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Enlightenment and Napoleon's rule 1799-1815
Enlightenment and Napoleon's rule 1799-1815
Enlightenment and Napoleon's rule 1799-1815
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Napoleon and the Enlightenment
The enlightenment was a time of great learning throughout Europe during the eighteenth century. Although the period is significant for scientific and other scholastic advancements, it is most important because it allowed for the opening of great minds—such as that of Napoleon Bonaparte. Shortly after this enlightenment made its way through Europe, revolution and civil war ripped through France between 1879 and 1899. The unrest of the time called for a strong ruler. A man/woman with an open mind and an enlightened soul. France needed a child of the enlightenment to sew its tattered flag. Napoleon Bonaparte was a child of the enlightenment. This was displayed in both his attitudes and policies as a result of enlightened religious ideas, political genius, and social reforms.
Almost every ruler in history can be accused of having some kind of religious fanaticism. This religious fervor has led to persecution, civil war, unrest, instability, ignorance, and even genocide. The enlightenment taught philosophes and scholars religious tolerance by lessening the importance of religion and God in everyday life. As a child of the enlightenment, Napoleon had a similar immunization to the devout and was able to use religion as a tool to accomplish his political ideas and goals. An example of this is the fact that whatever new land he conquered, he adopted the religion of that land in order to gain the acceptance of the general population. In France, he was Catholic. In Egypt, he was Muslim. But the only insight we have to his actual religious beliefs are that he said he followed his own "star" indicating that he pursued a somewhat mystical belief in destiny and fate. He completely regar...
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... help herself) Napoleon is a timeless example of an enlightened despot. The bible still has not fully recovered from the rationality of his church. His codified law system is still active in France and the great state of Louisiana. Mankind today clutches desperately at his social ideologies. Though a modern thinker may say the only thing that keeps Napoleon from being enlightened is lack of democracy, the writer sitting in this chair thinks that the only thing that keeps democracy from being Napoleon is enlightenment. Had Napoleon been born merely fifty years earlier he may have been a trendsetter of the enlightenment. Or he might have been a fisherman. Regardless, Napoleon was a child of the enlightenment and not a parent. He followed the ideas presented by that period with such strategy and genius, people are still writing papers about it. (By choice?)
Napoleon Bonaparte’s attitude towards the French Revolution is one that has often raised questions. That the revolution had an influence on Bonaparte’s regime cannot be denied – but to what extent? When one looks at France after Napoleon’s reign it is clear that he had brought much longed for order and stability. He had also established institutions that embodied the main principles of the revolution. However, it is also evident that many of his policies directly contradict those same principles. Was Napoleon betraying the same revolution that gave him power, or was he merely a pragmatist, who recognised that to consolidate the achievements of the revolution he needed to sacrifice some of those principles?
The Enlightenment was a major turning point in history. Multiple ideas that were established during the Enlightenment were eventually utilized in many government systems. Although some people known as “Enlightened Despots” did not accept the ideas developed by people such as John Locke, Baron de Montesquieu, and Jean-Jacques Rousseau. Ultimately, the Enlightenment ideas showed that they were more powerful and were more significant than the power of the army.
The Enlightenment period in Europe was a shift in the way that society thought about power and liberty. The ideals of this period helped to inspire the revolutions of the 18th century. The American colonies desired liberty from foreign rule, the French wanted to increase the power of the people in their class structure, and the Haitians fought for representation for the millions of slaves on their island. While the ideas of the enlightenment were not fully employed in each of these revolutions, they brought the nations closer to a fully representative government, rather than one of absolute power.
The Enlightenment itself ignited the changes in perspective that were needed to provoke improvement in society and set new standards for our future. These standards spread rather rapidly across Europe and eventually to America and challenged the old order. These ideas of rational thinking over religion and authority delivered a vast political change throughout the world which can still be felt today. These revolutionary thoughts of rationalism brought on freedom of speech and the demand for equality in society. This was not only the igniter to the French revolution but was also, how many governments including the United States based their modern
This ambition led to a dictatorship, which they consider Napoleon's ultimate betrayal. However, other historians such as Tombs and Furet see Napoleon’s regime as “the most convincing, though temporary, solution to the political and ideological problems bequeathed by the Revolution.” Napoleon’s dictatorship can also be considered a natural progression from the authoritarian nature of the French revolution. One idea that is undebatable is that if Napoleon betrayed the French Revolution, this means that his actions, motives and policies were disloyal to the Revolutionary ideals of Liberty, equality and Fraternity. Napoleon was an outstanding military commander and enjoyed many successful campaigns.
Napoleon's reign reflected the enlightenment ideals in the following fashion. In 1796 He made a proclamation in which he stated "your property, your religion, and your customs will be respected." Napoleon also was sympathetic to other peoples faith, and he declared religious tolerance in France. He also spoke how every person or "sect" has there own spiritual road to follow.
The Siege of Toulon was where Napoleon gained his initial power within the French army. After that battle, he began to have more and more power and influence among the officers in the French army. In 1799 Napoleon led a coup that had the sole purpose of overthrowing the government. The same government that Napoleon had fought to establish during the Revolution of 1789. He was granted the power of a dictator, but he ruled as a monarch more than a dictator. Napoleon was supposed to be a leader with a consulate and advisors that he was supposed to listen to, but he wanted all the power for himself and quickly disposed of his advisors. At the beginning of Napoleon’s reign, there was peace in Europe. But Napoleon became power hungry, and sought to conquer the European continent.
