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Napoleon Bonaparte and the legacy of the french revolution
Napoleon Bonaparte as a military leader
Napoleon Bonaparte as a military leader
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A hero would emerge from the late 1700’s that will be willing to lead their country, unite them, and bring order to their society. That hero’s name is Napoleon Bonaparte. He created a well-known domestic system that improved the French society and is still used today. His experience in the battlefield and profound wisdom of tactics revolutionized military during his time and for years to come. He also led France to become a dominant nation in the world. Lastly from his many contributions, he created a sense of nationalism and identity nothing like the French had ever had before. All of these accomplishments not only improved France but the world as well.
Napoleon Bonaparte was born August 15, 1769 on his homeland Corsica. He was sent to France to go to school and at an early age of nine he started attending some of the most prestigious military schools throughout France. After the eruption of the French Revolution in 1789, he became a follower of the new government. There he swiftly rose through the ranks and directed the artillery at the siege of Toulon, a French city that rebelled against the revolutionary government after the Reign of Terror begins. Napoleon then successfully defeats the British ships at Toulon. Because of his performance at that victorious operation, at the early age of twenty-four, Napoleon was promoted to brigadier general and was in charge of the army of Italy in December 22, 1793.
However, in July 1794 Napoleon’s career experienced a setback when the radical revolutionary regime of Robespierre, with whom Napoleon had become associated with, fell. Robespierre is then killed in 1794 during the Thermidorian Reaction. This lead to Napoleon’s imprisonment for about a week and was released because of his perso...
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... to crumble. And on April 6, 1814 he was forced from his throne. He was exiled to an island called Elba. In about a year, he was able to gather about 1,000 soldiers and marched to Paris and regained his power. He ruled for a short time, and then he surrendered to the English. He was exiled to an island called St. Helena in the south Atlantic. There is stayed until he died on May 5, 1821. He allegedly died of cancer but there are speculation that he might have been poisoned.
He is considered as one of the greatest military and political genius in the history of mankind. His talent led him through extremely successful Italian campaigns, major battles against the Third Coalition and helped him rule politically to keep the expansion of the revolution. From his military conquests and political changes, he made France a great nation and became a hero to the French people.
The French Revolution was full of bloodshed and hurt. Even though many think that the French Revolution did nothing, there are many important events that took place. Much of what we have today is in place, because of how the French Revolution ended. As a new empire was rising up, a leader was called forth to unify the rebellious parties of the dissipating French Revolution. Many will argue that the acts of this man were at first of great benefit to his country, but then were made to feed his yearn for power and total dominance of Europe. This man was named Napoleon Bonaparte; however, he will later be known as Napoleon I Emperor of France. Napoleon; however, was not the first to be leader of the revolution, he was one of
“Society was cut in two: those who had nothing united in common envy; those who had anything united in common terror.” The French Revolution was a painful era that molded the lives of every citizen living in France and changed their ways of life forever. Beginning in 1789 and lasting ten years until 1799, the people of France lived in a monarch society under King Louis XVI’s rule. He was a very harsh ruler and had many restrictions placed on his people. They eventually overthrow him and become a monarch society. Among his deceptive ways, the people also experienced “The Reign of Terror,” which was a period where many lives were taken by the guillotine. Other revolutionary events included rebellions, constitutions, and groups. One of the popular groups that contributed greatly to the French Revolution were the Jacobins who were led by Maximilien Robespierre.
In other ways Napoleon was also the savior of the French Revolution: he fought wars and won most as an attempt to try and unite Europe under one French Empire. Even though this eventually failed, French nationalism and pride emerged in its aftermath. Napoleons also regulated the economy to control prices, encouraged new industry and build roads and canals, built schools, and abolished privilege, leading towards benefaction towards centralizing the state. In his entirety as a ruler, Napoleon did more to help the French people than to hurt them. For these reasons Napoleon was the savior of the French Revolution: he transformed his power and strength into benefits towards his people, creating and bringing the change France needed during and after the Revolution to help its people.
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.
...ral in the french army and was given a lot of recognition for his actions by the Directory. This created a very positive public image of him within the french population and gave him the political capitol to stage a coup upon the Directory. Bonaparte named himself Emperor of France and was able to win a multitude of battles across Europe. Napoleon finally lost his power and was removed from his position by the people of France after a scathing defeat at the Battle of Waterloo.
