This redundant question appears in the mind of anyone who has read a biography of the Corsican who ruled France, since one can immediately see this difference between the young general Bonaparte and the Emperor Napoleon I. But when did Bonaparte become Napoleon? ? Why did he stop being a citizen or a primus inter pares to become an emperor very close to being a god in the Greco-Roman style? What made you change his revolutionary idealism for absolutism? The power? Fame? The idolatry of others? Is it true that "power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely"?
The official change that this character underwent, the change that led him to abandon his category of Bonaparte citizen to be simply Napoleon, is the coronation in the Cathedral of Notre Dame in Paris on December 2, 1804. This act symbolizes the definitive rise that the Corsican had been assuming throughout the five years of consulate. However, this would only be the transformation in the face of the public and international opinion, the real change had taken place at another time. To ramble on an exact date would be a mistake, since it is impossible to date a thought of a man who died two centuries ago, but we could easily reach a reasonable conclusion if we take into account two key dates in Napoleon's life. First, on November 9, 1799:supported by the army and various politicians, Napoleon staged a coup that led him to become Consul of the Republic of France. He stopped being a mere spectator of the intricate revolutionary politics to become a leading actor in the game. And, secondly, on December 2, 1805:exactly one year after his coronation, near the small town of Austerlitz —in today's Czech Republic—, the Grande Armée of Napoleon unbelievably defeated the armies of the Third Coalition.
Taking into account these two facts, with which Napoléon reached the top, we must assume that the date we are looking for is between them, but when? exactly?
Before proceeding to specify a date, we should take into account the reasons that caused this "radical change" in Napoleon's mentality that were in his way of being since he entered the Military School of Briennes, and were also the reasons that they did survive throughout their career. We have been talking about power, we could even say that the main reason for his change was this, but more than power, what was typical of the Emperor's personality was not power in itself, but the desire for power, that is, the ambition. It was this that led him to succeed in Toulon , in Austerlitz , and on a long list of battlefields; it even favored him on his return after exile on Elba. But at the same time it was this one that lost him in Moscow , Leipzig or Waterloo , leading him to the unfortunate end of him in Santa Elena.
Already set in precedents —both in history and in “Napoleonic psychology”—, we must consider that, even as the leader of France, between 1799 and 1803, Napoleon continued to consider himself a son of the Revolution and a fervent follower of its ideals. It would not be until the police minister Fouché suggested to him by the Empire at the end of 1803, that such an idea would cross his mind, since the young Bonaparte was a man with firm ideas. So the coup at the end of 1799 was not the date that made him change. But, if we think about it, it should not be the December 1804 coronation either, since at that moment the change had already occurred, at that moment someone was already believed powerful enough to crown himself. So what happened during the first half of 1804 that would lead to a shift in the balance of internal and external power in France, causing Napoleon to believe he was invincible? On March 21, 1804, opposition to Napoleon's government was eliminated. The closest relative to the Bourbons, and very possible leader of the conspiracies against Napoleon, the Duke of Enghien , was kidnapped and summarily executed, thus making the little Corsican act for the first time like a god, eliminating a man at his pleasure and desire, despite the fact that it is accepted that he may not have been directly involved. .
"The arrest of the Duke of Enghien" by Alphonse Lalauze
We could affirm, and we would be right, that after the death of the Duke of Enghien, Napoleon no longer had enemies who did not fear him, he was alone in power, he was the only one who could lead France to the top. This, together with his clearly ambitious character, caused him to carry the weight of a country, an empire, on his shoulders, and it was also the factor that made the Corsican change his mind —despite the fact that in the speeches and harangues continues to be considered a son of the Revolution— to go from being an idealistic young soldier and fervent follower of revolutionary ideals, to an enlightened absolute monarch with the sole objective of being the master of Europe and the World.
Collaboration of Francesc Marí Company