how
01:25:44.700 Napoleon
01:25:45.140 would have
01:25:45.440 ruled
01:25:45.660 as a
01:25:46.020 conservative
01:25:46.480 consul
01:25:46.900 over France
01:25:47.400 so if
01:25:47.980 Napoleon
01:25:48.380 had stayed
01:25:48.920 as simply
01:25:49.680 first consul
01:25:51.020 he never
01:25:52.500 went for
01:25:52.820 the full
01:25:53.400 blown
01:25:53.720 imperial
01:25:54.340 crown
01:25:55.660 indeed
01:25:56.940 there could
01:25:57.280 have been
01:25:57.500 an opportunity
01:25:58.700 to have
01:26:00.060 a French
01:26:01.060 prince
01:26:01.580 succeed him
01:26:02.480 at some
01:26:02.800 point
01:26:03.220 when he
01:26:04.480 died
01:26:04.880 again
01:26:06.020 we're talking
01:26:06.440 into hypotheticals
01:26:07.480 but I think
01:26:08.580 counterfactuals
01:26:09.660 are very important
01:26:10.300 in understanding
01:26:10.900 history
01:26:11.340 because
01:26:11.740 not just
01:26:14.920 they're fun
01:26:15.300 you have to
01:26:15.680 understand
01:26:16.100 that
01:26:16.480 people at
01:26:18.020 various points
01:26:18.520 in history
01:26:18.980 are facing
01:26:20.100 a series
01:26:20.620 of possibilities
01:26:21.380 ahead of
01:26:22.060 them
01:26:22.260 and it
01:26:23.760 is
01:26:24.240 I would
01:26:26.020 say
01:26:26.240 stupid
01:26:27.100 and
01:26:27.580 deterministic
01:26:28.460 to say
01:26:29.280 that the
01:26:29.600 things that
01:26:29.940 happened
01:26:30.220 are the
01:26:30.500 only things
01:26:30.980 that could
01:26:31.280 have
01:26:31.420 happened
01:26:31.740 but I
01:26:33.100 think
01:26:33.460 that
01:26:34.300 Franco
01:26:34.740 example
01:26:35.220 in terms
01:26:35.920 of the
01:26:36.400 consul
01:26:37.120 Bonaparte
01:26:38.460 would have
01:26:39.680 been a
01:26:39.940 much better
01:26:40.600 trajectory
01:26:41.120 for France
01:26:41.680 to follow
01:26:42.060 on from
01:26:42.640 than
01:26:43.120 Boney
01:26:46.200 the
01:26:46.400 ogre
01:26:46.760 becoming
01:26:47.380 emperor
01:26:48.500 of Europe
01:26:48.940 which is
01:26:49.740 ultimately
01:26:50.400 the timeline
01:26:50.920 that France
01:26:51.360 went down
01:26:51.840 and him
01:26:53.020 never having
01:26:53.600 the self
01:26:55.580 awareness
01:26:55.900 to realise
01:26:56.480 that he
01:26:56.920 was in many
01:26:57.360 ways the
01:26:57.680 author of
01:26:58.060 his own
01:26:58.300 destruction
01:26:58.780 instead he
01:26:59.540 had to
01:26:59.780 blame everyone
01:27:00.360 for betraying
01:27:01.020 him
01:27:01.260 of course
01:27:02.480 if you're
01:27:03.640 going to
01:27:03.900 rule as a
01:27:04.320 educator
01:27:04.700 it's kind
01:27:05.160 of like
01:27:05.440 Henry II
01:27:06.100 who I know
01:27:06.620 you've also
01:27:07.020 covered
01:27:07.460 amassing all
01:27:08.980 power to
01:27:09.400 yourself
01:27:09.860 no wonder
01:27:10.620 your younger
01:27:11.500 sons who
01:27:12.240 expect a share
01:27:13.020 in the feudal
01:27:13.520 power going
