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The downfall of Napoleon Bonaparte
Napoleon Bonaparte biography
The downfall of Napoleon Bonaparte
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Throughout centuries, history has presented to life a plethora of individuals who would then impact the world by means of various arduous missions and accomplishments. While certain people are extolled for their grandiloquent changes to society, others may become infamous for imperiling humankind. However, within history lies a character who is interposed between approbation and being loathed, whose name is Napoléon Bonaparte. This particular person was a French leader who ruled as an emperor in 1804 and had performed numerous tasks across his lifetime. As a commander, he performed remarkably when concerning lawmaking, nationalism, military bearing, and restoring order to France. Certain laws and decisions, such as the Napoleonic Code, have …show more content…
One major factor that Bonaparte corrected was religion, as it represented a vast population of his country. Previously controlled by the Committee of Public Safety, this organization desired education and reasoning, which was not supported by the Catholic Church. Catholicism typically encourages thoughts of superstition, and education was not strong throughout the revolution, thus leaving the Committee to create the Republic of Virtue. Said democratic republic had focused on enlightening citizens of France, but also pushed on de-christianization. Once overthrown, Napoleon extricated its action and made up for their errors by assembling a compromise with the Pope, reinstating peace with the Catholic church and empowering catholicism as France’s true religion by providing all citizens with religious rights, along with recognition. Moreover, he adjusted and increased widespread education to edify secondary students (high schoolers), teachers, girls, along with several middle-class citizens, according to J. David Markham’s article (The Revolution, Napoleon, and Education, 2010). Enlightenment, while very important to Bonaparte, was not his primary goal in perfecting France, as he mostly endeavored in reorganizing law and order for his …show more content…
No French figure could remotely match with his patriotism for France. Even as a tyro, he conducted similar to a professional military commander and won mickle battles in the revolution through various arduous tactics and bravery, gaining himself rank-ups much faster than any other French figures at the time, earning titles such as “military hero”, according to McGraw Hill’s textbook (pg. 229-235). His movement, along with everyone’s growing hatred for the Directory, allowed Bonaparte to easily overthrow them and strengthen France as a whole, giving civilians nationalism for their country. Alas, his actions from there only decrease all respect he originally had, as he would move on to attack various countries in Europe and Russia, along with removing women’s rights and silenced freedom of press. Since he shut down said rights (and was beginning to lose battles with Russia), citizens were enraged, thus giving them desires to remove him from power. This aspiration, combined with their recent espy of Europe’s anger at Napoleon, brought more patriotic pride than ever before. Ironically, it was his flaws that led to ultimate nationalism for France, as well as numerous small European
During his rule, Napoleon called himself an emperor, but he acted like the kings before him. The French Revolution stood against the idea of one leader with all authority over one country and promoted liberty, equality, and fraternity. The French citizens did not glorify Napoleon as a king because he gave his people sovereignty over political situations. He used plebiscites or voting to spread equality, however, the majority was always in favor of Napoleon. This happened due to fear because he was the strongest man in Europe at the time. He idolized himself as a hero, saving the French people from the
Being a supporter of equivalent rights, he picked up notoriety with the French individuals. After some time, Napoleon utilized these standards to increment and set his energy.
While this saw Catholicism as the religion of the majority of French people, it tolerated Jews and Protestants. It also abolished the revolutionary calendar, indicating the return of Sunday. Napoleon preserved nationalism as well. He was seen as the perfect “Son of the Revolution” because his power was self-made by rising through the ranks of the military. He led major victories throughout Europe, and his troops were loyal to him and
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? Firstly, in order to determine whether Bonaparte betrayed the revolution, it is necessary to define what one means by “the revolution”.
Napoleon had betrayed the idea of liberty of the French Revolution through his conquests and new laws. His conquests led to multiple reforms and laws which failed because they were considered politically impossible. He established new codes that limited the freedoms that the conquered had previously. After crowning himself Emperor, Napoleon started regulating public opinion, censoring books and media, and monitoring his people to avoid rebellion. He had suppressed anyone who tried to write articles that attacked him, curtailed free speech and freedom of the press, and
Napoleon had been influenced and guided by the revolution, but he was able to use it to his ends. One of Napoleons greatest strengths was being able to take advantage of a situation, and he certainly was able to utilize the chaos and fear of the revolution. He is forever intertwined with the French Revolution, and it with him.
