Napoleon Bonaparte Flaws

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

Napoleon’s overly ambitious plans led to his ultimate demise as well as overwhelming casualties, the Napoleonic Era changed the course of history. The Napoleonic Era influenced European nationalism and unification as well as radical ideas derived from the Napoleonic Code.
The Napoleonic Wars represented a period of widely ambitious campaigns that resulted in significant changes in the way the war was waged as well as the path of world history.

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

world.
Despite being skilled on the battlefield, Napoleon’s overly - ambitious rule wounded France’s stability, as well as relationships with its neighbours as they were never able to achieve a common ground. Napoleon’s empire suffered economically and politically in view of the fact that he was never able to maintain balance. His revenues never covered the expenses of the government, and in order to feed his armies to provide for the new military aristocracy that guarded his throne, Napoleon needed continuous conquests (BBC). As a result, a lasting peace between France and its neighbours was never possible under Napoleon’s rule, seeing that it was incompatible with his ambitions. In addition, the Napoleonic Wars resulted in an exceeding amount of blood - letting and casualties for France’s population. Napoleon’s army in the early years were the most capable forces in the world. However, the quality of his later performances declined because casualties took their toll on the troops and marshals. Consequently, the casualties continued to increase and his army lost nearly 240,000 men by the Battle of the Nations (History Today). This is a prime example of how Napoleon’s ambitions led to disasters or near - disasters, as well as why the wars are vilified while his reputation continues to shine. Moreover, Napoleon’s flaw as head of state, head of government, and commander in chief was that he was never able to come to an agreement or bring about peace with enemies. From a strategic perspective, Napoleon failed, for the most part, seeing that he was never successful in turning a “defeated enemy into a willing ally,” (History Today). Although he was successful on the battlefields and seen as a hero in campaigning, he was never able to achieve peace with enemies or resolve conflicts, resulting in the constant tension that revolved around France and its neighbours as long as Napoleon was in control. Finally, the tensions that arose from Napoleon’s rule eventually expanded outside Europe, creating conflicts between Britain and the United States, known as the Anglo - American War. The Anglo - American War was mainly a result of the restrictions that Britain placed on American commerce with France during the Napoleonic Wars, as well as its “practice of searching US merchant vessels for deserters from the British Royal Navy,” (Heritage). The tension between France and Britain, as well as their attempts to weaken each other by disrupting trade and commerce with foreign nations, ended up adding on new conflicts for the Europeans. In conclusion, Napoleon, flushed and intoxicated with the pride of power, was more concerned with winning battles and being perceived as invincible, rather than the liberty of France as well as being able to coexist with neighbouring city - states.
Though France and Europe were subject to chaos under Napoleon’s rule, the ideas and aftermath of the Napoleonic Era changed human history in the long run.

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

legacies have remained to this day: many European countries have a Civil law legal system, with clearly redacted codes compelling their basic laws - an enduring legacy of the Napoleonic Code,” (New World Encyclopedia). The Napoleonic Era showed innovations, such as the Napoleonic Code, that helped influence France as well as the world by introducing radical ideas. In conclusion, the Napoleonic Era succeeded in spreading enlightenment ideas as well as nationalism while shaping history by influencing unification in many parts of Europe.
Despite being a period of continuous conflict between European states, the Napoleonic Era adopted ideas that paved the way for future European and world history. Napoleon had exceedingly ambitious plans for France which inevitably blinded his judgement as he focused mostly on conquests, and no longer governed in the name of liberty. France suffered as a result due to political and economic negligence as well as the fact that there was an overwhelming amount of casualties that resulted from Napoleon’s campaigns. He severed relationships with multiple European states who attempted to make peace, and eventually, his ambitious conquests became his undoing. Nonetheless, the Napoleonic Era, when not taking into consideration the consequences and casualties from the wars, created significant long - term changes that would benefit Europe and the world. Innovations such as the Napoleonic Code influenced ideas and reforms that were otherwise foreign to the Europeans. The rise of nationalism following the wars as well as the unification of European city - states emerged as a result of the Napoleonic Era. In conclusion, though Napoleon’s campaigns were subject to casualties and continuous conflict, the long - term effect of Napoleon’s rule changed the course of history.