How Napoleon and Others Used Books to Understand the East

In history, Western leaders like Napoleon saw the East (or Orient) through books and ideas shaped by "Orientalism." Orientalism is a way of thinking about the East that often simplifies and misrepresents it. People like Napoleon and others who followed this tradition believed what these books said about the Orient and used them to guide their actions without actually knowing or understanding the people of the region.

Books vs. Real Life:

When people only rely on books or written information, they miss the complexity of real life. A book might say that all lions are fierce, and if someone encounters one fierce lion, they’ll believe that all lions are exactly like that. If the book also says how to handle a fierce lion and this advice works, people will trust that author even more and might even rely on them for more "knowledge" about lions. Over time, more books will repeat this idea of fierce lions, creating a belief that doesn’t leave room for other views.

This happened with the East too. People read books that described it in a certain way, and this created an image of the Orient as mysterious, dangerous, and in need of Western control. Because this image came from books written by Europeans, not by people from the East, it often ignored the voices of the actual people who lived there. The West built up an entire "library" of these ideas that shaped how they thought about the East.

How This Affected Napoleon and His Plans:

Napoleon, along with people like Ferdinand de Lesseps, who later built the Suez Canal, relied on these Orientalist ideas. They learned about the Orient from books that painted it as a place to conquer, not a place with real people, culture, and history. The "Orient" these books talked about was quiet and unable to speak for itself, which made it easier for the West to push forward its projects without facing much resistance.

For Napoleon, the Orient was like the "fierce lion" from the books, something to be handled as the text described. He brought a team of scholars with him to Egypt who documented everything they saw and made reports as if Egypt were an "open book" to be studied and controlled. This gave Napoleon a sense of power and purpose, but it didn’t mean he actually understood Egypt or its people. The books he read allowed him to imagine the East in a way that suited his goals without needing to listen to or involve the local people.

When Success Is One-Sided:

Napoleon’s idea of success didn’t involve the Eastern people’s views at all. In his mind, as long as his plans went forward smoothly, it meant he was successful. He saw himself as bringing “modern” ideas to a “backward” place, even though he only saw it that way because the books had framed it that way. The same was true for de Lesseps, who saw his project of building the Suez Canal as a way to “open up” the East for Europe, without considering how the people of the East felt about it.

The Impact of Orientalism Today:

The Orientalist view is still a part of how people in the West sometimes view the East. They often rely on books, movies, or news to tell them what life is like in these places, instead of seeking out direct experiences or voices from the region. This is why it’s important to remember that books can give us information, but they can’t capture everything about real people and their lives. As Napoleon and others showed, seeing the world through just one perspective can lead to a lot of misunderstanding and one-sided ideas of “success.”

In conclusion, Napoleon and others like him didn’t see the East for what it truly was; they saw it for what they thought it should be based on Western books and ideas. This shows us that while books can teach us a lot, they should not be the only way we understand other people and cultures. Real understanding requires listening, learning, and seeing things from more than just one side.

Note: This blog post is based on ideas from the book Orientalism by Edward W. Said. The book explores how Western writers and scholars have often misunderstood and misrepresented the East. I hope this summary helps readers see some key points and understand the context behind these views.