History vs. Napoleon Bonaparte - Alex Gendler

Translator: Hani Klafrina Reviewer: Ade Indarta

After the French Revolution erupted in 1789,

Setelah Revolusi Prancis pecah pada tahun 1789,

Europe was thrown into chaos.

situasi Eropa menjadi kacau.

Neighboring countries' monarchs feared they would share the fate of Louis XVI,

negara-negara monarki Eropa yang takut akan senasib dengan Louis XVI,

and attacked the New Republic,

kemudian menyerang Republik Baru itu,

while at home, extremism and mistrust between factions lead to bloodshed.

sedang di Prancis, esktrimisme dan curiga antargolongan berujung pertumpahan darah

In the midst of all this conflict,

Di tengah tengah kekacauan ini,

a powerful figure emerged to take charge of France.

Seorang tokoh kuat muncul untuk memimpin Prancis

Tapi apa sebenarnya ia menyelamatkan revolusi atau justru menghancurkannya?

But did he save the revolution or destroy it?

"Order, order, who's the defendant today? I don't see anyone."

Hakim: "Harap tenang, siapa terdakwa kita hari ini? Saya tak melihat siapapun"

"Your Honor, this is Napoléon Bonaparte,

Jaksa: "Yang Mulia, ini Napoleon Bonaparte,

the tyrant who invaded nearly all of Europe

pemimpin lalim yang hampir menaklukan seluruh Eropa

to compensate for his personal stature-based insecurities."

demi menutupi kekurangan fisiknya."

"Actually, Napoléon was at least average height for his time.

Pembela: "Sebenarnya, tinggi badan Napoleon tergolong normal pada zamannya.

The idea that he was short comes only from British wartime propaganda.

Isu dia bertubuh pendek berasal dari propaganda Inggris saat perang.

Dan dia bukan seorang pemimpin lalim

And he was no tyrant.

He was safeguarding the young Republic from being crushed

Dia menjaga Republik muda itu dari kehancuran

by the European monarchies."

yang ditimbulkan kerajaan-kerajaan di Eropa."

"By overthrowing its government and seizing power himself?"

Dengan menggulingkan pemerintahan dan merampas kekuasaan?

"Your Honor, as a young and successful military officer,

Yang mulia, sebagai perwira muda yang sukses,

Napoléon fully supported the French Revolution,

Napoleon mendukung penuh Revolusi Prancis

and its ideals of liberty, equality, and fraternity.

Dan semboyan kebebasan, persamaan, dan persaudaraan.

But the revolutionaries were incapable of real leadership.

Tapi para revolusioner tidak mampu memimpin

Robespierre and the Jacobins who first came to power

Robespierre dan elite partai adalah yang pertama memimpin

unleashed a reign of terror on the population,

merupakan rezim teror bagi masyarakat

with their anti-Catholic extremism

dengan paham anti-Katolik

and nonstop executions of everyone who disagreed with them.

dan tindakan mereka mengeksekusi siapapun yang tidak sepaham dengan mereka.

And The Directory that replaced them was an unstable and incompetent oligarchy.

dan Direktori penggantinya merupakan oligarki yang lemah

They needed a strong leader who could govern wisely and justly."

Prancis membutuhkan pimimpin kuat yang bijak dan adil

"So, France went through that whole revolution

Jadi, Prancis mengalami semua revolusi itu

just to end up with another all-powerful ruler?"

hanya untuk dipimpin oleh penguasa otoriter lain?

"Not quite.

Bukan begitu

Napoléon's new powers were derived from the constitution

Kekuasaan baru Napoleon didapat dari konstitusi

that was approved by a popular vote in the Consulate."

yang disetujui oleh suara terbanyak di Konsulat

"Ha! The constitution was practically dictated at gunpoint in a military coup,

Ha! Konstitusi yang ditodong senjata

and the public only accepted the tyrant

Dan masyarakat menerima penguasa otoriter itu

because they were tired of constant civil war."

hanya karena mereka muak dengan perang saudara

"Be that as it may,

Bagimanapun,

Napoléon introduced a new constitution and a legal code

Napoleon mengenalkan konstisusi baru dan undang-undang

that kept some of the most important achievements of the revolution in tact:

yang memuat rapi hasil penting revolusi

freedom of religion

kebebasan beragama

abolition of hereditary privilege,

penghapusan hak istimewa bangsawan,

and equality before the law for all men."

persamaan derajat kaum pria di mata hukum

"All men, indeed.

benar, kaum pria

He deprived women of the rights that the revolution had given them

Dia menyangkal hak kaum perempuan yang seharusnya diberikan

and even reinstated slavery in the French colonies.

dan bahkan memulai perbudakan lagi di negara koloni Prancis

Haiti is still recovering from the consequences centuries later.

