Sunday,December 2, 1804 at Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, marked “the initiation of modern empire” .
The congregation shivered in the cold the cathedral echoed with the sounds of 400 musicians and singers.
The young man born on the island of Corsica moved impatiently forward, he was Napoleon Bonaparte, at 35 years old, he was about to be crowned Emperor of France..
Even the Pope was present, but one person was not.
It was Napoleon Bonaparte’s mother , Letizia Ramolino.
She was given the title “Madame Mère de Sa Majesté l’Empereur” (Madam Mother of His Majesty, the Emperor), an official place at Napoleon’sright hand (ahead of all the princes), and an increased allowance.
Still, she boycotted Napoleon’s coronation in protest at his failure to include Lucienin the imperial succession (Napoleon Lucien’s marriage).
Still two can play at a game, so Napoleon ordered Jacques-Louis David to include Letizia in his well-known painting of the coronation nonetheless.
I found the crown of France in the gutter he said and I picked it up it was December 1804, within three years Napoleon’s conquest would extend his empire across almost all of Europe and he would rule over 70 million people, not since the ancient Caesars has one man held so much power.
In a brazen move, he grabs the crown, and names himself Emperor.
Earlier that morning, he quietly told his brother, ” If father could only see us now…”
His father Carlo, worked as a secretary and personal assistantto Pasquale Paoli, a Corsican Revolutionary Leader.
Paoli sent him to Rome to negotiate with Pope Clement XIII in 1766.
He had apparently enjoyed his time inRome up until being forced for reasons unknown back to Corsica in 1768 – though he had possibly enjoyed an affair with a married woman during his stay which led to his departure.
At the time of his return, the Republic of Genoahad offered Corsica to Louis XVas payment for a debt.
The French were eager to obtain the strategically placed island for the protection of their own coasts, and Genoa equally keen to relinquish control given their inability to resist growing independence movements.
Buonaparte was noted for a fervent speech against the French “invasion“.
Political upheaval followed as France gained ownership of Corsica, and many of Paoli’s supporters had to flee to the mountains.
However, France gained possession of Corsica, just after Carlo at age 18, married Letizia Ramolino, Napoleon’s mother who was 14. Still, it was a good match.
The marriage took place in 1764 and by 1769 , their fourth child , Napoleon was born.
When French armies landed in Corsica 1768, Paoli’s forces fought an initially successful war and in early 1769, Letizia accompanied Carlo to the front line, insisting on following their guerrilla campaigns, even though she was heavily pregnant with Napoleon.
However, the Corsican forces were crushed at the battle of Ponte Novo and Letizia was forced to flee back to Ajaccio through the mountains.
The incident is worth noting, shortly after her return Letizia gave birth to Napoleon; his embryonic presence at the battle remains part of his legend.
In her book, Shannon Selin shares several stories of his birth.
The first involving comet C/1769 P1, first observed by astronomer Charles Messier at the Naval Observatory in Paris on the evening of August 8, 1769.
According to observers, the comet became brighter through the month of August, with a lengthening tail.
It made its closest approach to earth on September 10.
Messier himself later sought to associate his comet with Napoleon’s birth, hoping to receive the Emperor’s attention and monetary support.
As the comet has an estimated orbital period of around 2090 years, it has not been seen since 1769.
That seems not to be as magnanimous as Napoleon himself would like and he gave a version that hailed back thousands of years to warriors of legend.
He said he was born or laid on a carpet or tapestry on which were woven scenes from The Iliad and The Odyssey, or – in another version – the conquests of Alexander the Great and Julius Caesar.
The actual version
August 15 marks the celebration of the Catholic Feast of the Assumption of Our Lady the Virgin Mary
Letizia was at mass in the Ajaccio cathedral when she felt severe labour pains.
She left the service and walked the short distance to her house Casa Buonaparte, now a museum), aided by Carlo’s sister Gertrude Paravicini.
On a couch in the salon – for there was no time to reach her bedroom – with the assistance of Gertrude and a maid-servant, she was delivered of her fourth child – a boy, with a big head and a very intelligent face, who screamed loudly, and soon began sucking his thumb, which was considered a good sign among the Corsicans.
Nine days later, Letizia turned 19 years old.
When Letizia was asked in later life about Napoleon’s version, she said:
I carried my Napoleon in my womb with the same joy, the same calm happiness, the same serenity that I experienced later, when I held him in my arms, and fed him at my breast.
My mind was entirely occupied by the dangers of his father and those of Corsica.
To gather news of the army, I quit the safe retreat of our steep rocks, to which the women had been consigned, and ventured on to the very fields of battle.