01:27:14.020 to rebel
01:27:14.380 against you
01:27:15.060 such is the
01:27:16.280 logic of
01:27:16.680 power
01:27:16.980 you have a
01:27:17.720 weak starting
01:27:18.380 point and yet
01:27:19.240 you assume
01:27:19.960 that you can
01:27:21.300 dictate to
01:27:22.620 everyone whether
01:27:23.240 they be
01:27:23.600 paupers or
01:27:24.240 kings as if
01:27:25.060 they are
01:27:25.340 simply soldiers
01:27:26.440 in your
01:27:26.860 army
01:27:27.220 no doubt
01:27:28.220 you're going
01:27:28.580 to have
01:27:28.780 betrayals
01:27:29.320 as eventually
01:27:29.860 everyone
01:27:30.400 effectively did
01:27:31.080 to Napoleon
01:27:31.640 except
01:27:32.440 some
01:27:32.920 poor old
01:27:34.240 sword like
01:27:34.740 Koulancourt
01:27:35.380 it's
01:27:38.120 interesting
01:27:38.380 I'm glad
01:27:39.020 we're
01:27:39.360 essentially
01:27:40.120 of the
01:27:40.460 same
01:27:40.660 mind
01:27:41.040 that
01:27:41.520 he
01:27:41.780 ultimately
01:27:43.360 wasn't
01:27:44.940 good
01:27:45.260 for
01:27:46.440 France
01:27:46.880 any other
01:27:48.280 sort of
01:27:48.640 thoughts
01:27:49.200 or any
01:27:49.460 other big
01:27:49.840 sort of
01:27:50.160 themes
01:27:50.560 that we
01:27:51.460 haven't
01:27:51.740 covered
01:27:52.020 that you
01:27:52.300 think
01:27:52.540 are
01:27:52.720 vitally
01:27:55.000 important
01:27:55.280 to our
01:27:56.340 view
01:27:57.040 I think
01:27:58.380 again
01:27:58.760 a lot
01:27:59.060 of
01:27:59.200 people
01:27:59.560 I think
01:28:01.960 will be
01:28:02.280 frustrated
01:28:02.800 with my
01:28:03.240 view
01:28:03.500 because
01:28:03.780 it seems
01:28:04.200 to be
01:28:04.460 an
01:28:04.600 admonition
01:28:05.020 against
01:28:05.360 the
01:28:05.520 great
01:28:05.760 man
01:28:06.220 as in
01:28:08.020 the
01:28:08.160 notion
01:28:08.500 that
01:28:08.960 we
01:28:09.700 should
01:28:09.900 look
01:28:10.060 to
01:28:10.200 heroes
01:28:10.440 in
01:28:10.740 history
01:28:10.760 He wasn't
01:28:10.820 that great
01:28:11.140 wasn't
01:28:11.360 he died
01:28:11.780 in prison
01:28:12.340 you can't
01:28:13.720 be great
01:28:14.160 if you die
01:28:14.680 in prison
01:28:15.140 really
01:28:15.960 can you
01:28:16.420 well
01:28:17.540 I guess
01:28:18.520 it's all
01:28:19.080 about
01:28:19.320 context
01:28:19.840 really
01:28:20.180 but
01:28:20.440 even
01:28:21.480 looking
01:28:22.100 at
01:28:22.240 the whole
01:28:24.660 notion
01:28:25.320 of a
01:28:25.560 great
01:28:25.740 man
01:28:26.060 take
01:28:26.900 Carlisle
01:28:27.320 for
01:28:27.520 instance
01:28:28.040 the
01:28:29.760 issue
01:28:30.220 that
01:28:30.440 Carlisle
01:28:31.460 had
01:28:31.720 with
01:28:31.860 Napoleon
01:28:32.240 was
01:28:32.460 actually
01:28:32.680 the
01:28:32.860 issue
01:28:33.040 which
01:28:33.220 I'm
01:28:33.400 praising
01:28:33.700 him
01:28:33.960 for
01:28:34.240 which
01:28:35.120 is
01:28:35.240 that
