How Did Napoleon Bonaparte Impact On European Society

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Many individuals have been celebrated within western history, but one puts them all to shame with his sheer magnitude. During his prime, Napoleon Bonaparte subjugated most of Europe, revolutionized European politics and government. His legacy is evident in the establishment of the French civil code, and the spread of new revolutionary liberal ideas. He broke norms by ruling an empire without a hereditary claim and established an unprecedented hegemony over most of Europe. Napoleon Bonaparte is the most significant western historical figure. I will approach the essay by dissecting Napoleon’s immediate impact on European society, politics, and warfare. Highlighting Napoleon’s legacies on international legal systems, and the contemporary western philosophies of freedom, liberty and equality. As well as how Napoleon broke norms by ruling much of continental Europe through military and political prowess, all without having royal hereditary claims, the basis of legitimate rule for hundreds of years. I will research the French revolution, the biography of Napoleon, the French Civil Code, his policies Europe, his beliefs, his supporters, enemies and the countless changes in Europe caused by his conquests. Currently, I know that the chaos from foreign invasions to restore the French …show more content…

He started from a Corsican village to leading much of Europe. Following his first exile, Napoleon escaped and recruited an army by himself, as his mere presence inspired the French. He fought off foreign coalitions, forced the dissolution of the millennia old Holy Roman Empire and modernized Europe into increasingly secular nation states. I admire that he did not come from royalty; that he fought alongside the common people in the revolution and against foreign aggression. I think he really had a love for France and its people. And despite mixed opinions about Napoleon, few can deny his enormous impact on world

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