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Spending as much time travelling as I do, one of the things that strikes me is how differently we all view history. For example, a favourite perspective vortex is to visit the tomb of Napoleon I in the crypt of Les Invalides in Paris and realise that all the terrible stuff I learned in school about “old Boney” was at best only half the story.

As well as the stuff about ruthlessly dominating Europe by armed force (which, of course, is spun differently in Paris!), the walls of his magnificent tomb at the Les Invalides recount how he created a fair system of law, established education for all, created a national network of roads and so much more. I’m sure French children learn all about this but all English children learn is about wars and how we eventually put Bonaparte in his place (a small, remote island).

Re-Discovering American History