Napoleon Bonaparte Satire

Civil unrest and failing economics present a perfect political opportunity for tyrannical mindsets to manipulate themselves into power. The prestigious, and well revered Napoleon Bonaparte was the embodiment of Rousseau's worst nightmare. While his Coup d’Etat in Brumaire liberated France from the conforming rule of the Directory, Napoleon’s desire for hegemony clouded his vision and caused him to destroy the democratic empire he originally created. Consequently, through Bonaparte’s numerous enactments and actions during his reign, it is clear as to how forcibly created, and spurred nationalistic feelings in France and surrounding countries. Napoleon exemplifies this proposition through not only his various policies but numerous military conquests.

In doing so, he prevented people from having judgment passed upon them based on a single person’s selfish whim, a common occurrence during King Louis XII reign. In addition, the Napoleonic Code appeased the religious freedoms of the people, specifically Catholic practitioners, through the Concordat of 1801. While all people were allowed to practice freely, those of whom were Catholic found themselves without a seminary or clergy in which they could preach to. Napoleon’s negotiation with the Pope, the Concordat was created, which permitted the reopening of seminaries and reinstatement of clergies, and thus true religious freedom. Through his utter allowance of religious freedom, Napoleon united his country even more, and gave them a reason to love and protect it, and subsequently lead the citizens of France to increase their nationalistic sentiment for their country. Above all, with the exemptions of all peoples taken into account, his law simultaneously allowed a crumbling France to unify together while catalyzing the nationalistic feelings buried within the hearts of France’s citizens through the implementation of civil freedom the people

Napoleon’s various military encounters acted as the spark for the nationalistic emotions within the citizens of France, and were kindled into an untamable blaze as he continually emerged victorious in his multitude of campaigns. Through his rebellious Coup d’Etat of Brumaire, he lit a flame powered by nationalistic intent within the French people by appeasing their hunger for democracy while also simultaneously taking command and restoring their faith in figures of power. Following his fiery acquisition of government control, he proceeded to engage in the Battle of Austerlitz in 1805, where the rulers of Austria, Russia, and France clashed. Blazing as he was, however, Napoleon efficiently burned his opponent into ash as his “...assault crushed the defenders and forced them to retreat[,]... [causing] their lines..to collapse all along the front, [and for enemy] troops...to flee the field.” Through this victory, Napoleon effectively “...made peace [with Austria] through the Treaty of Pressburg[, and received] a war indemnity of 40 million francs.” Napoleon, through his victory, restored the lost honour in France’s military, as well as the people’s faith in their military while heightening their nationalistic emotions. Moreover, the win allowed “Napoleon [to] abolish the Holy Roman Empire and establish...the Confederation of the Rhine as a buffer state between France and Prussia.” As a