01:28:35.380 he
01:28:35.540 believed
01:28:36.040 that
01:28:36.240 Napoleon
01:28:36.620 would
01:28:36.800 have
01:28:36.880 been
01:28:36.980 a
01:28:37.100 greater
01:28:37.320 man
01:28:37.780 had
01:28:38.420 he
01:28:38.560 been
01:28:38.760 a
01:28:38.940 pure
01:28:39.200 embodiment
01:28:39.840 of that
01:28:40.160 Jacobin
01:28:40.620 spirit
01:28:41.080 without
01:28:41.700 the
01:28:42.240 pseudo
01:28:43.100 political
01:28:43.940 Catholic
01:28:44.480 elements
01:28:44.980 that I've
01:28:45.420 been
01:28:45.580 mentioning
01:28:46.000 essentially
01:28:46.860 in
01:28:47.600 in other
01:28:47.780 in other
01:28:47.800 words
01:28:48.000 had he
01:28:48.300 been
01:28:48.500 a
01:28:48.760 pure
01:28:49.200 spirit
01:28:49.820 embodying
01:28:50.420 a
01:28:50.580 certain
01:28:50.980 emancipated
01:28:52.400 ideology
01:28:52.960 free from
01:28:53.620 the
01:28:53.760 constraints
01:28:54.140 of
01:28:54.280 historical
01:28:54.660 context
01:28:55.180 and imposing
01:28:55.680 that on
01:28:56.040 Europe
01:28:56.260 in many
01:28:56.680 ways
01:28:56.940 had he
01:28:57.280 been
01:28:57.420 more
01:28:57.620 terrible
01:28:58.000 he would
01:28:58.380 have
01:28:58.480 been
01:28:58.620 greater
01:28:59.080 had he
01:28:59.740 been a
01:29:00.060 Robespierre
01:29:00.780 that was
01:29:01.140 good
01:29:01.480 at
01:29:01.740 battles
01:29:02.200 yes
01:29:02.580 effectively
01:29:03.060 that
01:29:03.580 would
01:29:04.420 have
01:29:04.540 been
01:29:04.760 the
01:29:05.460 Carlisle
01:29:06.500 in
01:29:06.660 great
01:29:06.880 man
01:29:07.120 because
01:29:07.420 then
01:29:07.600 in
01:29:07.720 a
01:29:07.800 historical
01:29:08.200 sense
01:29:08.640 we can
01:29:08.920 basically
01:29:09.280 say
01:29:09.680 that
01:29:10.000 Napoleon
01:29:11.660 determined
01:29:12.260 history
01:29:12.880 in that
01:29:13.680 sense
01:29:14.120 but really
01:29:15.140 I mean
01:29:15.480 if you
01:29:15.780 look at
01:29:16.220 ideologically
01:29:17.540 the way
01:29:17.960 Napoleon
01:29:18.380 determined
01:29:18.800 history
01:29:19.340 the
01:29:20.600 Napoleon
01:29:21.040 horseback
01:29:21.780 the
01:29:21.940 revolution
01:29:22.320 on
01:29:22.540 horseback
01:29:23.140 it
01:29:23.800 seems
01:29:24.040 that
01:29:24.220 again
01:29:24.580 he
01:29:24.940 was
01:29:25.520 the
01:29:27.200 after
01:29:27.540 effects
01:29:27.960 of what
01:29:28.280 had
01:29:28.400 actually
01:29:28.640 occurred
01:29:29.020 in
01:29:29.160 the
01:29:29.280 French
01:29:29.480 Revolution
01:29:29.960 and
01:29:31.160 Europe
01:29:31.420 basically
01:29:31.900 had to
01:29:32.260 deal
01:29:32.460 with
01:29:32.620 that
01:29:32.780 legacy
01:29:33.180 when
01:29:33.480 he
01:29:33.700 ultimately
01:29:34.720 went
01:29:35.220 and
01:29:36.560 they
01:29:38.920 resorted
01:29:39.420 to
01:29:39.640 something
01:29:39.860 called
01:29:40.340 monarchy
01:29:40.980 of the
01:29:41.280 right
01:29:41.600 i.e.
