“Memoirs of Napoleon’s Egyptian Expedition” is a book that details the experiences of a soldier who was part of Napoleon’s Bonaparte’s army. The events that are detailed in the chosen passage happened between 1798 and 1801, when the French Imperial army invaded Egypt.
The author of the chosen passage was a junior commander in Napoleon’s army. The writer traveled extensively through Egypt, and he had the opportunity to experience the Egyptian way of life both in rural and urban settings. In the above passage, the soldier offers a summarized comparison between the French and Egyptian lifestyles.
Moiret talks about his new experiences with Egyptian culinary, winning habits, mode of transportation, and leisure activities. The above passage is a small part of Mouret’s book, but it reveals a lot of details concerning the author, Egyptians, the French, and imperialism. This paper explores and critically reviews the above passage and the insights that it offers to its readers.
The tone that is used by Moiret in this passage reveals his discontent with the French occupation of Egypt. From the onset, it is clear that Moiret is not thrilled to be in Egypt either as a soldier or as a regular person. The root cause of Mouret’s discontent might be for several reasons.
For instance, Moiret might be against the intentions of his superior master Napoleon Bonaparte. Soldiers are usually aware of the hardships of war campaigns in foreign lands. However, Moiret appears to be oblivious of the compromises that accompany war campaigns in foreign lands. Mouret’s nonchalance indicates that there is something wrong with the soldiers’ predicament. For instance, it is possible that Moiret expects his country to lessen the discomforts of the soldiers who are in a tough environment.
Furthermore, Moiret notes that even the actions of his fellow countrymen are exploitive. For example, the writer observes that the Frenchmen who open inns and cafes in Cairo overcharge for their wine. Consequently, it is the soldier’s hope that an imperial regime like that of Napoleon should have the ability to check some of these injustices.
On the other hand, it is possible that the tone of disappointment that is found in Mouret’s passage is just a manifestation of the soldier’s dislikes. In the passage, Moiret compares almost all aspects of life in Egypt with those in France. Comparing the quality of life in an African desert country with that of a conquering empire is unrealistic and pointless. It is unlikely that the soldier had expected to find high standards of living in Egypt.
However, Mouret’s expectations come from his earlier experiences with a world-class army. Moiret was under the impression that the French army should only conquer countries and towns that are ‘worth conquering.’ The fact that Moiret lists some of the worthy towns that the French have conquered is proof that he does not hold Cairo in high regard.
For example, in his passage, Moiret compares Cairo with cities such as “Milan, Padua, Leghorn, Rome, Verona, Graz, etc.” (Moiret 57). All these cities were more advanced than Cairo in terms of their infrastructures and living standards. Moiret ponders on his experiences in Egypt with a nostalgia that indicates that he would rather be somewhere else.
Mouret’s memoirs are highly indicative of an imperialistic mindset. The first line in the passage reads, “their finest dishes have nothing to please the refined European” (Moiret 57). This line immediately calls the reader’s attention to the superiority of the writer. An air of superiority amongst the French characterized the Napoleon imperialistic military campaign. The Napoleon Empire was built upon a feeling of superiority among other countries in the world.
Consequently, the French set on their military campaign while trying to prove that they were the most advanced people in the world. Whenever the French army would invade a country; the soldiers would not expect to find sophisticated people. Subsequently, Moiret is quick to point out the things that make the French superior to the Egyptians.
Mouret’s first and obvious claim to superiority is the quality of the wine. Since the late eighteenth century, the French people have perfected the art of brewing wine, and their prowess is still apparent. Therefore, comparing the Egyptians taste in wine with that of the French is downright unfair. Egypt is largely a Muslim country, and its citizens care little about wine. However, according to Moiret, this disinterest in wine is “barbarous.”
The imperialistic mindset of the writer is also manifested by his dismissal of the Egyptians’ coffee drinking habits. According to Moiret, drinking coffee without sugar is not ‘classy’ enough for his liking. The need to impose culinary tastes on an already developed culture is imperialistic. In the passage, the writer does not point out any type of food that he fancies in Egypt. Mouret’s dismissal of an entire culinary culture indicates that he never had an open-minded attitude towards Egyptian food.
The most striking feature of Mouret’s passage is its vivid descriptions. Moiret refrains from complex and lengthy descriptions but instead chooses to engage the writer in simplistic visualizations. In one instance, Moiret describes how the French soldiers rode donkeys to “explore the city streets or visit the neighborhood” (Moiret 57).
The readers find these vivid descriptions to be of great use because they offer a clear picture of a seventeenth-century Egypt. Egypt remains to be one of the most advanced ancient civilizations in the world. Therefore, most of history’s greatest conquerors believed that their campaigns were not wholesome without subduing Egypt. For example, before Napoleon Bonaparte took his troops to Egypt, Alexander the Great had done the same thing a few centuries earlier.
However, Moiret offers the readers a vivid picture of the priced jewel that is the land of the pyramids. According to Moiret, Egypt was not a land of splendor or advanced civilization as most people tended to believe it was. Mouret’s vivid descriptions also offer the readers an insight into the Egyptian way of life. For example, Mouret’s description of an Egyptian brothel as a squalid establishment that is filled with chattering courtesans is quite vivid.
Mouret’s passage also offers a historical outlook of the French-Egyptian relationship. In the passage, Moiret claims that unlike most of the other places that the French invaded, the soldiers had the chance to explore the beauty and the splendor of Cairo. In another part of the memoirs, Moiret reveals that his army unit came across a caravan of almost six thousand Egyptians who were astonished to find that the European troops were here to help (Moiret 59).
The French army had occupied Egypt to get rid of the Ottoman’s Empire stronghold on the North African country. Nevertheless, later on in the conflict, tensions between the French and a section of Egyptian citizens grew. However, the passage reveals that the French had no hidden agendas in their Egyptian military campaign. Mouret’s tone and clear disappointment with the Egyptian way of life show that the French had nothing to hide.
Although memoirs are meant to be private musings of their writers, they are always intended for a known or unknown audience. It is not clear who is it that Moiret intended to address in his memoirs although there are hints in the passage. It is clear that Mouret’s work was not intended for either Napoleon or any of the other French army superiors.
Napoleon would have found the junior officer’s lack of enthusiasm appalling and uncharacteristic of a dedicated soldier. On the other hand, it is likely that Moiret was hoping to impress the Bourbons who were Napoleon’s main opposition. It was also clear that any information detailing shortcomings in the French military campaigns would have impressed the Bourbons to a great extent.
Consequently, it can be speculated that some of the contents of Mouret’s memoirs were meant to endear him to the opposing camp. For instance, in this passage, Moiret constantly talks about how ‘out of place’ the French are in Egypt. In another part of the memoirs, Moiret talks about how the French army was forced to retreat in the vast deserts of Egypt.
Mouret’s passage is written in a simple but unapologetic manner. The passage’s writer simply knows what he wants to write about and does not seek to please his superiors in the army. The passage reveals how imperialist soldiers disregarded their hosts’ way of life. The passage also reveals a passive aggressive historical encounter between the French and the Egyptians.
Works Cited
Moiret, Joseph-Marie. Memoirs of Napoleon’s Egyptian expedition 1798-1801, London: Greenhill Books/Lionel Leventhal, 2001. Print.