Napoleon Pistols Sold at French Auction

Napoleon Pistols Sold at French Auction
Image copyright: Hulton Archive/Stringer/Hulton Archive via Getty Images

The Facts

  • On Sunday, two pistols that belonged to French Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte fetched €1.69M ($1.83M) at a French auction house, which claims that the European figure tried to use the weapons to kill himself.

  • The ornate pair of pistols sold at the Osenat auction house, located next to the Fontainebleau palace where Napoleon attempted suicide following his fall from power in 1814. Dubbed a national treasure by France's culture ministry, the weapons were prohibited from being exported.


The Spin

Narrative A

Napoleon has a complicated legacy that shouldn't prevent him from being celebrated. He embodied the essence of a great man who single-handedly forges history. As both a military savant and political figure, he has written several chapters of history, and he gets far too little credit for his prudence as a leader given the circumstances of his rise. Despite his missteps and large ego, Napoleon remains a hero of history who should be recognized.

Narrative B

Napoleon embodies everything wrong with leaders of the past who enslaved and colonized marginalized peoples for personal gain. A symbol of white supremacy, Napoleon should not be celebrated and instead should be remembered as a murderer and oppressor. More attention should be paid to the remaining legacy of European colonization and how to dismantle oppression.


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