French Enlightenment And Enlightenment Ideas: Napoleon Bonaparte And The Revolution

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As the revolution calmed, the National Assembly attempted to maintain power however, Napoleon Bonaparte, an outstanding national general, ousted the newly set republic in a coup d 'etat in 1799, imposing himself dictator of France and leading the country to new militaristic heights that prompted French nationalism and the spread of Enlightenment ideas. Even though Bonaparte’s title as a dictator, emperor in 1804, connotates a restricted freedom, he actually made great lengths to enact policies that reflected Enlightenment ideals such as freedom of religion. Bonaparte centralized France’s government and moved to consolidate all of Europe under one nation. Touting Enlightenment ideals where his soldier traveled, Napoleon 's conquest set the foundation On the island, Enlightenment ideas spread like wildfire amongst the slave class and in May 1791 the slaves revolted. Unable to calm the situation due to the power of disease, yellow fever, and the guerilla tactics the slaves employed, France swiftly began to lose control of the island. In 1794, one man wielded the uprising army, Toussaint Louverture. Louverture agreed to ally with the French to push out invading British and Spanish forces. In exchange, France granted Louverture the position of governor of Saint-Domingue and freedom to all slaves. Upon closer inspection, the European influences on Toussaint Louverture are apparent in his portrait. His clothes mimicked European army officials and overall the portrait painted Louverture on his warhorse similar to Napoleon Bonaparte. During this time, Napoleon rose to power in France and upon hearing of the freedom of slaves, he sent an armada of ships in 1802 dedicated in stealing control from Louverture and reinstating slavery to restore productivity to the sugar plantations. Louverture bravely defended the island but due to a trick by the French he found himself in chains and shipped to prison. Saint Domingue’s independence movement did not end with Looking at the three Declarations from America, France, and Haiti, a common theme of liberty, equality, and popular sovereignty arises that directly sprung from France. So contagious were the ideas that even though the Thirteen Colonies previously warred with France it could not stop the revelation caused by Enlightenment thought. Nationalism on a worldwide scale began with France’s conquest for domination under Napoleon. As Napoleon physically “freed” the countries he conquered from their previous rules, he simultaneously freed them intellectually by the exchange of Enlightenment thought. As a result, nations around Europe reunited amongst themselves with new national identity as freemen. Even France’s colonies clamored for reform as Haiti rose to newly defining a free black man. At the end of it all, these physical marks that stained the earth 's geography all originated with a quill and ink pad in

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