Thinking of Napoleon Bonaparte one thinks of a short man, aggressive, domineering, and of course French. He was one of the greatest military strategists and conquerors the world has ever seen. It’s peculiar to see him as a mortal man who has a family, but alas Napoleon is just as human as you and I.
On this day March 23rd, in 1808, Napoleon placed his brother, Joseph, on the throne of Spain.
Joseph was born in Corsica, like his brother, but at that point France had yet to control Corsica. Joseph’s ascension to the throne caused revolt amongst many of the Spaniards, and he had even wanted to step down, but Napoleon ordered him not to and sent more troops to support Joseph. While Joseph was on the throne he ended the Spanish Inquisition, which had been instated since the late 15th century, but no matter what Joseph would do, his membership with the Freemasons kept a majority of Spain from ever supporting him.