It is Napoleon’s fault
that Brazilians drink caipirinha instead of champagne ! This was the tongue-in-cheek advertisement for the film Napoleon. It, very well could have been the case, if Napoleon had not been defeated at Waterloo. The flawed Ridley Scott film has everyone debating and researching Napoleon’s epic story to uncover the true Napoleon. Since more than 60 000 books have been written on the Corsican, it is an impossible feat. Each author has labored to drill down into the character to the point of reinventing him. Napoleon’s cultural legacy is nearly as significant as the political impact he had on the society of his time, in Europe and beyond. In 1807, Napoleon’s army invaded Portugal (Napoleon delegated the invasion to one of his generals). With British help, the Portuguese Prince regent fled Lisbon and landed on Brazil shore which, literally, was Portugal’s gold mine. In Rio de Janeiro, the prince may have tasted caipirinha for the...