Ambition and desire

Born Marie-Josephe-Rose de Tascher de La Pagerie on the Caribbean island of Martinique, the woman Napoleon would later call Josephine was the ultimate survivor. Her first husband was executed during the reign of terror and she was almost executed herself. This experience fueled her ambition and determination to find a man who could finance and sustain her. In 1795 she met Napoleon and together they conquered Europe. But she could not produce the heir Napoleon needed and so they parted. The rest of the story, as they say, is history.