01:29:42.100 restoration
01:29:42.440 of something
01:29:43.020 akin to
01:29:43.600 divine
01:29:43.920 right
01:29:44.180 of kings
01:29:44.640 after he
01:29:45.220 had
01:29:45.360 gone
01:29:45.660 but of
01:29:47.060 course
01:29:47.380 ultimately
01:29:49.500 what I believe
01:29:49.980 to be the
01:29:50.320 failure of that
01:29:50.820 system
01:29:51.180 is that
01:29:51.700 nationalism
01:29:52.660 was such a
01:29:53.500 potent force
01:29:54.140 by now
01:29:54.560 because of
01:29:55.000 Napoleon
01:29:55.380 and
01:29:56.540 sometimes
01:29:57.060 it seems
01:29:57.660 that the
01:29:58.180 Austrians
01:29:58.600 and the
01:29:58.920 Prussians
01:29:59.260 were prepared
01:29:59.680 to lean
01:30:00.400 on the
01:30:00.660 forces of
01:30:01.120 nationalism
01:30:01.500 to get
01:30:01.940 what they
01:30:02.180 wanted
01:30:02.640 in their
01:30:03.660 own
01:30:03.980 ways
01:30:04.700 in their
01:30:05.040 own
01:30:05.240 spheres
01:30:05.620 but
01:30:06.660 Metinish
01:30:07.560 was deluded
01:30:08.200 really to
01:30:08.700 think that
01:30:09.100 he could
01:30:09.540 gloss over
01:30:10.680 that through
01:30:11.100 a regime
01:30:11.780 of strict
01:30:12.600 monitoring
01:30:13.080 and censorship
01:30:14.840 effectively
01:30:17.320 and also
01:30:19.520 another legacy
01:30:20.820 of Napoleon
01:30:21.340 is this
01:30:21.840 schizophrenic
01:30:22.660 French
01:30:22.940 identity
01:30:23.440 which is
01:30:25.040 lurching
01:30:26.080 towards
01:30:26.580 Catholic
01:30:27.140 conservative
01:30:27.860 monarchists
01:30:28.540 and
01:30:29.640 Robesperian
01:30:30.480 Republican
01:30:30.960 and
01:30:33.080 I think
01:30:34.320 if you
01:30:34.520 look at
01:30:34.780 Napoleon
01:30:35.160 again
01:30:35.540 his
01:30:36.060 failure
01:30:36.600 ensured
01:30:37.900 that
01:30:38.220 split
01:30:38.620 within
01:30:38.920 France
01:30:39.500 that
01:30:40.240 schizophrenic
01:30:40.860 identity
01:30:41.340 and it
01:30:42.460 required
01:30:42.840 someone like
01:30:43.380 a de Gaulle
01:30:43.960 which you
01:30:44.760 can say
01:30:45.040 ultimately
01:30:45.540 had a
01:30:45.880 much worse
01:30:46.460 starting point
01:30:47.480 than Napoleon
01:30:48.040 working off
01:30:48.940 1940 after
01:30:49.920 France's
01:30:50.400 capitulation
01:30:51.300 at the
01:30:51.640 Peace of
01:30:52.060 Compiègne
01:30:52.500 you know
01:30:54.260 de Gaulle
01:30:54.700 the whole
01:30:55.580 project of
01:30:56.120 his Fifth
01:30:56.540 Republic
01:30:56.940 was to
01:30:58.840 reconcile
01:31:00.520 the French
01:31:02.200 left
01:31:02.640 to
01:31:03.740 you can
01:31:04.160 almost say
01:31:04.800 bourgeois
01:31:05.580 capitalism
01:31:06.280 and the
01:31:06.920 French society
01:31:07.540 is then
01:31:07.920 constituted
01:31:08.660 and to
01:31:09.660 reconcile
01:31:10.300 Action
01:31:10.820 Francaise
01:31:11.400 and the
01:31:11.860 monarchists
01:31:12.420 to the
01:31:12.800 notion of
