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The rise and fall of Napoleon Bonaparte
Napoleon's foreign policy
8 pages biography of napoleon bonaparte
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The Napoleonic Wars was a series of wars that took place between 1792 and 1815, which pitted France against various alliances of other European powers and led to French dominance and supremacy over most of Europe. When Napoleon rose to power, France’s aims in war shifted from spreading the effects of the French Revolution, to enhancing the reputation and increasing power, status, and wealth. Though a skilled military leader, Napoleon’s campaigns grew too ambitious as his main focus in carrying out these plans was to make him more powerful, and the more power he gained, the more he craved. As head of state and head of government, Napoleon’s main duty should have been maintaining France’s stability economically and politically. However, although …show more content…
Napoleon Bonaparte as a leader was skilled and clever in combat but had considerable flaws when it came to maintaining France’s stability. France was set back politically and economically as a result of the war, seeing that Napoleon and his ambitions were not able to make peace with enemies. To further note, tensions arising from Napoleon’s conquests pit several parts of Europe against each other and eventually spilled out of Europe and led to additional conflicts. However, when analyzing the Napoleonic Era despite his flaws as a leader, created great reforms and substantially changed the course of human history. By influencing the rise of nationalism and unification, the Napoleonic Era prompted the transformation of city - states and introduced radical ideas. Though Napoleon’s ambitions sparked a significant amount of conflict in Europe, it is evident that the result of the Napoleonic Era created significant long - term reforms and was a pivotal period for Europe and the …show more content…
The fall of absolutism and the rise of nationalism dramatically changed and unified multiple city - states. The transformation of Italy, for instance, under Napoleonic rule is perceived as critical to the Risorgimento, also known as Italian unification. As a result, nationalism emerged in these parts of Europe, promoted by the French in Italy and also emerged in Germany as a reaction to French occupation and political domination (European History Online). This proves that the Napoleonic Era became a crucial period in the transition from an intellectual movement in the eighteenth century, to nineteenth-century nationalism. In addition, the Napoleonic Era saw significant changes in the world map. The abolition of the Holy Roman Empire and replacing it with the Confederation of the Rhine is seen widely as the beginning of modern Germany (European History Online). The founding of various nation states, including Germany and Italy, stems from ideas derived from the Napoleonic Era beginning the process and shaping the future of European history. Furthermore, in most European countries, the ideas brought about by the Napoleonic Era created a significant impact. Following the wars, European monarchs found it challenging to restore absolutism and had to settle for reforms brought about by the Napoleonic Era. “Institutional
Napoleon Bonaparte ruled in France from 1789 to 1815. Napoleon came to power in 1789 and immediately became a powerful figure in the French government. However, some thought Napoleon was such a great leader. The Napoleonic Empire started to grow France’s territories. Some might have believed that Napoleon was too eager with his rule, while losing and failing to succeed against the power of England, in an attempt to blockade their trade, and of Russia, where he led his army to a defeat and retreat back to France. Even in his success over Spain, the battle still costed Napoleon and his army in men and resources. Napoleon was mostly viewed as a powerful and militaristic leader in some aspects, but others saw him as a coward and terrible leader in other ways.
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?
After the Reign of Terror, Napoleon Bonaparte rose to authority. When he was in power, Napoleon only kept some of the ideas that were used in the French Revolution. For example he was for equality, but disregarded liberty. Napoleon started many wars for France, in hopes of gaining land. France did win some land, but more times than not France lost the wars, putting them into extreme war debt.
The Napoleonic Era (1799-1815), began when France was amidst a revolution, in it, they were fighting to free themselves from a monarchical rule in favor of a democratic leadership. However, this rebellion prompted much conflict with many of their neighboring European powers, as said countries felt as though their rule was threatened by the increase of enlightenment ideas. Consequently, the turmoil which was occurring both on and off of France’s territory gave Napoleon the opportunity to seize power. Due to Napoleon’s military expertise, France was rapidly expanding their borders and inserting their dominance over Europe. This yielded an unexpected result; nationalistic pride began rising and engulfing much of Europe. To an extent, Napoleon did contribute to the influx of nationalism in Europe, albeit mostly unintentionally. Nationalism is now described as an individual’s loyalty and devotion to one’s own country. The aspects of Napoleon’s rule which had the greatest influence on the increase of Nationalism include; the Napoleonic Code, France’s treatment of their territories, and the
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.
