When Napoleon’s brothers begged him not to sell Louisiana to the United States, he responded by splashing them with bath water.

>[Joseph](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/14/Joseph-Bonaparte.jpg) and [Lucien](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/af/Fran%C3%A7ois-Xavier_Fabre_%28Studio%29_-_Portrait_de_Lucien_Bonaparte.jpg) pleaded with [Napoleon](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/50/Jacques-Louis_David_-_The_Emperor_Napoleon_in_His_Study_at_the_Tuileries_-_Google_Art_Project.jpg) not to sell, and even threatened to oppose the sale publicly. Lucien recorded Napoleon half rising from his bathtub and telling his brothers that no opposition would be brooked, and certainly no discussions in the legislature. He then fell back into the tub with a splash that drenched Joseph. ________________________ **Source:** Roberts, Andrew. "Amiens." *Napoleon: A Life*. New York: Penguin, 2014. 325. Print. **Original Source Listed:** DeConde, *This Affair of Louisiana* p. 166. ________________________ **Further Reading:** [Joseph-Napoléon Bonaparte (born Giuseppe Buonaparte)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Bonaparte) [Lucien Bonaparte, Prince Français, 1st Prince of Canino and Musignano (born Luciano Buonaparte)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lucien_Bonaparte) [Napoleone di Buonaparte / Napoléon Bonaparte / Napoleon I](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Napoleon) [Vente de la Louisiane "Sale of Louisiana" / Louisiana Purchase](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louisiana_Purchase)