01:31:13.160 the
01:31:13.280 Republic
01:31:13.640 and in
01:31:15.000 many
01:31:15.180 senses
01:31:15.520 I would
01:31:15.820 say up
01:31:16.080 until now
01:31:16.660 de Gaulle
01:31:17.020 was successful
01:31:17.640 in that
01:31:18.140 he created
01:31:18.940 a system
01:31:19.420 that didn't
01:31:20.800 really inspire
01:31:21.920 the hearts
01:31:22.380 of anyone
01:31:22.840 but ultimately
01:31:23.580 they rounded
01:31:24.180 around the
01:31:24.660 notion of
01:31:25.180 this is
01:31:26.000 France
01:31:26.460 and it
01:31:28.500 may not be
01:31:29.020 the ideal
01:31:29.520 political
01:31:29.860 situation
01:31:30.420 de Gaulle
01:31:30.780 by inclination
01:31:32.080 and by
01:31:32.560 education
01:31:33.300 by his own
01:31:33.940 dynastic
01:31:34.380 family history
01:31:35.020 was a
01:31:36.040 monarchist
01:31:36.500 a Catholic
01:31:36.940 legitimist
01:31:37.560 and yet
01:31:37.820 he's the
01:31:38.200 one who's
01:31:39.140 reconciling
01:31:40.220 the whole
01:31:40.540 republican
01:31:40.980 identity
01:31:41.480 for the
01:31:41.940 right in
01:31:42.380 France
01:31:42.820 in the
01:31:43.960 case of
01:31:44.260 Napoleon
01:31:44.640 like I
01:31:45.160 said
01:31:45.380 what do
01:31:45.720 you have
01:31:46.140 because of
01:31:47.080 the whole
01:31:47.300 nature of
01:31:47.760 his rule
01:31:48.100 and the
01:31:48.760 total failure
01:31:51.280 of it
01:31:51.760 it leads
01:31:52.760 to this
01:31:53.140 schizophrenic
01:31:53.860 identity
01:31:54.320 that de Gaulle
01:31:54.940 basically has
01:31:55.680 to plaster
01:31:57.100 over with
01:31:58.220 this facsimile
01:31:59.680 of the
01:31:59.980 fifth republic
01:32:00.540 which as we
01:32:01.500 see with all
01:32:01.940 French political
01:32:02.440 systems
01:32:03.000 even that
01:32:03.740 now is
01:32:04.140 dying
01:32:04.520 whereas
01:32:05.600 Napoleon
01:32:06.280 as a
01:32:07.980 Franco
01:32:08.300 figure
01:32:09.140 could have
01:32:10.200 perhaps again
01:32:10.980 ultimately
01:32:11.740 reconciled the
01:32:12.780 worst excesses
01:32:13.620 of the
01:32:13.860 French
01:32:14.040 revolution
01:32:14.460 and you
01:32:15.440 can say
01:32:15.740 the left's
01:32:16.240 phobias
01:32:16.680 about the
01:32:17.260 elements of
01:32:18.100 the
01:32:18.400 ancien
01:32:18.720 regime
01:32:19.260 etc
01:32:19.860 so
01:32:21.200 Napoleon
01:32:21.560 had so
01:32:22.200 many
01:32:22.420 opportunities
01:32:22.980 that other
01:32:24.220 figures
01:32:24.760 in less
01:32:26.300 advantageous
01:32:26.840 positions
01:32:27.300 were able
01:32:28.320 to manipulate
01:32:29.400 better
01:32:29.980 like a
01:32:30.820 de Gaulle
01:32:31.140 that's why
01:32:32.240 I say for
01:32:32.540 example I can
01:32:33.020 look at
01:32:33.220 de Gaulle
01:32:33.440 and have so
01:32:33.900 much admiration
01:32:34.580 for him
01:32:35.200 and look at
01:32:35.960 Napoleon
01:32:36.320 and say
01:32:36.820 you're basically
