10 Things You Didn't Know About Napoleon
Busting myths and shining a light on the not so 'Little Corporal'
Throughout history, Britain has provoked and irked almost every country on the planet. From colonialism to modern day political spats, the British aren’t usually ones to help their own reputation.
However, few (if any) countries can claim to have been at the receiving end of more British grief and annoyance than their colonial rivals, France. The Battle of Hastings, Agincourt, Joan of Arc, the occupation of Calais and the American War of Independence are just a few times when Britain and France have come to blows.
Difficult and more often that not hostile relations between Britain and France have resulted in several wars and battles such as the infamous 100 Years War (fun fact: the 100 Years War actually lasted 116 years), the Battle of Trafalgar and the Battle of Waterloo. A man associated with the latter of these two is one of France’s most iconic figures, Napoleon Bonaparte, who executed a meteoric rise (and fall) thanks to Britain.
But, how much of our commonly known Napoleon trivia is actually true? In this article, we will look at ten of the biggest misconceptions and overlooked facts concerning the (not so) ‘Little Corporal’.
10. Napoleon Wasn't Actually That Short
This is perhaps the most commonly misused ‘fact’ regarding Napoleon. Rumours suggest that Napoleon was a midget with small man syndrome, hence his fiery and direct military tactics, but this is completely false. Napoleon actually stood at 168cm tall or 5'5", which was actually slightly above average for a Frenchman in the early 1800's.
Napoleon earned the nickname of ‘Little Corporal’ thanks to his first major military victory in 1793 aged just 24. The port town of Toulon had rebelled against the Revolutionary rule and encouraged British ships to reclaim the town. Napoleon was drafted in as the leader of the defence on behalf of the Revolution and used his mathematical and tactical knowledge to fend off the British fleet with a huge artillery barrage of 200 cannons.
His troops began referring to him as the ‘Little Corporal’ following this victory, which British newspapers caught wind of and used against Napoleon, turning it into a way to question his masculinity. This rumour wasn't helped as his height was miscalculated at 5'2" during his autopsy, due to the doctor having a French yard stick instead of a metric one. However, this wasn’t the worst thing British newspapers held against Napoleon…