Rare handwritten manuscript in pencil by Napoleon Bonaparte, one page, 8 x 12.5, no date. A significant document prepared by Napoleon while living in exile at Longwood House on Saint Helena, regarding his proposed memoirs. Napoleon famously dictated his memoirs to Emmanuel, comte de Las Cases, who had accompanied him to Saint Helena and served as his secretary there. Las Cases published the admiring work under the title Le Mémorial de Sainte-Hélène (The Memorial of Saint Helena) in 1823. Here, Napoleon writes out what is essentially a working draft of a table of contents or outline for his memoirs in thirteen chapters.
The manuscript begins, "Ch. 1, 18 Brumaire," referencing the French Republican calendar date of November 9, 1799, when the 'Coup of 18 Brumaire' brought General Napoleon Bonaparte to power as First Consul of France. The list goes on to mention the actions of the government in 1800, tasks of the legislative body in 1800-1801, finances in 1800-1801, the War in the Vendée, defense, armies, the preliminaries of Saint-Julien, Holland, Italy, negotiations for the return of peace in 1800-1801 (with reference to treaties signed at Lunéville and Amiens), and revolts of the populations in Italy, Holland, Switzerland, and Genoa. In very good to fine condition, with multiple horizontal folds, and small splits to the ends of the vertical fold.
In this extraordinary manuscript, Napoleon dismisses the early years of his life and concentrates on this decisive period of his career: just a few years, where he seizes power as First Consul in 1799 before rising to Emperor of the French in 1804. Napoleon had little else to do while exiled than to reflect on his triumphs, and this documents Napoleon's own thoughts on the main steps of his rise to power. It is a critical manuscript that offers insight into Napoleon's understanding of his life and career.
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