Haiti masih merasakan penderitaan akibat perbudakan berabad-abad setelahnya.

What kind of equality is that?"

Kesetaraan macam apa itu?

"The only kind that could be stably maintained at the time,

Satu-satunya kebijakan yang mampu menstabilkan keadaan saat itu

and still far ahead of France's neighbors."

dan tetap jauh lebih maju dibandingkan negara tetangga.

"Speaking of neighbors, what was with all the invasions?"

Bagaimana dengan semua invasi yang dilakukan?

"Great question, Your Honor."

Pertanyaan bagus Yang mulia

"Which invasions are we talking about?

Invasi mana yang kita bicarakan?

It was the neighboring empires who had invaded France

Negara tetanggalah yang menginvasi Prancis

trying to restore the monarchy,

berusaha mengembalikan monarki

and prevent the spread of liberty across Europe,

dan mencegah meluasnya paham liberal di Eropa

twice by the time Napoléon took charge.

Dua kali saat Napoleon memimpin

Having defended France as a soldier and a general in those wars,

membela Prancis sebagai prajurit dan kemudian jendral dalam perang

he knew that the best defense is a good offense."

dia tahu cara bertahan terbaik adalah dengan menyerang.

"An offense against the entire continent?

Menyerang seluruh daratan Eropa?

Peace was secured by 1802,

Perdamaian tercapai di tahun 1802

and other European powers recognized the new French Regime.

Dan semua negara di Eropa mengakui Rezim Prancis

But Bonaparte couldn't rest unless he had control of the whole continent,

Tapi Bonaparte tidak tenang sebelum mampu menguasai Eropa

and all he knew was fighting.

Dan cara yang dia tahu hanya perang

He tried to enforce a European-wide blockade of Britain,

Dia mencoba mendesak Eropa memblokade Inggris

invaded any country that didn't comply,

menginvasi setiap negara yang tidak patuh

and launched more wars to hold onto his gains.

dan menciptakan banyak perang lagi demi tercapainya tujuan

And what was the result?

dan hasilnya?

Millions dead all over the continent,

Banyak orang terbunuh di Eropa

and the whole international order shattered."

dan undang-undang yang dibuat hancur

"You forgot the other result:

Anda lupa hasil lainya

the spread of democratic and liberal ideals across Europe.

menyebarnya paham demokrasi dan liberal ke seluruh Eropa

It was thanks to Napoléon that the continent was reshaped

Terimakasih pada Napoleon telah mengubah Eropa

from a chaotic patchwork of fragmented feudal and religious territories

dari kekacauan, pertikaian, dan kungkungan agama

into efficient, modern, and secular nation states

menjadi wilayah yang efektif, modern, dan sekuler.

where the people held more power and rights than ever before."

di mana rakyat mempunyai kekuasaan dan hak lebih banyak dari sebelumnya

"Should we also thank him for the rise of nationalism

Haruskah kita berterimakasih juga untuk bangkitnya nasionalisme

and the massive increase in army sizes?

dan melonjaknya jumlah tentara?

You can see how well that turned out a century later."

Kamu dapat melihat hasil baiknya seabad kemudian

"So what would European history have been like if it weren't for Napoléon?"

Jadi bagaimana sejarah Eropa tanpa Napoleon?

"Unimaginably better/worse."

Sangat lebih baik/lebih buruk

Napoléon seemingly unstoppable momentum would die in the Russian winter snows,

Kekuatan Napoleon yang tak terhentikan selesai di salju musim dingin Rusia

along with most of his army.

bersama sebagian besar prajuritnya

But even after being deposed and exiled,

namun setelah dihentikan dan diasingkan

he refused to give up,

dia pantang menyerah

escaping from his prison and launching a bold attempt at restoring his empire

dia kabur dari penjara dan berusaha keras mengembalikan kekuasaannya

before being defeated for the second and final time.

sebelum dikalahkan untuk kedua dan terahir kalinya

Bonaparte was a ruler full of contradictions,

Bonaparte adalah pemimpin kontroversional

defending a popular revolution by imposing absolute dictatorship,

menjaga revolusi dengan menjadi pemimpin diktator

and spreading liberal ideals through imperial wars,

menyebarkan paham liberal dengan memerangi banyak kerajaan

and though he never achieved his dream of conquering Europe,

dan meskipun dia tidak mampu meraih mimpinya menaklukan Eropa

he undoubtedly left his mark on it, for better or for worse.

tidak dapat dipungkiri, dia meninggalkan jejaknya di sana, baik dan buruk.