Napoléon Bonaparte
May 5 is the 200th anniversary of the death of Napoléon Bonaparte. Can you answer 12 questions on the life and work of perhaps the most famous French leader?
How much do you know about the French military leader?
QUESTIONS
1 Napoléon Bonaparte was born on the island of Corsica in 1769. Possibly the most famous Frenchman of all time nearly did not turn out to be French at all. Why? a. He was the illegitimate son of an Italian woman and only became French after he was adopted
b. Corsica was part of the Republic of Genoa until 1768
c. His Moroccan parents became French citizens just days before he was born
d. His parents never registered his birth
2 Napoléon rose up the ranks of the French army during the French Revolution. He then became a brigadier general at the age of 24, before leading the Italian
campaign as commander-in-chief at 26. He is celebrated as a national hero in France. What event made him First Consul and supreme ruler in 1799?
a. The death of the king
b. A coup d’état
c. Free elections
d. Luck
3 In 1796, Napoléon married Joséphine de Beauharnais – the daughter of a naval officer. He married for love and gained entry into Parisian society. He divorced Joséphine in 1809, before marrying
Marie Louise, Duchess of Parma, in 1810. What did he expect to gain from it?
a. Money for his campaigns b. An alliance with Austria c. An heir
d. Both b and c
4 Over his 20-year military career, Napoléon fought many great battles. In October 1813, one raged for several days near Leipzig, Germany and became known as the ‘Battle of the Nations’. Why did Napoléon lose this battle? a. The French army was severely weakened by a cholera outbreak b. The Austrian army used new long-range cannons
c. The French army was outnumbered by Allied troops and artillery
d. The French army was kept awake all night by Russian soldiers banging drums
5 On March 21, 1801, the Napoléonic government enacted the Napoléonic Code, also known as the Civil Code. To this day, the laws of many countries are based on this system of law. What does the Civil Code specify?
a. The equality of all citizens before the law
b. The freedom of all citizens c. The protection of private property
d. All of the above
6 Archaeologists can thank Napoléon for a momentous – yet accidental – achievement. During one of his campaigns, an officer found the Rosetta Stone, which later allowed scholars to do what?
a. To develop a remedy against the plague
b. To decipher hieroglyphics c. To produce artificial light d. To locate ruins of a Roman village
7 During Napoléon’s rule, France controlled large parts of Europe. As great as his military skills were, physically speaking, he is often described as short. What was his actual height?
a. 1.50 metres
b. 1.60 metres
c. 1.68 metres
d. 1.75 metres
8 The French Revolution in 1789 left the relationship between church and state in tatters. In 1801, Napoléon soothed matters with the Vatican by signing the Concordat, a state-church treaty that defined the status of the Roman
Catholic Church in France. What caused the break with Pope Pius VII less than ten years later?
a. The Pope refused to close Vatican-owned ports to the English navy
b. Napoléon refused to introduce a church tax c. Napoléon’s divorce
d. All of the above
9
As a leader, Napoléon aspired to rule all of Europe; as a private person, he harboured artistic ambitions. What discipline of art did he enjoy? a. Sculpture b. Composing
c. Writing
d. Painting
10
Napoléon is famous for some witty remarks. Which of the statements below is attributed to him during the retreat from Russia? a. ‘The best is the enemy of the good’
b. ‘Man is born free and everywhere is in chains’ c. ‘From the sublime to the ridiculous there is but one step’ d. ‘Such is life’
11
In 1814 Napoléon was exiled to the Italian island of Elba, following the annexation of Paris by Allied nations. He returned to France briefly in February 1815 and took back command. What is this ‘comeback’ known as?
a. The Saint Bartholomew’s Day Massacre
b. The Reign of a Hundred Days c. The Reign of Terror
d. The Great Comeback
12
Charles Louis Napoléon Bonaparte ruled France as President of the Republic from 1848 to 1852, becoming Napoléon III, Emperor of France in 1852. How was Napoléon III related to Napoléon Bonaparte? a. Napoléon III was his nephew b. Napoléon III was his stepgrandson
c. Napoléon III was his illegitimate son
d. Both a and b
1 b. Corsica belonged to the Republic of Genoa until it became part of France in 1768.
2 b. In 1799, the French government was brought down by a coup d’état supported by Napoléon’s military. A new constitution was drawn up under Napoléon – appointing him as First Consul.
3 b and c. Hoping to strengthen the alliance with Austria, in 1810 Napoléon married Marie Louise, the eldest daughter of Emperor Franz I of Austria. The long-awaited heir to the throne was born a year later.
4 c. The Battle of Leipzig (16-19 October, 1813) was the largest single battle of the Napoleonic Wars. The French had an estimated 190,000 soldiers and Austrian, Prussian, Russian and Swedish forces almost 330,000 and more artillery.
5 d. The Civil Code upholds the following principles: the freedom of all citizens, the equality of all citizens before the law and the protection of private property.
6 b. In 1799, during the Egyptian campaign, one of Napoléon’s officers found the Rosetta Stone. The same text is carved three times: Egyptian demotic, ancient Greek and Egyptian hieroglyphic. Using the Rosetta Stone, Egyptologists were later able to decipher the hieroglyphs.
7 c. At 1.68 metres, Napoléon was an average height for men of the time. A calculation error caused the rumour that he was only 1.58 metres tall.
8 a. Among other demands, Napoléon wanted to close Vatican-owned ports to the British Royal Navy. When the Pope refused, the French leader directed his troops to invade the Papal States. When, in 1809, Pius VII excommunicated Napoléon, he had the Pope arrested.
9 c. Napoléon wrote a novella, Clisson et Eugénie.
10 c. ‘From the sublime to the ridiculous there is but one step’, is considered to be one of Napoléon’s most famous witticisms.
11 b. After about a year of exile on the island of Elba, Napoléon returned to France for the ‘Reign of a Hundred Days’, although his ‘comeback’ lasted 110 days.
12 d. Napoléon III was the nephew and step-grandson of Napoléon Bonaparte. Napoléon III’s father was Napoléon Bonaparte’s brother, and his mother, who was adopted by Napoléon Bonaparte as a child, was a daughter from Joséphine de Beauharnais’s first marriage.