#barry o'meara

[empirearchives]

A Madras scarf or Foulard believed to have been worn by Napoleon at St. Helena

Napoleon was known to wear head coverings. Doctor Barry O'Meara, Napoleon’s doctor on St. Helena, noted during his visit on 5th March 1817:

“On my return from Longwood, I found Napoleon in very different spirits from yesterday. He was reclining on his sofa, in a very positive attitude, his head resting upon one of his hands, and apparently melancholy. His morning gown was on, a Madras round his head and his beard unshaved.”

(Barry O'Meara, Napoleon in Exile or A Voice from St. Helena, 1822)

General Montholon, remarked on 13 April 1821 during the Emperor’s illness, less than a month before he died:

“The night was not so good, possibly because of the heavy sweating. Seven times I changed the Emperor, and each time flanelle and linen were soaked, until the madras of which he surrounds his head. These linen changes are very difficult to do without making him impatient, because he does not want to; no light in his room, there is only one candle in the next room, and that's the weakest glow of this light that I need, not to give it, but to give it everything it needs, even tie the madras on his head.”

Following the long-held practice of the Empress Josephine, Napoleon is known to have covered his head both day and night. Louis Constant Wairy, Napoleon’s valet, remarks in his memoirs of the Empress that her

“...hair was strong, beautiful, long and silky; its light chestnut hue blended admirably with that of her skin, dazzling with finesse and freshness. At the beginning of his supreme power, the empress still liked to do her hair in the morning with a red madras that gave her the look of Creole, the hottest to have.”

(Mémoires de Constant, premier valet de chambre de l'empereur, sur la vie privée de Napoléon, sa famille et sa cour, 1830)

Bonhams: Napoleon Bonaparte, the British Sale

[thiswaycomessomethingwicked]

N a P o L e O n

clearly over here making friends on St Helena. 

Napoleon: leave me alone, do not torment me with your hateful presence. 

Sir Hudson Lowe: i said literally nothing. i just walked past the window. 

Napoleon: go away. 

[thiswaycomessomethingwicked]

Napoleon’s spicy takes are always so funny. 

Dr. Barry O’Meara: Freemasons, y/n? 

Napoleon: both. they’re iditios who perform foolries. but you know they also hate the pope and aided the revolution so that’s chill i guess.

[thiswaycomessomethingwicked]

“I [Napoleon] protest against all restrictions which are not made known to me previous to their being put into execution. By Lord Bathurst’s speech, he [Lowe] has no right to make any new restriction. [...] But, no. [Hudson Lowe] must give a coup d’épingle, refer to unknown restrictions, and throw in insinuations that it is to his goodness I am indebted for them. To a dungeon, to chains upon his legs and arms, l’uomo s’accostuma, ma al capriccio d’altrui è immpossibile (a man may accustom himself, but to another’s caprice, it is impossible). I do not desire any favour from him. Perhaps he requires that I should write him a letter of thanks daily for the air which I breathe? Un uomo che m’ammazza ogni giorno; and then desires that I should thank him for it. He reminds me of a German bourreau, who, while bastinadoing with all his might an unfortunate sufferer, cries after each blow, ‘Pardon Monsieur pour la grande liberté que je prends.’” (Pardon Sir for the great liberty which I take.)”

I [Dr. O’Meara]  asked what answer I should return. 

“Tell him,” said Napoleon, “che io non son obbligato di render nessun conto al mio boja.” (I am not obligated to render my account unto my executioner)

Napoleon and his charming insults about Hudson Lowe from Dr. O’Meara’s Napoleon in Exile - emphasis mine. 

[thiswaycomessomethingwicked]

St. Helena really had its Peak Moments as a comedy of errors. 

I just have this image of someone shoving their head in and Napoleon shutting the window in their face. 

