How come Napoleon hated France during his childhood but later became french emperor?
When and why did Napoleon change his view on France? I know he spent all his childhood hating the french, but still he attended military school and supported France and protected Paris during the french revolution?
How do you know he hated France? Can you give us a reference to this?
probably because he wasn’t the emperor yet when he was small…
Yes there is a reference to this, his mother, subordinates, childhood friends, schoolmasters, friends ETC all have commented in numerous texts that until the French Revolution Napoleon was very much resentful towards the French people. Considering Napoleon wasn’t French at all and was from the Island of Corsica I believe Ajaccio, he was from a minor italian noble family based on corruption and debt from his father. When the Kingdom of tuscany(i think), maybe Lucca or Modena, sold Corsica to the French Monarchy, their was violent resistance to the french takover of the island. This all happened when Napoleon was very young maybe 1-3 years old. Napoleon grew up in a state of dismay, watching disillusioned middle aged men curse the existence of France, the failure of the revolt and the general ills of life. Napoleon’s father spared no time in becoming friendly with the new french overlords, he became a minor government official and had Napoleon sent to a French Academy and later French military academy to be schooled in continental France. Being Corsican born, it was easy for French children to see that he wasn’t of traditional French Stock and looked more Occitanian and made fun of his small stature, funny accent, and angry/resetful attitude. Napoleon went to France resenting it, and grew up their even more resenting it. The biggest event that changed his life from this downward spiral of hatred was his subsequent enlisting into the Navy(however, there was not spots so he was placed in the artillery). During the revolution Napoleon fought for the crown and was more then happy to open fire on "the rabble" of society at anytime. He was sent to the garrison of his Corsica under the french king to defend the island, there he met his childhood idol( a corsican revolutionary general), in which he wrote that he was very disappointed in. This situation brought Napoleon closer to the Revolution, his pro-corsican nationalism died when he realized his idol was washed up. He saw the chaso happening in france as an opportunity to show his worth, not being french made no difference, he was a french military officer and the ideal of the revolution made it so he could rise through the ranks post revolution and seize the government. its arguable to stay that he might still have hated the french people, regardless Napoleon was out for himself, and what wealth and power trickled down to the french people was a byproduct of his success. If anything, he took advantage of the French, even more succesfully than if he achieved Corsican independence. Some could percieve that he "hijacked" french society. I believe he fit perfectly in the new cosmopolitan structure developed after the revolution and that his abilities allowed people like him to fill the gaps created by the revolution. He became french emperor, because he could. A man of his ambition would have dried up fast living in corsica, Napoleon was put on leave from the army for 6 months during the revolution… " he wrote that he felt idle, lonely and useless, moreover that things in france were becoming more turbulent everyday and he had no part in it".
He hated the stuck up leaders most likely.
I don’t see why this is so surprising.
Napoleon was a supporter of the French Revolution that pretty much shows right their he hated the French government and wanted to replace it.