07/02/2020

The Napoleonic Empire by Geoffrey James Ellis

This book, The Napoleonic Empire by Geoffrey James Ellis is part of the Studies in the European History collection. It is a really good book, very well written, making it easy to read. I’ve enjoyed it.
He talks about Napoleon’s legacy and that part was one of the most interesting things in the book. I will talk about two of the things that are a bit funny or ironic, depending how you see it.

First of all… France first! Well, that was a surprise, especially as the book was written more than a decade before the Trump campaign. These words were written by Napoleon in a letter, explaining why is so important.

The even more incredible thing is that, after his France first idea, Napoleon continued with setting up new taxes. Unlike the modern day issues between US and China, in the 19th century, the two powers fighting were Great Britain and France. Napoleon imposed a ban on British trade and, in his views, tried to make everyone else in Europe to buy French. It was not a great idea, as French items were more expensive, as they did not have the same industrial advantage that the British had. So, in the end, France was the one to lose from this blockade and these taxes.