Napoleon Bonaparte should be considered a “benevolent despot” to a near-full extent because while some may argue that Napoleon’s political actions were solely based on self-empowerment due to him limiting the voice of the people, it is important to note that Napoleon’s regime was designed for the purpose of benefiting French society as a whole by implementing various French Revolutionary ideals such as the promise of equal rights amongst all citizens. Hence, through incorporating such ideals, Napoleon was able to gain the support of his subjects, and therefore was able to further expand his empire.
Napoleon was a great soldier that graduated from military school at the age of sixteen and quickly worked his way through the ranks. Napoleon was a brilliant leader in battle and consistently defeated armies larger than his own; including when he forced the Austrians to make peace after defeating four of their generals. In 1799 Napoleon and his colleagues overtook the French government and established power. He revised the constitution in 1802 to make himself consul for life, and then again in 1804 to make himself Emperor of France. Soon after Napoleon came to power he restructured the administration, simplified the court system, and began monitoring the schooling system; French law was also put in the Napoleon Code which guaranteed the rights and liberties that were gained through the revolution. Napoleons violent behavior caused war with Britain to break out, who allied with Russia and Austria. Prussia later allied themselves with Russia; creating a huge alliances against France and Napoleon. Napoleon successfully extended his reign over large parts of Europe and put each state under the Napoleon Code, which gave citizens new rights and privileges. In 1812 all of Europe turned against Napoleon, which lead to his exile in 1814. He regained power in 1815 just to loose it later that year. He died in exile in Saint Helena in 1821.
Europe Under Napoleon 1799-1815. Arnold, London, 1996. Ellis, Geoffrey. Profiles in Power: Napoleon, Longman, New York, 1997. Encyclopaedia Britannica, CD Rom, Standard Edition, 1999.
In 19th century Italian states united to make Italy while the Germanic states united and made Germany. For Italy there were three people who had a major role in unifying Italy. They were Mazzini, Garibaldi and Cavour. For Germany it was more like one person who united the German states to make Germany and that was Bismarck. On the other hand there was a strong Austrian empire that would not tolerate any nationalist feelings to rise anywhere in Europe.
Kirchberger, Joe H. The French Revolution and Napoleon. New York: Facts on File inc, 1989.
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...
... has been shown in 1792, there were many different individuals and groups which hoped to be strengthened by war. Napoleon had crushed opposition at home by his victories abroad. French foreign policy had become a reflection of the uncertainties of French government, France and the French people had acquired the reputation of being restless and dangerous as they involved the rest of Europe in their quest for a regime that would prove to be permanent and satisfactory. France had always been living dangerously.
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.
Napoleon’s military career is what eventually led to his prominence. Napoleon began his military career above most of the other men his age. He rapidly made his way through the ranks eventually gaining a great support system. As the directory leaned more and more heavily upon the military, a coup d’état developed. Because of his military expertise, he immediately became first consul of France. The empire of France was soon to grow once Napoleon was in reign. In the 1790s the French army was near one million men, an advantage in the Austrian wars as well as future ventures. Wars raged with other European countries in the early 1800s. Napoleon was able to beat the continental coalition, thus gaining territory for France. France annexed some of Italy but also controlled states such as Spain, Holland ...
The Congress of Vienna in 1814-15 created the so-called German Confederation under Austrian and Prussian hegemony, but this unit disappointed the dreams of nationalists. The rivalry of Austria and Prussia paralyzed it in a way comparable to the effects of Soviet-American dualism on the United Nations during the Cold War. Almost everywhere, the old rulers repressed the nationalist movement after 1815. The German princes realized that nationalism required ...