I heard the bullets whistling about my ears, but I knew no fear, since I trusted in the protection of the Holy Virgin, to whom I had dedicated my Napoleon.
Letizia Ramolino was a no-nonsense mother, even after Napoleon became Emperor, he once presented his hand for her to kiss, she flung it at him and presented her own hand instead.
Although Napoleon and his mother had their differences , “She has always been an excellent woman, a mother without an equal; she deserved all reverence” , he said.
“I consecrated myself wholly to my duties as a mother, and rarely went out except to mass.
My presence at home was always necessary to control my little children.
My mother-in-law and husband were so indulgent that at the least cry or reprimand they ran to them and gave them a thousand caresses.
As for me I was severe or indulgent as needed.
Thus I was loved and obeyed by my children who have always shown me love and respect.” Letizia explained.
At age 10, Napoleon was allowed to enter French military school for aristocrats where he was sent in 1779, with his older brother Joseph, to the College of Autun in Burgundy. Later Napoleon transferred to the College of Brienne.
At school he was often bullied by other students because of his lower social standing, because he spoke Spanish, and did not know French well.
Despite this teasing, Napoleon received an excellent education.
Carlo died in February 1785. For the next few years Letizia managed to keep her family together, despite numerous sons and daughters scattered across France in education and training.
She ran a thrifty household and persuaded notoriously ungenerous relatives to part with their money.
It was the start of a series of financial highs and lows : in 1791 Letizia inherited large sums from Archdeacon Lucien, who had lived on the floor above her in the Casa Buonaparte.
This enabled her son Napoleon to enjoy quick promotion and enter into the turmoil of Corsican politics.
After turning against Paoli, Napoleon suffered defeat, forcing his family to flee for the French mainland in 1793.
By the end of the year Letizia was lodged in two small rooms at Marseilles, relying on a soup kitchen for food.
This sudden loss would effect her views when the family rose to great heights under the Napoleonic empire and fell from them.
Napoleon turned his attention to a career in the army.
In the early stages of the French Revolution, Napoleon associated with the Jacobins, a political group in 1793-4 which implemented a violent “Reign of Terror” against perceived opponents.
In late 1793 he played a key role in capturing the city of Toulon from British and royalist forces, after which Augustin Robespierre—the brother of Maximilien Robespierre, de facto leader of France during the “Reign of Terror”—described him as having “transcendent merit.”
Though briefly beneficial for career advancement, such ties to the Robespierres proved costly once they were overthrown in July 1794 and sent to the guillotine.
In 1799, Napoleon (age 30) took part in the coup d’état that overthrew the government.
Napoleon was arrested on suspicion of treason upon returning from a diplomatic mission to Genoa.
Luckily for him, he was released within two weeks and soon after regained his position in the army.
He then helped repel a royalist attack on Paris prior to leading a successful conquest of northern Italy which turned him into one of the most prominent figures in France.
Having plunged his family into poverty, Napoleon soon saved them from it: heroic success in Paris brought him a promotion to the Army of the Interior and considerable wealth with 60,000 francs which went to Letizia, until 1814, Letizia received ever greater riches from her son, especially after his triumphant Italian campaign of 1796-7.
This lined the elder Bonaparte brothers’ pockets with considerable riches and caused the Paolista’s to be expelled from Corsica; Letizia was thus able to return to the Casa Buonaparte, which she renovated with a massive compensatory grant from the French government.
After being imprisoned for ten days on suspicion of treason and refusing assignment to lead the Army of the West, Napoleon was assigned to work for the map department of the French war office.
His military career nearly ended, but when forces loyal to the king attempted to regain power in Paris in 1795, Napoleon was called in to stop the uprising.
As a reward he was appointed commander of the Army of the Interior.
Later that year Napoleon met Josephine de Beauharnais and they were married in March 1796. Within a few days Napoleon left Josephine in Paris and started his new command of the Army of Italy.
Soon the French troops were winning battle after battle against the Italians and Austrians.
Napoleon advanced on Vienna and engineered the signing of a treaty that gave France control of Italy.
Napoleon returned to Paris a hero, and he soon decided to invade Egypt.
He sailed from France, in May 1798 with an army of 35,000 men.
With only a few losses, all of lower Egypt came under Napoleon’s control.
He set about reorganizing the government, the postal service, and system for collecting taxes.
He built new hospitals for the poor.
However, at this time a group of countries had banded together to oppose France. Austrian and Russian forces regained control of almost all of Italy.
Then, in August 1798, the British destroyed French ships in the Battle of the Nile, leaving the French army cut off from its homeland.
