Unit 14 Power and Politics
Now, read the following article about the power of Napoleon in politics.
Many portraits of Napoleon show him with his right hand
placed inside his coat or shirt. In fact, there was nothing
wrong with Napoleon's hand. At the time, portrait painters
thought this pose made men look more dignified. Also,
they had one less hand to draw and paint. Looking at his
portraits, we can tell that Napoleon was an important
person. But who was this man?
Napoleon Bonaparte was born in 1769 on the French
island of Corsica, not far from the coast of Italy. He was one of fourteen children. As
a boy, Napoleon loved to play soldiers with his brothers. When he was old enough,
his parents sent him to military school to learn how to become a real soldier. After
he completed his training at the military school, Napoleon became an officer in the
French army.
Four years later, in 1789, there was a sudden and violent change in France. Tired of
paying heavy taxes so the king and his nobles could live in luxury, poor and middleclass
people started a revolution. They executed the king and queen and many of their
royal friends and then declared France a republic where all people were to pay taxes
according to their wealth.
When the rulers of other European countries heard what happened in France, they
thought they, too, would lose control over their countries. Austria and Britain went to
war with the new republic of France. Napoleon was a brilliant officer and was only
twenty-seven years old when he was made Commander-in-Chief of the French army
in Italy. He won one victory after another, defeating the Austrians in eighteen battles.
Then he moved his army to Egypt to stop the British trade route to India. He won a
victory over the Egyptians in 1798 at the Battle of the Pyramids. In 1799, his troops
in Egypt discovered the Rosetta Stone, an important object which helped people to
understand ancient Egyptian writing for the first time. Napoleon had with him scholars
from many fields who wanted to set up schools in Egypt. One group of scholars studied
the pyramids and started the science of Egyptology. However, the British destroyed
Napoleon's ships and he lost the Rosetta stone to them. Then Napoleon decided to
return to France.
When Napoleon returned to France, he was appointed first consul. The French needed
a strong ruler at this time, and Napoleon was one. He became consul for life in 1802,
and in 1804, Napoleon declared himself emperor of France. The Pope came from
Rome to perform the ceremony. Napoleon, richly dressed, listened to the service.
Then Napoleon took the crown before the Pope could take it, and he put it on his own
head. He did this to show that he got the crown because of his wisdom and military
skill; he was not simply given the honour by the Pope.
Soon afterward, Napoleon made himself master of almost all of Europe. He conquered
Austria in 1805 and Prussia in 1806. Then he formed an alliance with Russia, and he
made one of his brothers the king of Spain and another brother king of Holland.
In France, he ruled wisely and well, and he restored law and order after the revolution.
He reorganized the French government and the Bank of France. He built many fine
roads and improved the old ones. He turned Paris into a beautiful city with wide streets,
fine bridges, and beautiful buildings and monuments, such as the Arc de Triomphe.
More important still, he improved the laws. To this day, his Napoleonic Code is
the foundation of European law, as well as of laws in Central and South America
and Quebec in Canada. Napoleon wrote the Code's original 2,281 articles himself,
although he was completely self-taught in legal matters. The Code created a legal
system in which all citizens were equal. It was so clearly written that it could be read
and understood by ordinary people at a time when all laws were written in Latin and
understood by only a few.
Napoleon was a genius as an army commander. He conquered the huge Austrian
Empire and ruled Italy, Switzerland, and Germany. He had the largest empire seen in
Europe since the days of the ancient Romans. The only country he could not defeat
was Britain, losing to the British in 1805 in the Battle of Trafalgar. Then, in 1812,
Napoleon made his biggest mistake by invading Russia. He entered Moscow, but he
found that nearly all the people had left. There were fires all over the city, and most
of it was destroyed. With no place to house his soldiers and no food for them to eat in
the bitter Russian winter, Napoleon had no choice but to retreat. Napoleon lost half
a million men in Russia. When he was finally defeated, he was sent to the island of
Elba in the Mediterranean. By 1814, one million Frenchmen were dead. Napoleon was
humiliated.
After ten months in Elba, Napoleon escaped, went back to France, and declared himself
emperor again. He ruled for 100 days. In the meantime, the Europeans gathered their
armies to end his rule. The combined armies, led by the British Duke of Wellington,
defeated Napoleon at Waterloo in 1815. After this, he was sent to the island of St.
Helena in the Atlantic Ocean, where he died six years later at age fifty-two. We do
not know what Napoleon died of exactly. Some doctors argued that he died of cancer;
others say he was poisoned.
Napoleon was a military genius and had a brilliant mind. He fought many wars and
thought there would not be peace in Europe until the continent was under one ruler –
himself. Perhaps Napoleon would have an even greater ruler had he not been driven
by his love of power.
Milada Broukal
Ways with words
A. Choose the correct meaning of the underlined word.
a. Many portraits of Napoleon show him with his right hand placed inside his
coat.
i. shape ii. hairstyle iii. sketch iv. movement
b. Napoleon won one victory after another, defeating the Austrians in eighteen
battles.
i. beating ii. joining iii. fighting iv. directing
c. Portrait painters thought this pose made men look more dignified.
i. good-looking ii. young iii. intelligent iv. energetic
d. They announced France a republic.
i. officially declared ii. informally decided
ii. put into practice iv. voted into law
e. Napoleon conquered Austria in 1805.
i. lost ii. tried to control
iii. triumphed over iv. attacked
f. There was no place to house his soldiers in the bitter Russian winter.
i. difficult ii. cold iii. dark iv. empty
g. Napoleon was humiliated when he was defeated.
i. tortured ii. punished iii. confused iv. shamed
B. Guess the meanings to these words from the text. Check in your
dictionary and make sentences of your own.
violent execute ancient alliance brilliant genius consul invading
C. Look at the compound noun phrase Commander-in-Chief as used in
this sentence from the text.
Napoleon was only twenty-seven years old when he was made Commander-in-
Chief of the French army in Italy.
D. Find the meanings of the following noun phrases and use them in
sentences.
Vice-President Editor-in-chief Deputy Editor-in-Chief Deputy-Mayor
Joint-secretary Under-secretary Deputy-Prime Minister Vice-Chancellor
Attorney-general Ex-president Sub-editor co-author
Comprehension
Answer these questions.
a. Where was Napoleon from?
He was from island of Corsica, France.
b. Why did poor and middle-class people declare France a republic?
Poor and middle-class people declared France a republic because they were tired of paying heavy taxes for the luxurious life of the king and his nobles.
c. When did Napoleon declare himself emperor of France?
He declared himself emperor of France in 1804.
d. What did he do when he ruled France?
He restored law and order after the revolution. He reorganized the French government and the Bank of France. He built many fine roads and improved the old ones. He turned Paris into a beautiful city with wide streets, fine bridges, and beautiful buildings and monuments, such as the Arc de Triomphe. More importantly, he improved the laws.
e. Which countries did he rule when he was the emperor?
When he was the emperor, he ruled Italy, Switzerland, and Germany.
f. What was the main cause of his destruction?
Invasion of Russia was the main cause of his destruction.
g. How did his rule as emperor end in Europe?
His rule as emperor ended in Europe as the Europeans gathered their armies.
h. How could Napoleon have been an even greater ruler?
Napoleon could have been an even greater ruler if he had not been driven by his love of power.
B. Fill in the blanks with may, must or can’t.
Comments
Post a Comment