01:32:37.380 someone who
01:32:38.940 screwed up so
01:32:40.280 many opportunities
01:32:40.960 that were given
01:32:41.500 to you
01:32:41.960 and ironically
01:32:44.100 they come from
01:32:44.880 a very similar
01:32:45.620 position
01:32:46.940 intellectually
01:32:47.520 or sort
01:32:48.000 of a form
01:32:48.940 of grandiose
01:32:50.180 egotistical
01:32:50.840 posturing
01:32:51.480 I've compared
01:32:53.580 de Gaulle
01:32:54.440 for example
01:32:55.000 to the
01:32:56.840 anti-hero
01:32:57.960 of crime
01:32:58.380 and punishment
01:32:58.880 partly because
01:33:00.920 the whole
01:33:01.920 basis of
01:33:02.380 crime and
01:33:02.700 punishment
01:33:03.000 is that you
01:33:03.560 justify the
01:33:04.300 crime
01:33:04.720 given that
01:33:05.600 you are
01:33:06.000 endowed
01:33:06.560 with a
01:33:06.920 greater
01:33:07.120 intellect
01:33:07.680 or abilities
01:33:08.240 that allow
01:33:08.820 you to
01:33:09.140 supersede
01:33:09.580 the laws
01:33:09.960 of men
01:33:10.380 effectively
01:33:10.940 that's
01:33:11.800 Napoleon
01:33:12.240 as so
01:33:13.240 much as
01:33:13.560 it is
01:33:13.780 de Gaulle
01:33:14.120 also
01:33:14.600 what right
01:33:15.680 did de Gaulle
01:33:16.100 have in
01:33:16.580 1940
01:33:17.180 as a
01:33:18.020 junior
01:33:18.520 minister
01:33:19.060 of defence
01:33:19.660 to declare
01:33:20.160 that he
01:33:20.540 was the
01:33:21.060 voice of
01:33:21.840 the French
01:33:22.200 people
01:33:22.620 when the
01:33:23.260 legally
01:33:23.480 constituted
01:33:24.060 government
01:33:24.340 was a
01:33:24.620 Vichy
01:33:24.980 but he
01:33:25.720 managed
01:33:26.140 and he
01:33:26.340 turned that
01:33:26.740 position
01:33:27.180 into
01:33:27.680 something
01:33:28.680 of almost
01:33:29.240 perpetual
01:33:29.960 veneration
01:33:32.200 you know
01:33:32.880 General Charles
01:33:33.840 de Gaulle
01:33:34.180 as the
01:33:34.620 first president
01:33:35.260 of the
01:33:35.520 fifth republic
01:33:36.180 whereas Napoleon
01:33:37.120 has achieved
01:33:37.580 the opposite
01:33:38.000 yeah very
01:33:39.900 very interesting
01:33:40.600 yeah very
01:33:41.920 very interesting
01:33:42.560 I mean
01:33:43.920 we should
01:33:45.280 draw it to
01:33:45.680 an end
01:33:46.100 there but
01:33:47.020 there's so
01:33:47.340 much more
01:33:47.740 that could
01:33:48.120 be said
01:33:48.500 I mean
01:33:48.740 this sort
01:33:49.300 of conversation
01:33:49.940 could go
01:33:51.100 on and on
01:33:51.660 and on
01:33:51.900 and on
01:33:52.760 it's great
01:33:53.840 I mean
01:33:54.240 yeah
01:33:56.640 just to
01:33:58.080 finish off
01:33:58.500 to just
01:33:58.820 say one
01:33:59.160 more thing
01:33:59.540 the point
01:34:01.180 you've made
01:34:01.540 a number
01:34:01.840 of times
01:34:02.260 here is
01:34:02.680 that
01:34:03.100 Napoleon
01:34:04.080 had so
01:34:05.640 many
01:34:05.900 opportunities
01:34:06.400 that it
01:34:06.900 seems that