Waterloo was fought in the year 1825 in Belgium. This war is known as the last win of emperor Napoleon the first. The war was Napoleon's forces against the British and Prussians. The british troops had a combination of Belgian, Dutch, and German troops. Napoleon rose to power in France. The reason Napoleon rose to power was because he was part of a coup that establishes 3 consuls. A lot of people liked him because he represented hope therefore he ended up leading the coup. Napoleon told the people ideas of the revolution. Later he declared himself as the emperor of France causing great terror all over Europe. The battle waterloo was important because this war marked the end of the war against Napoleon. On the other hand, the battle the
Napoleon Bonaparte once stated that “History is written by the winners”. History now remembers Napoleon as one of the greatest war generals of all time. From his early life, until his death, Napoleon displayed commendable military might on the battlefield. Having ever only lost two battles, Napoleon managed to bring Europe to its knees through his innovative military tactics and talent on the battlefield. Although Napoleon had many great victories, some historians argue that Napoleon was not a military genius, but rather he won his battles by luck. This viewpoint is invalid because Napoleon won over 50 battles in his lifetime, and most of his battles were against armies with superior numbers armies. Even Napoleon’s greatest rival, The Duke of Wellington, considered “Napoleon's presence in the field equal to forty thousand men”. Therefore, luck is a superficial factor, and we should accept that Napoleon was a military genius. The battles of Austerlitz, Marengo, and Pyramids were among the greatest displays of Napoleon’s military prowess. To fully understand the extent of Napoleon’s genius, analysis of the battles is required.
While the Enlightenment criticized monarchy governments, it influenced democratic forms of government. Without the Enlightenment and the help of France, the United States wouldn’t be what it is today.
With all the glory and the splendour that some countries may have experienced, never has history seen how only only one man, Napoleon, brought up his country, France, from its most tormented status, to the very pinnacle of its height in just a few years time. He was a military hero who won splendid land-based battles, which allowed him to dominate most of the European continent. He was a man with ambition, great self-control and calculation, a great strategist, a genius; whatever it was, he was simply the best. But, even though how great this person was, something about how he governed France still floats among people's minds. Did he abuse his power? Did Napoleon defeat the purpose of the ideals of the French Revolution? After all of his success in his military campaigns, did he gratify the people's needs regarding their ideals on the French Revolution? This is one of the many controversies that we have to deal with when studying Napoleon and the French Revolution. In this essay, I will discuss my opinion on whether or not was he a destroyer of the ideals of the French Revolution.
The rise of Napoleon Bonaparte is a magnificent illustration of skillful character meeting with overwhelming opportunities to form a supreme leader. His ambition was led primarily by impulse, not a set of ideals or connection to any structure. The vacillating government of France throughout the Revolution provided opportunities which had not previously been available. The opportunities available during the Revolution were mainly in the military. This favored Napoleon because he was mentally able and willing to put in the extra effort to win essential battles. Since childhood, Napoleon had a strong ambitious character that flourished into mathematical skills to help him succeed in seizing opportunities that arose. What he lacked however, was significant ideology. Any choice Napoleon made that involved France, the church, or social class was strictly aimed to gain influence. As a result, France was a mere vessel of power he manipulated to pursue his true goal: supreme power. Napoleon Bonaparte embodied the characteristics of a true opportunist that gained enormous amount of power for himself during the Revolution by translating military success into political matter with little to no regard to the losses of others.
From the despair of the radical phase of the French Revolution emerged a great military hero who would overthrow the extremist Directory and build a formidable empire out of the struggling nation of France. After gaining publicity for his military victories, the young general swiftly rose to power. The rule of Napoleon Bonaparte signified the end of the Revolution and the start of a new age for France and the whole European continent. During his rule as First Consul and later Emperor of France, Napoleon completely overhauled his revolution-strained country with a new law code that would later be recognized as his most prominent contribution to history. But this law code did not grant women any of the fair rights which men were granted in excess. The determined emperor also introduced new military tactics, allowing him to triumph over opposing forces who still fought in the archaic European line formation. Yet long after the great leader of the French Empire died in exile on the island of St. Helena, his law code would become the basis for European and American laws. (And abroad, Napoleon conquered much of Europe, extending his influential ideas and laws to his subjugated nations.) Throughout his military and political career, Napoleon Bonaparte introduced new reforms that would both positively and negatively reshape the French nation and European society as a whole.
... Although he advocated religious tolerance, he believed that any one church should not have absolute power. By the time he was executed, he had already brought about the end of the power and right of the church to torture France. People in France still are not as faithful to the Catholic Church as they had been before Voltaire had introduced them to the idea of “reasoning”. The Enlightenment is held to be the source of many modern ideas, such as the primary values of freedom and reason.
As a former high-ranking military leader, Napoleon manipulated those into believing he was a Revolutionary hero. It was Napoleon’s so-called “nationalism” that was responsible for millions of deaths. The innocent lives he took and the countless countries and towns he destroyed can only be compared in modern history to Hitler and Stalin. Napoleon had an appetite for war, beginning with the 23 year period of the Napoleonic Wars.