Now a woman of great wealth and considerable esteem, Letizia still attempted to control her children, remaining able to praise and chastise them even as they became kings, princes and emperors.
Indeed, Letizia was keen that each should benefit equally from the Bonaparte’s success, and each time he bestowed an award on one sibling , Letizia urged him to restore the equilibrium with awards to the others.
Letizia did more than simply organise her family, she acted as an unofficial governor of Corsica – commentators have suggested that nothing major occurred without her approval – and she also oversaw the Imperial Charities.
Although she loved her children and devoted to them, she was particularly meddlesome when it came to their spouses.
Angered by Napoleon’s marriage to the widow Josephine de Beauharnais, on which she was not consulted,Letizia regarded Josephine as a woman of easy morals, expensive tastes and indifferent character. She thought Josephine was too old to bear Napoleon children (all on which she proved correct).
The tension between his mother and wife dogged Napoleon throughout his marriage to Josephine.
Letizia “condemned her harshly for seducing and corrupting the dutiful, naive Napoleon and when Josephine was out of earshot, she called her a “whore.”
Napoleon’s fame and wealth were no guarantee of his mother’s favor.
Immediately after his imperial accession, Napoleon granted titles to his family, including that of ‘Prince of the Empire‘ for Joseph and Louis.
However, Letizia disliked her imperial title- “Madame Mère de Sa Majesté l’Empereur” (Mother of His Majesty, the Emperor), which everyone shortened to Madame Mère. – She hated it so much, it was also another reason why she boycotted the coronation.
The title may have been a deliberate slight from son to mother over family arguments. The Emperor tried to make amends a year later by giving Letizia a country home with over 200 courtiers, high-ranking servants and vast sums of money.
Letizia amassed a large fortune by letting her children and patrons spend money on her, while she saved her own.
Though careful with her own money, she was willing to spend that of her children and patrons freely.
Unimpressed with a wing of the Grand Trianon – she had Napoleon move her into a large seventeenth century chateau, despite complaining at the opulence of it all.
She was exhibiting more than an innate miserliness, she was preparing for the potential collapse of Napoleon’s empire:
‘”My son has a fine position, said Letizia, ‘but it may not continue for ever. Who knows whether all these kings won’t some day come to me begging for bread?'” (Napoleon’s Family, Seward, pg 103.)
She was always aware of the precariousness of Napoleon’s position. She reportedly said:
Rings adorn fingers, but they may fall off and the fingers remain.
By 1802 ,Napoleon was given the position of first consul for life, with the right to name his replacement. He changed his title to emperor in 1804.
War resumed after a new coalition was formed against France. In 1805 the British destroyed French naval power in the Battle of Trafalgar. Napoleon, however, was able to defeat Russia and Austria in the Battle of Austerlitz and in 1806 Napoleon’s forces destroyed the Prussian army; after the Russians came to the aid of Prussia and were defeated themselves, Alexander I of Russia made peace at Tilsit in June 1807.
Napoleon was now free to reorganize western and central Europe as he pleased ,after Sweden was defeated in 1808 with Russia’s help, only England remained to oppose Napoleon.
At the height of his power, Napoleon Bonaparte controlled a huge portion of Europe, the Iberian Peninsula in the west to present-day Poland in the east.
But in April 1814, after a series of military setbacks culminating in the fall of Paris, he abdicated as emperor of France and was ordered into exile on the Mediterranean island of Elba.
Depressed, he swallowed poison in an unsuccessful suicide attempt and then narrowly escaped an angry mob on the guarded journey to France’s southern coast.
From there, he boarded a British frigate and set sail into what was supposed to be obscurity .
The terms of Napoleon’s abdication guaranteed her 300,000 francs a year, and she wisely liquidated her French property before it was taken from her.
The considerable wealth allowed her to buy the Palazzo Rinuccini (Rinuccini Palace) in 1818.
When Letizia learned that Napoleon had died on St. Helena, she let out a sharp cry, fell to the floor unconscious, and then refused to see anyone for days.
Letizia spent her remaining years quietly in Rome, rarely going out, except to Mass.
She always wore black, in mourning both for Napoleon and Elisa, who died in August 1820.
She experienced more sorrow with Pauline’s death 1825, and death of Napoleon’s son 1832 ,was a further blow.
By this time Letizia was an invalid (she fell and fractured her thigh in 1830, leaving her unable to walk) and totally blind.
After the July 1830 revolution in France, a French Deputy proposed putting forward a motion to lift the ban on her residing in France,
Letizia thanked him but refused.
She did not want an exemption made for her and not her children.
Letizia died in Rome February 2, 1836, age 85.
In 1851, her body was taken to Corsica and buried in her native Ajaccio.