Napoleon was able to grant French citizens natural rights, which was the main purpose of the Revolution, and use this to better society as a whole. For example, he used a plebiscite, vote of the people, to approve a new constitution that gave him power to rule. By getting the consent of the people to rule and to create and pursue certain actions in government, Napoleon used the governed as a ruling mechanism; he didn't ignore them. He created a system of meritocracy (what the people wanted): granting positions to those that deserved them based on qualifications, not just handing out jobs to people of higher social status giving “careers open to talent (Coffin and Stacey, 494).” Finally through his supremacy as French ruler,...
This religious fervor has led to persecution, civil war, unrest, instability, ignorance, and even genocide. The enlightenment taught philosophers 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.
The only way of determining whether Napoleon consolidated or betrayed the revolution is to explore his actions such as his military success, dictatorship and social reforms. The difficulty of this analysis is that Napoleon's motives for his actions determine whether he consolidated or betrayed the Revolution. If Napoleon betrayed the revolution, then he betrayed the ideals of liberty, equality and fraternity. For it is ideals rather than realities that Napoleon allegedly betrayed. The reality of the French revolution is 8 periods of constant change and succession of policies and leaders, with each new leader and party bringing amendments to the revolution.
One of Napoleon’s first areas of concern was in the strengthening of the French government. He created a strong centralized government and pretty much got rid of the hundreds of localized law codes that had existed during under the control of the monarchy. He also created an army of government officials. He had the entire country linked under a rational administration. He also was able to get an easy supply of taxes and soldiers under his new and improved French government. Before he could get very far, however, he had to gain public favor and shape the public opinion. To do this he used reforms of propaganda and thus caused people to think that they were getting the better end of the deal, but were actually, subconsciously giving Napoleon their approval for his actions. Among some of the methods he used for propaganda included getting all of the printers and book sellers to swear an oath to Napoleon and all newspapers fell under state control, so Napoleon gained access to almost everything that the citizens of France were able to read. Many of the gains from the French Revolution were kept, such as equality before the law, and careers open to talent. Some anti-revolution actions that Napoleon took included repressing liberty, restoring absolutism, and ending political liberty. He believed that allowing political freedom would end with a state of anarchy. He believed that he could solve these problems by acting in favor of the people’s interests as an enlightened desp...
Numerous leaders throughout the history of Europe have received the prestigious title of the “Great” due to their remarkable capabilities as ruler. After the French Revolution, France was left with an inefficient government, known as the Directory, that was in need of a “Great”. Napoleon Bonaparte, an intelligent military leader, took charge with his coup d'etat and established the consulate. As a result of his position as First Consul, Bonaparte was able to rise to power and become the emperor of France. While Emperor and First Consul, Napoleon executed many beneficial governmental reforms in order to restore France to its former glory as a world power. However, despite his impressive political and military actions, it is commonly debated whether or not Napoleon deserves the title the “Great”. As a product of the age of enlightenment and French
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.
He started from a Corsican village to leading much of Europe. Following his first exile, Napoleon escaped and recruited an army by himself, as his mere presence inspired the French. He fought off foreign coalitions, forced the dissolution of the millennia old Holy Roman Empire and modernized Europe into increasingly secular nation states. I admire that he did not come from royalty; that he fought alongside the common people in the revolution and against foreign aggression. I think he really had a love for France and its people.
He was also a great general and with his amazing work people were convinced that he could make France a better place. The French people desperate to find a leader accepted Napoleon as their leader. Soon this leader would make France as big as ever has
Napoleon Bonaparte is one of the most famous figures in French history for the importance of his internal reforms. However, he remains primarily in global memory as one of the greatest military commanders in history. Indeed, Napoleon Bonaparte delivered more battles than Alexander the Great, Hannibal, or Caesar. His campaigns covered all Europe from Spain to Russia, without forgetting the East with Egypt and Syria. The French Emperor entered the prestigious capitals of Europe, Milan, Vienna (twice), Berlin, Madrid and Moscow.