01:34:07.420 just he
01:34:08.480 personally
01:34:09.400 a personal
01:34:12.020 decision
01:34:12.420 purely
01:34:13.020 born out
01:34:13.740 of his
01:34:14.020 own
01:34:14.260 mind
01:34:14.720 was the
01:34:16.700 wrong
01:34:16.920 thing
01:34:17.260 it was
01:34:17.580 just the
01:34:17.860 wrong
01:34:18.060 thing
01:34:18.300 to do
01:34:18.720 but not
01:34:20.620 just even
01:34:21.020 the big
01:34:21.320 ones like
01:34:21.620 the decision
01:34:22.100 to march
01:34:23.740 into Russia
01:34:24.400 in 1812
01:34:25.000 or the
01:34:25.300 decision
01:34:25.580 not to
01:34:26.000 accept
01:34:26.300 some sort
01:34:27.620 of Austrian
01:34:28.620 brokered peace
01:34:29.380 afterwards
01:34:29.780 or to
01:34:31.140 depose the
01:34:32.480 Spanish monarchy
01:34:33.760 in the way
01:34:34.320 he did
01:34:34.840 or the
01:34:35.440 decision
01:34:36.400 to try
01:34:36.740 and invade
01:34:37.020 Portugal
01:34:37.320 at all
01:34:37.660 there's just
01:34:39.240 some of the
01:34:39.540 big obvious
01:34:39.940 ones
01:34:40.160 but when you
01:34:40.980 look at
01:34:41.360 in detail
01:34:42.040 Napoleon's
01:34:42.580 career
01:34:42.900 he seems
01:34:45.200 to do it
01:34:45.520 all the
01:34:45.840 time
01:34:46.240 kind of
01:34:47.080 all the
01:34:47.360 time
01:34:47.720 again
01:34:48.760 in hindsight
01:34:49.220 you look
01:34:49.700 and think
01:34:49.980 that wasn't
01:34:53.540 a good
01:34:53.820 idea
01:34:54.200 that wasn't
01:34:54.880 going to
01:34:55.780 bode well
01:34:56.220 and sort
01:34:56.760 of
01:34:57.460 not just
01:34:58.580 a hindsight
01:34:58.940 thing
01:34:59.280 but how
01:34:59.640 did you
01:34:59.920 not see
01:35:00.340 it
01:35:00.520 at the
01:35:00.760 time
01:35:01.080 it's
01:35:01.880 kind
01:35:02.060 of
01:35:02.180 obvious
01:35:02.520 that
01:35:02.800 was
01:35:03.100 a
01:35:04.240 flawed
01:35:04.620 idea
01:35:05.180 so I
01:35:08.340 suppose
01:35:08.540 we've
01:35:08.960 made that
01:35:09.940 point
01:35:10.220 enough
01:35:10.660 but
01:35:10.940 yeah
01:35:12.080 I agree
01:35:12.740 I absolutely
01:35:13.480 agree
01:35:13.760 was there
01:35:14.980 anything else
01:35:15.520 at all
01:35:15.880 no just
01:35:17.300 to emphasize
01:35:18.600 your point
01:35:19.240 that these
01:35:21.040 aren't a few
01:35:21.520 isolated examples
01:35:22.620 that you can
01:35:23.100 point to
01:35:23.660 a great
01:35:24.080 what ifs
01:35:24.720 no this is
01:35:25.400 granular
01:35:26.180 this is the
01:35:27.040 whole basis
01:35:27.960 of the
01:35:28.920 Napoleonic
01:35:29.400 system
01:35:29.960 entails
01:35:31.760 this sort
01:35:32.240 of doom
01:35:33.080 driven logic
01:35:33.900 effectively
01:35:34.740 so you
01:35:36.520 can look
01:35:36.900 at it
01:35:37.100 as a
01:35:37.300 Greek
01:35:37.480 tragedy
01:35:37.920 and again
01:35:38.600 I hate
01:35:39.040 to use
01:35:39.560 historical
01:35:40.060 determinism
01:35:40.820 but like
