Napoleon Bonaparte
Napoleon Bonaparte. A hero or a tyrant? There is no denying that he was incredibly gifted with intelligence but how did he use it? Even young, he was smart and thus he won a scholarship to study at a famous military school. When he finishes his studies he was commissioned as a lieutenant in the French army. Napoleon rose through the ranks in just 10 years, becoming the commander of the French army in 1796. Napoleon was known for his speed, decisive action, and initiative. Due to his extensive popularity, he easily overthrew the monarchy in 1799 and crowned himself Emperor of France. Though it may be extensively debated, Napoleon was clearly a tyrant because of his discriminatory policies, sweeping corruption, and attitude.
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One of the more uncertain pieces of evidence may be the Napoleonic code. It states that all citizens of France may have equality before the law, the right of an individual to choose a profession, religious tolerance, and the abolition of serfdom. However, it also says that the wife must be obedient to her husband and she must basically do anything and everything that her husband tells her to do. The only people that the Napoleonic code benefited was the male half of the population. During his reign, he appointed many of his relatives to the rule of several different European countries. There was no regard to their qualifications. Napoleon then went on to create the Continental System. This was a type of economic boycott, that which attempted to prohibit the rest of Europe from trading with Britain. This effectively started choking off Britain because in order to be a successful country, it is necessary to trade. Napoleon was also extremely arrogant and manipulative. He refused to accept defeat and had no regard for whether his people lived or not. He started dozens of wars during his short 10 year rule. He invaded nearly every country in Europe, costing millions of dollars, and lives. There is no doubt that this proves him to be a …show more content…
He is often praised for his promotion of religious tolerance, however, they often ignore the reason why. He did everything he could to close the divide between church and state. This is because he believed that religion kept people mild and meek. It basically made it easier to control his people when there was no gap between church and state. He could influence politics a lot easier, claiming that this or that was what God wanted. And the people would believe it. Again while the Napoleonic code established many great things, it also hurt many other people, not including women. Workers were denied their right to collectively bargain, trade unions were outlawed, and children had no right at all. Napoleon specifically declared, “Madame you shall not go out, you shall not go to the theater, you shall not visit such and such person: for the children you bear, they shall be mine.” Not only taking many right away from women, but also basically saying that parents have no right to their children at all. Some also argue that Napoleon was a military genius and he cared for all his citizens. Some may argue that was revolutionary in his ideas of public education. It suggests that he wanted his people to be educated and independent but that does not change the fact that Napoleon has always been more concerned with his pride and his need to stay in power. Napoleon concocted a “system competent to curb the
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
Through the Napoleonic Code, a unitary legal system for all of France, private property was protected and equality was preserved before the law. During his reign, France was a meritocracy in that positions were awarded to people with the most talent and ability, preserving equality. He also allowed the people to vote through the plebiscite, a yes or no vote for the leader of France. Napoleon also preserved the ideal of religious toleration. He did this by agreeing to the Concordat of 1801.
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 had crowned himself Emperor of the Grand Empire in 1804 and believed himself to be equal to god with his own divinity. He had given émigrés that had taken a loyalty oath high positions in his government and recreated the imperial nobility. He believed that only the rich and talented deserved an education and higher paying jobs, while women and the lower class did not deserve any sort of education. Women had lost many rights they had gained in the 1790s and basically became the property of their fathers/husbands. (McKay, pp 607)
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,...
His government concentrated on recruiting soldiers and funds for his armies. Revolutionary liberties did not matter much to him. - In a way, the Napoleonic regime promoted unlimited expansion and continual warfare. That surely went against the principles of the French revolution that he was supposed to espouse. - Napoleon saw elections as 'useless'.
Almost every ruler in history can be accused of having some kind of religious fanaticism. This religious fervor has led to persecution, civil war, unrest, instability, ignorance, and even genocide. The enlightenment taught philosophes 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. In Egypt, he was Muslim. But the only insight we have to his actual religious beliefs are that he said he followed his own "star" indicating that he pursued a somewhat mystical belief in destiny and fate. He completely regar...
Napoleon was not only a great leader, he was also a military genius. As a military genius, Napoleon won many battles to expand France and was always welcomed back to France as a hero. His use of strategic warfare throughout many battles allowed him to be seen as a hero not only in France but all of Europe. Although his army was outnumbered by the Russians and Austrians on December 2, 1805, Napoleon's brilliant strategies resulted in a defeat of the opposing armies in the Battle of Austerlitz.
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.
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.
Certain individuals approved of Napoleon's reign as the saviour of France. He finished and completed the Revolution by fulfilling the ideals the people of France demanded. A person such as one belonging to the bourgeoisie, or even a peasant would be very satisfied with the way Napoleon ruled over the country. He gave them equality, freedom, justice, and many rights. Such things never existed during the reign of the monarchs before Napoleon stepped in. A banker too would be very affirmative on how Napoleon had truly helped France in its economic problems. He made the franc the most stable currency in Europe, and the banker had witnessed that, as probably one of the bankers of the Bank of France. Another type of individual that agrees that Napoleon isn't the destroyer of the ideals of the Revolution would be his soldiers and generals. He had fought alongside with his men in many battles. Through inspiration, he gained their loyalty, to "follow him to the stars" if he asked them to. Such inspiration would never be gained if he never respected them, if he never treated them fairly. And then, the "Legion of Honour", which awarded to some certain citizens for their civil and military achievements.
Napoleon was a very influential individual throughout his time. The achievements he made still reflect in the world today, especially in France. He was a military general and emperor who conquered the majority of Europe in the 19th Century. Napoleon was a brilliant strategist and military leader. He commanded one of the most powerful armies in his time and, for a while, other countries could hardly even compare. Napoleon had the ambition, skill, and intelligence to do great things for his country. Although he experienced some failures, Napoleon never gave up on the idea of being very powerful himself and building France to be powerful as well. Hands down, he was the most important person in the world in his time.
Napoleon Bonaparte was an interesting ruler in that he was compromised of attributes of both a tyrant and a hero. Napoleon had a strong following throughout his reign and even during his two exiles. He was the emperor of France between 1799 and 1815, following the fall of the Directory. Despite the efforts of the French Revolution to rid the country of an autocratic ruler, Bonaparte came to power as Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte I in 1804. He claimed that he preserved the goals of the Revolution, which can be easily argued as his rule became more dictatorial as it progressed. Despite his departure from some of the gains of the Revolution, he overall was a hero for the French people. Through his military ventures, political changes and social reform, Napoleon proved himself as a hero. This is not to say that there were aspects of his reign that were tyrannical, but he was overall beneficial for France.
When we think of Napoleon, we think of massive military conquest comparable to the Roman Empire. However, there are also the numerous reforms he made to domestic policy during his reign of 1799 to 1815. There are three main viewpoints relating to his domestic policy. The first is by Godechot who believed Napoleon "changed the history of France and the world". He thought that Napoleon's policies truly benefited France. However, a contrary viewpoint is made by Seward who thought Napoleon was a demagogue who had an "obsession with power". A third median of the two extremes was proposed by Soboul. Soboul thought that Napoleon advantaged France in some ways but hindered in others.