Napoleon was born in Corsica and went to military school where at that time France was at war with Britain, Austria and Russia. Being in the military he led the French army and achieved victory from the Austrians in 1797 who also negotiated with other nations such as Britain (MORAN 6-22). He established a new Napoleon code which had traditional laws resembling the new revolution in France. He later crowned himself emperor of France and combined social rehabilitation with his own arbitrary power. He also worked a covenant with the Catholic Church where there was a purification of Napoleon and Empress Josephine, who was from a wealthy family. His rise created a new empire which covered much of Europe apart from Britain (MORAN 6-22). He used his family, relatives and friends to power the European countries, hence to why his pride and aspiration led Europe to unite against him. His fall was brought by the detested of French rule all over
He was a man who made French stronger, provided his own legacy and impression that will most
French Revolution brought a great number of great ideas, but ideas are not beneficial unless they are realized and stabilized. The man to stabilize the concepts of French Revolution was Napoleon Bonaparte. He started out as an Italian general and ended up being one of the greatest historical figures. First, Directors requested Napoleon's support while organizing a coup d'etat. Then, Bonaparte fought Britain in order to benefit France. Lastly, he was called to help creating a new constitution and ended up as the First Consul of France. At home, he ruled using flattery, but also he strongly resisted the opposition. Napoleon is a pro-revolutionist because he denied all the privileges of the aristocracy, created a new constitution, and also established the Napoleonic Code.
...ig concepts, such as equality before the law, but he also did what would benefit his country. It is important to understand that since France had just exited a revolution, it was pretty fragile; one big mistake and France might have ended up in another one. Napoleon was not only a child of both the French Revolution and the Enlightenment, he was also a very intelligent person. His cunning and his wits led him to be one of the greatest, if not the greatest enlightened despot of all time.
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.
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.
...arly successes and his military brilliance classifies him as a hero in this sense. His political reign was also one of debate. Although he awarded many rights, he challenged them with other restrictions. Overall, France was stable following the horrid Reign of Terror but it also awarded more rights than in the old regime. Finally, the social aspect of France could prove Bonaparte to be either heroic or tyrannical as well. Many social changes transgressed during his reign. For instance, there was an increase in education and an end to feudalism, however Napoleon ruled the imperial catechism and was emperor for life. Overall the social changes were an improvement from the old regime, therefore classifying his as a hero for his time period. Overall, Napoleon was a hero in all three aspects of French life, although there were many aspects which were tyrannical as well.
On June 22,1815, Napoleon was again forced to abdicate. Aware that the allies would be much harsher in their terms this time, he tried to escape to the United States. Napoleon hoped to get to America by booking passage on a merchant ship out of the French port of Rochefort, on the Atlantic. Napoleon secretly fled to Rochefort, but when he arrived in the town, he learned that the British were blocking the port and wouldn’t let any ship sail without first inspecting it to make sure he wasn’t aboard. On July 14, 1815, he decided to surrender to the British authorities. And he was being exile to St. Helena, a remote island lost in the South Atlantic. After nearly six years of lonely exile, Napoleon died on May 5, 1821, of stomach cancer at the age of 51. He was buried on St. Helena. Twenty years later, however, the British allowed his remains to be brought back to Paris, in state.
Monarchs and emperors are prevalent in almost all of European history. But there is one example in European history where there was a leader with a monarch’s mentality without the title. In French history, Napoleon made himself to be that leader. In the era following the French Revolution, Napoleon Bonaparte created for himself – and allegedly the French people – an empire that swept the majority of Europe during the late 18th and early 19th century. Napoleon Bonaparte did in fact make the dreams of the French Revolution a reality but only through manipulation of the vulnerable French people. Although he gave them the peace, nationalism, and equality they desired, he used these as excuses to further his quest for a French empire. This makes
Napoleon Bonaparte, the son of Carlo and Letizia Bonaparte, was born in Ajaccio, Corsica on August 15, 1768. In 1779, he was sent to a military school in Paris. He was made fun of by the French there, and gave him the dream of power. Napoleon was waiting for the right time to achieve greater power, and that moment came when the French monarchy was overthrown.