The twin sons of HCE and ALP, Shem, and Shaun can be compared to other feuding men in history. Early on in Finnegans Wake we meet another pair of rivals Napoleon Bonaparte and the Duke of Wellington, Arthur Wellesley. They were prominent military figures during the Napoleonic Wars. Napoleon, born in Corsica in 1769, rose to power as Emperor of the French through his military prowess during the French Revolution. In contrast, Wellington, born in Ireland in 1769, came from a noble British family and received a privileged upbringing.
Their rivalry began during the Peninsular War when Wellington, a skilled strategist, led British forces against Napoleon's French army occupying Spain and Portugal. The climax of their rivalry came at the Battle of Waterloo in 1815. Wellington's victory there, with the aid of Prussian forces, ended Napoleon's rule and ambitions.
Napoleon was exiled, and Wellington returned to England as a national hero, later becoming Prime Minister. Their opposing backgrounds and military approaches personified the clash between revolutionary France and the coalition-based conservatism of Britain and its allies. Their legacies continue to influence European history and military strategies.
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