[thiswaycomessomethingwicked]

and here we have Napoleon “Fuck the Jesuits” Bonaparte

[thiswaycomessomethingwicked]

Do you remember what Napoleon said about how people don't have to be born in France to be French but if they accepted the country as their own it would welcome them with open arms or something of the sort? I think it was written about his Corsican descent and general bullying he faced as a schoolboy.....

I’ve been trying to find the exact words - I’m pretty sure the scene you’re thinking of is in Barry O’Meara’s memoirs from St. Helena. The essence was that Napoleon felt it didn’t matter “which side of the Rhine” a person was born on, if they decided that France was to be their home then they were French. 

The concept of citizenship was a relatively new one at the time - indeed Napoleon witnessed, and impacted, the legal approach to citizenship and qualifications one must meet to be considered the citizen of a nation. The newness of this was also because the 18th century saw the beginning of the concept of a nation state and the identity therein as bound up in criteria separate from the sovereign. 

In terms of the law, Napoleon favoured the concept of the ‘right of soil’ or jus soli (birthright citizenship) versus that of ‘right of blood’ or jussanguinis. Jus Sanguinis means your citizenship is based on your parents citizenship rather than your place of birth. Jus soli is citizenship based on the location of a person’s birth. So the way Napoleon saw it is if you’re born in France you’re French regardless of the citizenship of your parents. 

Napoleon was also very much in favour of people choosing to change citizenships - hence his “doesn’t matter which side of the Rhine a person is born” comment. If in their heart they are French then they’re French. 

This view was probably influenced both by his own experiences around citizenship and what means “to be French” and by the Revolution’s approach to citizenship which, for a time, was very open. They made a lot of people outside of France “honourary citizens” because they thought their work or writings were in the spirit of the Revolution. E.g. Thomas Paine, George Washington, Johann HeinrichPestalozzi and Tadeusz Kosciuszko.

French Government in 1792: And you’re a French citizen, and you’re a French citizen, and you’re a French citizen. Everyone gets a French citizenship! Vive la revolution! George Washington: Um thanks? I think?

In terms of legal practice during the Empire: 

When the Civil Code [Code Napoleon] came into force in March 1803, the definition of a Frenchmanhad totally changed compared with previous periods, revolutionary or not. Over the nexteighty years, any individual born from foreign parents could claim French citizenship ifhe was at least 21 years old and declared his will to become a Frenchman and to settle in France. But for those immigrants who wanted to establish themselves in France, a ten-yearperiod was necessary before applying for naturalization.

–Citizenship and National Identity in Francefrom the French Revolution to the Present, Jean-François Berdah

Napoleon and François Tronchet butted heads a lot over citizenship during the drafting of the Code Napoleon. Napoleon did concede quite a bit to Tronchet, which is probably why the heavy restrictions on naturalization which aren’t in line, I would argue, with Napoleon’s personal views. That said, on the other hand, Napoleon was keen on containing and controlling “foriegn” elements within France and so it could also be seen as a mechanism of state control. Basically: you can’t just let any old person walk into French citizenship willy nilly. 

As usual, at the end of the day, Napoleon’s views on naturalization changed over time and could, at times, be called “ambiguous.”  Napoleon liked ambiguity. It confused people. Kept them on their toes. 

In modern times jus soli is less common than jus sanguinis and most countries that operate under the jus soli approach have certain restrictions and qualifiers in place. Modern France is a birthright citizenship based country but with restrictions compared to, let’s say, the United States where it’s unrestricted birthright citizenship. 

Anyway, I hope this helps. I’m sorry I couldn’t find the exact quote. But I’m like 85% sure it’s in Barry O’Meara’s memoirs so I recommend digging through them. They’re both on google books so you can read them for free. 

Thank you for the ask! 

[thiswaycomessomethingwicked]

i think one of my favourite things in the Barry O’Meara memoir of Napoleon on St Helena is that he keeps in some of the French and Italian phrasing that Napoleon used when he spoke. 

Also we get the joy of knowing that Napoleon pronounced “my lady” as “miledi”