On Jonathan the tortoise, the CBC, and (you guessed it) Napoleon

So CBC Radio does a story about Jonathan, the world’s oldest tortoise, aged 190, as of December the 4^th, apparently.  But “As It Happens” pays scant attention to its own words, “he can be older than that”.  Unfortunately, also neglected was any reference to Saint Helena’s most famous resident, Napoleon, exiled to the South Atlantic island in 1815, following defeat at Waterloo, only to die alone 6 years later. 

Why did the British governor declare Johnathan’s official birthday to be Dec. 4, 1832?  Is the 50 year mark since Jonathan arrived on the island in 1882 just a bit too convenient?  Is it also not a snub of Napoleon who died on Saint Helena in May a year earlier?  And why December 4^th? Again, is British authority giving the cold shoulder to Napoleon’s self-coronation as Emperor of France which happened on December 2^nd, 1804?

Can we forgive the CBC for not remembering Quebec’s civil code which, after all, is based on the Napoleonic Code?  A random search tells me that no other news source mentioned Napoleon as context for the story save for The Guardian, which described him as a “French general” – yet another snub.  Finally, Britain is issuing a series of postage stamps in Jonathan’s honour, which can also be viewed through the lens of its former Empire.

But Happy Birthday to Jonathan the tortoise, nonetheless!!  You may have been around since Napoleon and his army marched on Moscow.  Put another way: on Saint Helena important aspects of the past are sublimated.  On CBC this is overlooked.