Welcome to today's deep dive. We are taking a
look at a Wikipedia article covering a historical
document called the Quem Memoranda. And I know
right off the bat, a 19th century papal bull
might sound like some really dry reading. Yeah.
A bit niche. Exactly. But this source material
actually reveals a thrilling, really high stakes
standoff between the most powerful secular ruler
in the world at the time and the head of the
Catholic Church. It really does. Because for
anyone listening, if you love understanding how
powerful figures justify their actions, how they
operate under pressure. This deep dive provides
an absolute masterclass in political framing
and ultimately reconciliation. OK, let's unpack
this. We are dropping you into the year 1808.
We're right in the thick of the Napoleonic Wars.
Right. You have Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte actively
reshaping the entire map of Europe through military
conquest. And opposite him is Pope Pius VII.
He's the spiritual leader of millions of Catholics.
But, and this is crucial, he's also the secular
ruler of the people states in Italy. Yeah, he's
a head of state. He is. Yeah. And we are exploring
this crazy intersection of absolute power, spiritual
authority, and just a clash of massive egos.
Because the source... details this creeping annexation.
It wasn't just a sudden overnight invasion. No,
it was a very slow motion squeeze. The timeline
of the invasion is so deliberate. In February
of 1808, French troops just, you know. Occupy
Rome. Just march right in. Right in. And then
shortly after that, they take the Marche region.
Then by April 1808, Napoleon issues a decree
officially annexing the church states into his
empire. But with a really weird catch. A huge
catch. He creates this illusion of control. He
legally annexes the territory, yet strangely
leaves the pope's power in the capital in Rome
completely untouched for the moment. Which is
such a bizarre administrative limbo. To put it
in perspective for you, it's like someone legally
claiming ownership of your entire property. Yeah.
But they tell you that you can still rule over
the living room. That is exactly what it's like.
You can sit on a couch, but I own the house.
Right. It's completely unsustainable. It's just
designed to strip away actual power while avoiding
the PR nightmare of overtly overthrowing the
pope. But that tension couldn't last forever.
And the hammer drops in May of 1809. Right. Napoleon
publishes two new decrees to just finish the
job. We really need to focus on the decree of
May 17th, because that's when Napoleon drops
the pretense entirely. He declares that the Pope's,
quote, Temporal pretensions are irreconcilable
with the safety, tranquility, and prosperity
of the empire. That phrasing is so aggressive.
Yeah. Temporal pretensions. Like ruling for centuries
was just a cute hobby. What's fascinating here
is how Napoleon phrases this. He frames his aggressive
expansion not as an attack on religion. Because
that would be a disaster. A total disaster. He'd
have a massive Catholic uprising on his hands.
So instead he frames it as a bureaucratic necessity
for the safety of his empire. Right. He uses
words like... Safety, tranquility, prosperity.
He's basically telling the public, I don't have
a theological dispute here. The Pope's role as
a political ruler is just a threat to our stability.
It's pure political spin. Pure spin. But the
reality on the ground hits the tipping point
on June 10th, 1809. French authorities officially
proclaim this decree in the streets of Rome.
And just like that, the secular power of the
Holy See is abruptly ended. The Pope is backed
into a corner. He is. But his initial reaction,
according to the source, was hesitation. Yeah,
he didn't fire back immediately. Which makes
sense. I mean, you're dealing with Napoleon.
But his advisor, Cardinal Paca, stepped in. Paca
was not having it. No, he insisted on taking
an immediate stand. And once Pius was convinced,
things moved incredibly fast. Here's where it
gets really interesting. Later that very same
day, June 10th. The exact same day. The same
day they proclaim the French decree, the Pope
releases the papal brief, Quam Memoranda. Which
translates to on that memorable day. Right. He
is taking the day of his public humiliation and
cementing it into the historical record on his
own terms. It is a massive flex. And when you
look at the direct excerpt provided in the source,
it reads like a declaration of absolute spiritual
war. It really does. I mean, look at the opening
line. The time for clemency is over. Such a powerful
opening. It just cuts through all of Napoleon's
bureaucratic PR. Completely. The Pope states
his reasoning so plainly. He says he has no hope
whatever of changing the minds of the authors
of this evil through prayers or demands. He's
acknowledging that soft diplomacy is dead. Exactly.
And he relies on some heavy historical precedent,
too. Right. He brings up past popes. Yeah. He
mentions that previous sovereign pontiffs used
extreme measures against rebellious kings and
princes. He's reminding... But the text also
shows this fascinating internal fear. He writes
that he fears being accused of weakness and procrastination
more than he fears rashness or temerity. He's
terrified of his own historical legacy. He doesn't
want to be remembered as the guy who just let
the church get dismantled without a fight. So
he deploys the absolute nuclear option. Excommunication.
Right. And the mechanics of how this punishment
was deployed are fascinating. It targeted all
authors, promoters, counselors or adherents of
the invasion. Anyone involved. Anyone. And it
stripped them of any privileges or indult, basically
revoking any special legal exemptions the church
had ever given them. But there is a huge curious
detail here. He doesn't name Napoleon. He excommunicated
Napoleon without actually naming him directly
in the document. Which is such a strategic move.
