This paper examines the factors that explain the rise and downfall of Napoleon Bonaparte I in France. His goal was to conquer all of Europe and throughout his life he nearly succeeded. He rose through the confusion of the French revolution to become Emperor of the French. Napoleon had once said, “I am the Revolution,” and he never ceased to remind the French that they owed to him the preservation of all that was beneficial in the revolutionary program. (Spielvogel, 2007) Life of Napoleon Bonaparte Arguably one of the most brilliant individuals and greatest military leaders in history was the former French Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte. He has also been portrayed as a power hungry conqueror (Chew, 1995). Napoleon dominated both French and European history from 1799 to 1815 (Spielvogel, 2007). He helped remake the map of Europe and established many government and legal reforms. In the states he created, Napoleon granted constitutions, introduced law codes, abolished feudalism, created efficient governments, and fostered education, science, literature, and the arts. His campaigns are studied at military academies all over the world and he is widely regarded as one of history's greatest commanders. The events of his life fired the imaginations of great writers, film makers, and playwrights whose works have done much to create the Napoleonic legend (Schom, 1998). Napoleon’s relative short life is a story of many successes and disastrous failures. The French Revolution had made it possible for his rise as both a military leader and emperor of France. As a military commander Napoleon lead the French Republican Army to several victories over royal forces and rose to power as France’s leader, but ultimately in his quest for absolute p... ... middle of paper ... ...leon’s memory would continue to haunt French political life (Spielvogel, 2007). Works Cited Chew, R. (1995). Napoleon Bonaparte Emperor of the French. Retrieved September 15, 2008, from Lucidcafe: http://www2.lucidcafe.com/lucidcafe/library/95aug/napoleon.html Landau, E. (2006). Napoleon Bonaparte. Twenty-First Century Books (CT). Schom, A. (1998). Napoleon Bonaparte: A Life. Harper Perennial. Spielvogel, J. J. (2007). Western Civilization A Brief History (4th Edition ed., Vol. II). Belmont, CA: Thomson Wadsworth. U*X*L Encyclopedia of World Biography. (2003). Napoleon Bonaparte. Retrieved September 21, 2008, from High Beam Encyclopedia: http://encyclopedia.com/doc/1G2-3437500570.html Wilde, R. (2008). Napoleon Bonaparte. Retrieved September 21, 2008, from About.Com European History: http://europeanhistory.about.com/od/bonapartenapoleon/a/bionapoleon.htm
Bibliography D. M. G. Sutherland, France 1789-1815 Revolution and Counterrevolution (London 1985). Tom Holmberg, “Napoleon and the French Revolution”, 1998, www.napoleonbonaparte.nl/html/body_nap_and_revolution.html. www.chesco.com/artman/napoleonbonaparte.html (Quotes by Napoleon Bonaparte). George Orwell, Animal Farm, Middlesex, England 1945. Colin Jones, The Longman Companion to the French Revolution, (New York, 1988).
Coffin, Judith G, et al. Western Civilizations: Their History & Their Culture. 17th ed. New York: W. W. Norton & Co, 2011. Print.
Napoleon was a military general that participated in multiple war victories. His interests included history, law, and mathematics. His strengths as a leader benefitted in planning financial, legal, and military plans. His aspiring attitude made him believe he was destined to be the savior of France (Coffin & Stacey, 494). He favored a republic over a constitutional monarchy. When Napoleon came to power, he immediately consolidated personal power by overthrowing the five-man Directory and created a Republic. Napoleon used his status and power during the Revolution to bring out and surface Revolution ideals and help his people. Napoleon’s role in European history was the savior of the French Revolution due to the fact he accomplished most objectives that the people hoped for. Goals of the French Revolution included overthrowing the old regime of an absolute monarch, write a basic and worthy constitution, and give more rights to the third estate and limit the first and second estates power in the Estates-General.
3. Jackson J. Spielvogel. Western Civilization Third Edition, A Brief History volume 1: to 1715. 2005 Belmont CA. Wadsworth Publishing
Lyons, Martin. Napoleon Bonaparte and the Legacy of the French Revolution. London: Macmillen, 1994. Print.
Coffin, Judith G., and Robert C. Stacey. "CHAPTER 18 PAGES 668-669." Western Civilizations: Their History & Their Culture. 16TH ed. Vol. 2. New York, NY: W. W. Norton &, 2008. N. pag. Print.
Napoleon, Conversation, 1800 Herold, J.Christopher (ed.). The Mind of Napoleon (London,1955), item no.106. Holmberg, Tom. The Empire between Dictatorship and Monarchy. http://www.iselinge.nl/napoleon/html/body_nap_and_revolution.html, 1998.
Coffin, Judith G, et al. Western Civilizations: Their History & Their Culture. 17th ed. New York: W. W. Norton & Co, 2011. Print.
Kreis, Steven. "Lecture 15: Europe and the Superior Being: Napoleon." The History Guide Main. 28 Feb. 2006. 28 Apr. 2009
Kreis, Steven. “Europe and the Superior Being: Napoleon.” The History Guide: Lectures on Modern European Intellectual History. 13 May. 2004. 6 Dec. 2004.
Cole, Joshua, Judith G. Coffin, Carol Symes, and Robert Stacey. Western Civilizations: Their History & Their Culture. Brief Third ed. Vol. 2. New York: W.W. Norton &, 2012. Print.
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.
Spielvogel, Jackson J. Western Civilization. 8th ed. Vol. 1. Boston: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning, 2012. Print.
Napoleon Bonaparte is one of the famous figures in French history by 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 in the prestigious capitals of Europe, Milan, Vienna (twice), Berlin, Madrid and Moscow. Napoleon has greatly influenced the Western way of war, not only by the new organization of armies, but also by the optimization of different capabilities and the combination between leadership and creativity in the battlefields.
Esler, Anthony. "Chapter 6, Section 4: The Age of Napoleon." World History: The Modern Era. By Elisabeth Gaynor Ellis. N.p.: Prentice Hall, n.d. 230-38. Print.