01:35:41.200 I said
01:35:41.500 it's the
01:35:41.860 basis
01:35:42.840 of the
01:35:43.280 usurpation
01:35:43.940 seems to
01:35:45.180 engender
01:35:45.640 this sort
01:35:46.100 of
01:35:46.260 willingness
01:35:46.580 to
01:35:47.020 continually
01:35:47.840 usurp
01:35:48.480 and usurp
01:35:49.360 and usurp
01:35:50.120 and depose
01:35:50.940 and reorient
01:35:51.960 the whole
01:35:52.400 political
01:35:52.660 system
01:35:53.040 in Europe
01:35:53.500 until you
01:35:54.420 yourself
01:35:54.880 have
01:35:55.200 created
01:35:56.180 forces
01:35:56.680 which are
01:35:57.060 so inexorable
01:35:57.960 that you
01:35:58.480 yourself
01:35:58.860 are ultimately
01:35:59.420 deposed
01:36:00.140 the
01:36:01.980 hubris
01:36:02.340 that's the
01:36:02.700 perfect word
01:36:03.200 isn't it
01:36:03.500 really
01:36:03.700 the hubris
01:36:04.820 okay
01:36:05.680 if you let
01:36:06.400 people know
01:36:06.940 about your
01:36:07.660 channel
01:36:07.920 I'm sure
01:36:08.260 most people
01:36:08.920 watching this
01:36:09.380 are already
01:36:09.700 aware
01:36:09.980 but it's
01:36:10.860 giving you
01:36:11.080 an opportunity
01:36:11.440 to mention
01:36:12.620 it
01:36:12.900 just
01:36:13.620 apostolic
01:36:15.100 majesty
01:36:15.440 on youtube
01:36:15.920 I have
01:36:16.420 a
01:36:16.680 eclectic
01:36:17.780 range
01:36:18.360 of
01:36:18.680 various
01:36:19.360 topics
01:36:19.800 a lot
01:36:20.240 of
01:36:20.360 modern
01:36:20.580 history
01:36:20.960 but a lot
01:36:21.340 of
01:36:21.460 medieval
01:36:21.760 history
01:36:22.260 so
01:36:22.660 other than
01:36:24.080 that
01:36:24.220 just
01:36:24.480 thank you
01:36:25.140 again
01:36:25.480 Bo
01:36:25.940 and Lotus
01:36:27.060 Eaters
01:36:27.420 for having
01:36:27.760 me on
01:36:28.020 it's been
01:36:28.300 a wonderful
01:36:29.440 time
01:36:29.840 and a
01:36:31.020 very important
01:36:31.580 topic I think
01:36:32.300 in terms of
01:36:32.780 just understanding
01:36:33.440 the whole nature
01:36:34.080 of the
01:36:34.760 French Revolution
01:36:35.820 and Napoleon
01:36:36.900 and the whole
01:36:37.400 nature of power
01:36:38.040 during that time
01:36:38.680 I think it's
01:36:39.180 an important
01:36:39.700 discussion to have
01:36:40.460 especially as we're
01:36:41.260 recording this on
01:36:41.880 Bastille Day
01:36:42.500 thank you
01:36:43.460 thank you for your
01:36:44.100 time and we're
01:36:44.580 honoured to do
01:36:45.460 your face reveal
01:36:46.320 essentially
01:36:47.000 so okay
01:36:49.420 I hope you all
01:36:50.240 enjoyed that out
01:36:50.860 there
01:36:51.300 hopefully we'll get
01:36:52.720 AM back
01:36:53.280 sometime soon
01:36:54.080 I really do
01:36:55.100 genuinely enjoy
01:36:55.940 chatting with you
01:36:57.340 whenever we can
01:36:58.520 so let us know
01:37:00.160 in the comments
01:37:00.520 your thoughts and
01:37:01.060 feelings and until
01:37:01.940 next time
01:37:02.480 take care