lol well to be fair this was 1810 and the goal was to end the napoleonic wars in one stroke, which would in expectation have saved millions of lives… but yeah he probably did not solve for the equilibrium
This is wonderful, and reading it helps me to understand you better. Sometimes it seems like the age of adventure is behind us. Those were the days when Alexander by age 25 could become great king of Persia, have conquered Egypt and founded Alexandria. So few people aspire to this kind of greatness today, but this biography is a great reminder: Chochrane was just a dude, like me.
Loved this, especially the analysis of his success. Given that U make a distinction between his character and Napoleon's, it's curious that he supported him. Any sense of why? Also why did a Scot support breaking Napoleon out? Maybe I should read the book 😂🙏
Honestly it is not clear to me either, and the book doesn't explain it - maybe I have to read his autobiography to find out.
I think the British leadership at the time was extremely conservative, aristocratic, anti-reform, whereas Napoleon was quite progressive, meritocratic, and an enemy of corruption - so maybe Cochrane felt they would be pretty aligned on values? (And Scotland and France are traditional allies, maybe a shared hatred of the English unites them?)
There’s no series but there was the movie, Master and Commander. Patrick O’Brian wrote 20 novels about Jack Aubrey, a character modeled on Cochran. Nearly all of the examples in this essay closely resemble plot points in O’Brian’s books. Out on a limb here: they are the most entertaining, wide-ranging yet erudite historical fiction ever written.
"careful to minimize loss of human life" what about the poison gas
lol well to be fair this was 1810 and the goal was to end the napoleonic wars in one stroke, which would in expectation have saved millions of lives… but yeah he probably did not solve for the equilibrium
Why tf is there no prestige TV series on this guy???
This is wonderful, and reading it helps me to understand you better. Sometimes it seems like the age of adventure is behind us. Those were the days when Alexander by age 25 could become great king of Persia, have conquered Egypt and founded Alexandria. So few people aspire to this kind of greatness today, but this biography is a great reminder: Chochrane was just a dude, like me.
Interesting to think about the career politics of Napoleon’s gov vs the Brit’s of this time
Loved this, especially the analysis of his success. Given that U make a distinction between his character and Napoleon's, it's curious that he supported him. Any sense of why? Also why did a Scot support breaking Napoleon out? Maybe I should read the book 😂🙏
Honestly it is not clear to me either, and the book doesn't explain it - maybe I have to read his autobiography to find out.
I think the British leadership at the time was extremely conservative, aristocratic, anti-reform, whereas Napoleon was quite progressive, meritocratic, and an enemy of corruption - so maybe Cochrane felt they would be pretty aligned on values? (And Scotland and France are traditional allies, maybe a shared hatred of the English unites them?)
There’s no series but there was the movie, Master and Commander. Patrick O’Brian wrote 20 novels about Jack Aubrey, a character modeled on Cochran. Nearly all of the examples in this essay closely resemble plot points in O’Brian’s books. Out on a limb here: they are the most entertaining, wide-ranging yet erudite historical fiction ever written.
Just when I think all the giants of history have been unveiled another one steps in. Well done man really appreciated that read.