The French Revolution and Napoleon Bonaparte

1776 Words4 Pages

Napoleon Bonaparte was a French military leader and eventual political leader in France who was able to seize power during the end of the French Revolution of the late 1790's and early 1800's. Napoleon was the leader of France from 1804 to 1815 and mostly remembered as a leader in a cycle of European battles. He institutionalized the changes brought about by the French Revolution and sought to spread them throughout Europe. It has been long debated the factors that allowed Napoleon to seize power and eventually crown himself emperor. Such factors that have been considered have been Napoleon's personality, his military exploits, the failings of the Directory, support of the people and army and even sheer luck.
Napoleon's personality has always been an intriguing aspect of his life and career. It has been said that Napoleon displayed a variety of personality traits some even contradicting, but it is clear that certain traits were very effective in hoisting Napoleon to the heights he achieved. First and foremost, Napoleon's dangerous ambition is something that ultimately helped him seize power and make himself the unanimous Emperor. His ambition is reflected in his younger years where Napoleon became a second lieutenant in the royal artillery at the age of sixteen. With this ambition he was also a stern and ruthless man as shown in his ascent to Emperor. Dwyer reflects this in his swords, ‘Later, in 1799 during the coup d’état of 18 Brumaire, Bonaparte employed his techniques of ruthless fusion of craft and force to gain control of the French central government.’ In this coup d'etat ruthlessly Napoleon overthrew the Directory and became the First Consul. Napoleon's upbringing heavily crafted his personality and it was said that h...

... middle of paper ...

...ry as well as making his own luck to an extent and therefore his personality seems to be the essential factor. As Lyons perfectly puts, 'For most commentators, traditional historians and novelist, the personality of Bonaparte dominates a twenty-year period of European and even world history’

Works Cited

LYONS, M. (1994) Napoleon Bonaparte and the legacy of the French Revolution, London: The Macmillan Press
BERGERON, L. (1981) France under Napoleon, New Jersey: Princeton University Press.
ELLIS, G. (1991) The Napoleonic Empire, London: Macmillan Press
JONES, B, R. (1977) Napoleon man and myth, London: Hodder and Stoughton
STILES, A. (1993) Napoleon, France and Europe, London: Hodder and Stoughton
ELLIS, G. (1997) Napoleon, London: Longman
DWYER, G, P. (2001) Napoleon and Europe, London: Longman
CHANDLER, D. (1973) Napoleon, London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson

Open Document