Maximum Napoleonic revolutionary influence

[Alcsentre Calanice]

G. Washington
every dictator thought that way. very few of them were right. Personally, I don't think Nap was right. his way was good for France short term, but long term his way was doomed to failure, and pretty much ensured failure. Every single thread ever that addressed how Nap France could endure all had changes to his personality/methodology. There's a reason for this.

False. If he wins in Russia, he has pretty much won.

He took power by fraud. held it by coercion.

Everybody did this in these times (the others were rulers by "divine" rights).

led the country on a path that ended with millions dead. It was only by fortuitous circumstance that France wasn't decimated, dismantled, and completely marginalized.

France was going to be dismantled without his victories in 1797 and 1800. He saved France from the incapable and corrupt Directoire.

He held a few enlightenment ideals.

- popular sovereignty
- universal suffrage
- liberty of religion
- equality before the law
...
Only a few, minor ideas.

That doesn't make him a republican. Mostly, he was just a military dictator. He lived by the sword, not the pen, and ran a police state. The only one of his brothers who held any republican ideals, Lucien, disavowed him and sought to escape the country rather than carry through with his threat to skewer him with a sword.

Republicanism and military dictatorship are not contradictory.

 

[unprincipled peter]

popular sovereignity notion is a joke.

Nap kept control via police state apparatus.

 

[Green Painting]

The issue is getting there. The Royal Navy will sink any French ship heading to India. Any overseas projection is nearly impossible for the Little Corporal unless we push the POD back.

Does it have to be during wartime? There are still countries going commie decades after the fall of Soviet Union. The same goes for Republican/Napoleonic France. Even in a OTL-like scenario, French ideals could influence Indian political life if the later seeks them.

Oh, he only need one ship and an appointment by some ambitious Indian prince.

French advisers were common in India for decades (Centuries?). Would one more, albeit Napoleonic one, have made any difference?

Batter if said Indian prince traveled to France with an entourage, followed by waves of expat students.

 

[kodak]

Tomorrow is the bicentennial of Napolean's defeat at Waterloo.

 

[Alcsentre Calanice]

popular sovereignity notion is a joke.

Nap kept control via police state apparatus.

Yes, but there was this notion. And this is the whole difference between him and other monarchs of these time. Is a difference between feudalism and modern times, between 1000 and 2000 AD, a difference between two opposed worlds.

The old rulers of Europe fought for life: either Napoleon is overthrown or they would perish.

 

[Strategos' Risk]

The weird digression about Napoleon's character aside, this thread had some cool ideas- France mucking about in the Balkans sounds quite interesting, especially if the Ottomans end up acceding to it. Ideas for timelines...

Also, regarding France + India, supposedly the whole idea to invade Egypt in the first place was to rush support to Tippu Sultan (who was already too old) against the Brits.

It sounds like Napoleon wasn't the first Frenchman to think of attacking Egypt, but maybe he came up with the Tipu Sultan bit:

The notion of annexing Egypt as a French colony had been under discussion since François Baron de Tott undertook a secret mission to the Levant in 1777 to determine its feasibility.[1] Baron de Tott's report was favorable, but no immediate action was taken.[1] Nevertheless, Egypt became a topic of debate between Talleyrand and Napoleon, which continued in their correspondence during Napoleon's Italian campaign.[1] In early 1798, Bonaparte proposed a military expedition to seize Egypt. In a letter to the Directory, he suggested this would protect French trade interests, attack British commerce, and undermine Britain's access to India and the East Indies, since Egypt was well-placed on the trade routes to these places.[citation needed] Bonaparte wished to establish a French presence in the Middle East, with the ultimate dream of linking with France's ally Tipu Sultan, ruler of Mysore in India.

I really want to see more Napoleonic timelines where he does crazy shit like this or invade Ireland and so on. I don't get how he got away with these ASB blue sky ideas. Is this just what happens when you have a popular general in charge? Is this what happens when they get to play act at being Alexander the Great? We need more examples of pure insanity in history being promoted from the top, and succeeding part way.

Establish a new Kingdom of Jerusalem, Napoleon Emperor of the Franks. Actually could he have attacked the Levant in addition to/instead of Egypt or is that completely logistically unfeasible?

Either way, there needs to be more timelines where Tippu Sultan and Mysore succeeds in remaining free.