Napoleon Bonaparte

Napoleon Bonaparte

From the moment of his birth, something in the stars said that Napoleon Bonaparte would

one day emerge as the leading power of the French. He was a man of many talents. His

distinctive personality was a clear indicator of his glory and fame to come. He tended to

appeal to other's senses in order to gain for himself. " His rule was to mark the close of

the revolution, a return to order and stability, a rejoining of the history of France with the

first stage of the Revolution, but only the first stage " 1. As a strong willed man,

Napoleon quickly rose to power in France and was able to subdue most of Europe for

roughly twenty years by strategically mending the turmoil caused by the French revolution

simply by preserving some its reforms, such as religious tolerance, while also destroying

some of its aspects, for example, abolishing political freedom.

An individual's personality and upbringing are two major contributors to their actions.

Why was Napoleon able to rule with the rigidness and authority that he did? Napoleon

Bonaparte was born in 1769 just before the wake of the French Revolution in 1789 into

the nobility of Corsican society, one that was very simple 2. Corsicans were strong

believers in defense and respect of the family, and a violation of this would mean death 3.

Napoleon as well as his brothers and sisters were often spanked by their mother, but " . . .

they knew punishment was given in love, and they took it in that spirit " 4. This suggests

why Napoleon ruled with such a strong fist when he had an unconditional love for his

country. Those who speak of him as a young child remember him very distinctly: " . . . he

had a quick temper and a mind of his own. Hi...

... middle of paper ...

...s.

After further research on Napoleon's death, it was suspected that the Bourbons had

him slowly and unsuspectingly poisoned with arsenic out of their fear that he would rise

up again 73. Napoleon's main tactic was fear and so he had ultimately won. Napoleon

wanted other powers to know his strength and superiority. Starting off in a small town as

a young man with willpower and manipulation, Napoleon climbed to the top and created

what he had lacked before: an enormous empire that he could truly call his own. He gave

hope to many who had lost it during the Revolution. Many of the ideas and reforms that

he proposed and created are still in use today. " Some stress his magnetism, his charm, his

enormous energy and industry; others emphasize his arrogance, egotism, and contempt for

human life " 74. Even so, the legend of Napoleon Bonaparte lives.