Napoleon Bonaparte and Margret Thatcher.

 

With the recent death of  Margret Thatcher, Britain's Iron Lady, I can not help but compare her to that other giant of European history Napoleon Bonaparte. Both steered their countries out of chaos during their respective time in the limelight. Napoleon rescued France from the grip of the Revolution, While Thatcher preformed the same feat in therms of trade union power in Britain. Both seemed determined to make their countries "Great", what ever that means.

However there their programmes differ. Napoleon had a vision of a united Europe, based arguably on a people free from centuries of domination by the monarchies. Thatcher by contrast critical of European Union, a view she express very strongly she seemed to have little time for outsiders. No doubt she felt that her policies would liberate the people from hidden control depending on which side of the fence you stand. There are those who feel that her economic policies eventually lead to the economic break down recently experience, while other will see them as liberation from regulation as a God send. There is no question that she restored the country's prosperity.

British historians generally have an unfavourable opinion of Napoleon, a view I gathered from many lectures on Napoleon during my histories studies. Whether this was simply because he was French, or whether it was some usual neighbourly dislike of countries whose past has always been entwined. It remains to be seen whether statues of Margret Thatcher, like Napoleon's will still be selling two hundred years from now. Both leaders were very headstrong who demanded loyalty  with little time for dissenters in their ranks, a quality that lead to the down fall of both.
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Still no one can deny Napoleon left huge foot print on Europe, one that will be hard to duplicate. He created to a great extent the Paris landmarks we have come to love, the Arc de Triomphe, the column at the center of the Place Vendome, the Eglise de la Madeleine as a temple to his Grande Armee. Undertook  a program to modernize Paris, several ambitious construction projects such as the elegant arcades along the rue de Rivoli. Instituted practical urban improvements to the sewers and road network.

But most probably his greatest achievement was the restructure of the education system, Napoleon broadened its reach, centralized control, and created a systematized curriculum. "Of all our institutions, public education is the most important" he said. Last, but not least  introducion of the Napoleonic law Code, many laws of which are still in place to-day. Unfortunately, unlike Margret Thatcher he did not receive the grand farewell to be given to Margret Thatcher next week. But then again he wasn't British.