It gives this tiny sliver of plausible deniability.
while still dropping the hammer. Everyone knew
who the author of the invasion was. Obviously.
And the visual impact of this was immediate.
By the very next morning, issues of the excommunication
were plastered all over Rome. Physically pasted
to the walls. Yes, on the three major churches.
St. Mary Major. St. John Lateran and St. Peter's.
Imagine being a French soldier waking up to see
that you've been publicly cast out of the church.
It's an incredible act of defiance. It is. But
of course, it leads to the immediate fallout.
The French military authorities realize they
cannot maintain control of Rome with the pope
doing this. They have a huge military dilemma
on their hands. To secure control, they decide
they must arrest Pope Pius VII. But even the
French command was split on this. The Soros introduces
a great cast of characters here. You have General
Sextius Alexandre -Francois de Muley. He was
the garrison commander. Right, and he initially
hesitated. Just like the Pope hesitated. Nobody
wants to be the one to cross that line. Arresting
the Holy Father is a big deal. But then you have
Brigadier General Étienne Radet. Radet is the
hardliner. Yeah, he argues that Rome simply can
no longer be governed without a literal show
of force. If we connect this to the bigger picture,
it really makes you think about the dynamics
of power. You have spiritual authority flexing
its only real muscle, excommunication, and the
secular authority responds with the only thing
it has left. Physical force. Exactly. And Redet
wins that argument. So less than a month after
the bull was issued, we hit the kidnapping. In
the early hours of July 6th, Redet and his troops
enter the Quirinal Palace. Middle of the night.
Middle of the night, they arrest Pope Pius VII
and force him into a carriage out of the city.
The audacity of that is just staggering. And
his exile is so odd. They trace his journey through
Genoa and Grenoble, and he ends up in a large
house in Savona. But it's a completely contradictory
form of exile. Right, because he's a captive,
he was kidnapped by military force. Right. But
the French authorities are letting him conduct
ceremonies and receive visits from the local
population. It's this bizarre political tightrope.
Napoleon wants him out of the way, but he can't
treat him like a common criminal without sparking
a massive religious revolt. So you have a captive
pope who is still acting as a spiritual figurehead
while under house arrest by an excommunicated
emperor. You couldn't write fiction like this.
No, you really couldn't. So what does this all
mean? We have annexation, excommunication, a
midnight kidnapping. But years later, the source
reveals this incredible twist ending. The ultimate
irony. The ultimate irony. Because the geopolitical
landscape flips entirely. Napoleon loses. He's
stripped of his power. And he is sent into his
own forced exile on the remote island of St.
Helena. The conqueror becomes the captive. And
it's there that these two men actually reconcile.
Napoleon's excommunication is lifted. The source
shares these amazing quotes from Napoleon to
General Monthalon while he's on St. Helena. He's
talking about the Pope. the man he had kidnapped.
And what does he say? He refers to Pius VII as
an old man full of tolerance and light. Wow.
And he admits his own regret. He says, quote,
Fatal circumstances embroiled our cabinets. I
regret it exceedingly. Hearing Napoleon Bonaparte
express profound regret is so rare. It really
shows how his exile stripped away all that imperial
ego. It left him with a lot of time to think.
And that leads to a final, really moving request.
Right. Napoleon asks his captors for a chaplain.
He tells them, it would rest my soul to hear
Mass. And think about who has to approve that,
or at least who gets involved. Pope Pius VII,
the man Napoleon kidnapped. The pope could have
just ignored him, let him suffer. Absolutely.
He had every reason to. But instead, the pope
shows this incredible grace. He successfully
petitions Britain to grant the former emperor's
request. He advocates for him. Yes. And he sends
the Abbe Vignale to St. Helena to be Napoleon's
chaplain. It's a staggering act of forgiveness.
And because of that, on May 5th, 1821, Napoleon
dies in Longwood House, having received the Eucharist
and the last rites. He dies reconciled with the
church entirely because of the mercy of the man
he once tried to destroy. It is such a massive
historical arc to think all of this comes from
a single Wikipedia article about the Quam memoranda.
We started with dry bureaucratic decrees and
it evolved into geopolitical power grabs, a high
stakes excommunication, a literal kidnapping.
And ended with profound forgiveness. Exactly.
This raises an important question, though. Something
for you to mull over on your own. I love these.
Let's hear it. Think about how both of these
world leaders ended up in forced exile, Pius
locked away in Savona, and Napoleon isolated
on St. Helena. When you strip away the grand
titles, the invading armies, and the fiery papal
decrees, how much of world history is ultimately
driven by the fragile egos and the eventual quiet
regrets of isolated men? That is a fascinating
thought to end on. Thank you so much for joining
us on this deep dive into the sources today.
We hope you enjoyed it, and we encourage you
to keep learning and seeking out those hidden
human stories behind the historical footnotes.
We will see you next time.