Home >
Free Essays & Book Reports > European History >
Napoleon
Napoleon
The main controversy over Napoleon is if he was a friend or enemy to the French
people. Napoleon's
prosecutors said that he destroyed the civil liberties of the French people. They also think
that he started
unnecessary wars of aggression. Another argument is that he ruled above the law like a
absolute monarch.
People on the defending side of Napoleon say that he saved France from a near anarchic
situation in
France. He extended the French territory to bring glory to the French people, and the
rights of the
revolution to the in Europe. Also Napoleon did more to help the people than to harm
them.
Napoleon Bonaparte was born on August 15, 1769 to Carlo and Letizia Bonaparte. No
Bonaparte except
for Napoleon became a professional soldier. His father Carlo fought for Corsican
independence, but after
the French occupied the island he served as a prosecutor and judge and entered the
French aristocracy.
Napoleon had an excellent education and excellent military training. His father secured a
scholarship for
him to the French military school at Brienne. When he was in school he put all his time
and effort into his
studies. Then in 1794 at age 15 he graduated 42nd in his class of 58. For more
education after he graduated
he spent a year at the Military Academy in Paris. Then he was commissioned a second
lieutenant in
artillery. Napoleon commanded an artillery brigade at the siege of Toulon where there
was a British fleet.
The British were driven out, and Napoleon was rewarded with a promotion to General
of Brigade.
In February of 1794 Napoleon was assigned to the French army in Italy. On October 5,
1795 a revolt broke
out in Paris because of protesting the new constitution introduced by the Convection.
Napoleon was
ordered to defend the convection and was aided by Joachim Murats cannons. He was
able to stop the
revolting within four months. He was rewarded by the Directory, with the appointment as
commander of
the army of the interior. In March of 1796 Napoleon began a series of operations to
divide and defeat the
Austrian and Sardinian armies in Italy. He defeated the Sardinians at Mondovi, Forcing
them to conclude a
separate peace by which Savoy and Nice were ceded to France. Then with excellent
leadership Napoleon
was able to win Lombardy from the Austrians. On May 19, 1798 he sailed with an army
of more than
35,000 troops and 350 ships to Alexandria Egypt. Then he occupied Alexandria and
Cairo. There he
guaranteed Islamic law, and began to reorganize the government.
Napoleon liked the ideals of the Enlightment. He used some of those ideals in his law
making and reforms.
For example he believed in the equality of all citizens. Also he thought that everyone
should have the
freedom of occupation and freedom of religion. Napoleon thought that there shouldn’t be
any kind of
slavery in France, because it defied the rights of the people.
The coup d’ etat was an act by Napoleon and Emmanuel Sieyes to overthrow the
Directory. The Directory
was a new form of government that was established in 1795. It consisted of five
members that were elected
by both houses of the legislature. This form of government was proved even less effective
than the
Legislative Assembly and the national convention. Within the Directory there was
incompetence and
corruption that was putting France in a major debt. It didn’t do much to solve the
financial problems and
military problems in France. Attacks on the republic and other conservatives increased.
Rising prices and
disrupted production drove some groups in France to armed protests. And foreign
hostility to France
continued. Then when Napoleon, Sieyes, and their followers got their chance they
executed the coup d’
etat. Armed soldiers forced legislators from their chambers, and abolished the directory.
Then they
proclaimed a new form of government that Napoleon called the Consulate.!
It was headed by three consuls, and Napoleon was the first consul.
Then Napoleon Bonaparte made many reforms that helped France. One major reform
was the Napoleonic
Code, Which was a series of laws that some people thought was his greatest
achievement ever. This code
granted equality to all the citizens of France before the law. It confirmed the end of
serfdom and slavery in
France. It also gave people the freedom of occupation and the freedom to practice their
religion. But, it
reduced the rights of some groups including women. There were many other forms as
well that
strengthened the state. He initiated the Concordat with Pope Pius VII, Which
reestablished Roman
Catholicism. Napoleon lowered the national debt, restored the value of French bonds,
balanced the budget,
established the Bank of France, and established a new and fairer system of taxation.
Also, he improved the
public education system which raised the educational standards for France.
There were many reasons for why Napoleon crowned himself emperor of France in
1804. France needed a
strong and powerful leader to keep everything under control. Napoleon loved France
and he wanted to do
good for France. If he became Emperor then he would have more power to make
France better. He would
be able to liberate France and keep it in order easier. Napoleon also wanted to liberate
other countries. To
be able to liberate those lands he would need the power to make a big and powerful
army. Once he got this
new grand army he was able to conquer and destroy the armies of the lands. For
example in 1805 Britain
organized the Third Coalition against France, but Napoleon's army swept through
Germany into Austria
destroying both the Austrian and Russian armies.
There were a couple of foreign policies that Napoleon set up. One Treaty was the Treaty
of Tilsit, it was
signed at the East Prussia town of Tilsit. The Treaties forced Prussia to give all its
territory west of the Elbe
river to Napoleon , and he used that land to create the kingdom of Westphalia. Prussia
also had to give up
their polish territory, out of that Napoleon created the Duchy of Warsaw. Another policy
was the
Continental System. This policy prevented Great Britain from trading with any European
Nations.
From September 1814 to June 1815 the Congress of Vienna assembled to reestablish
the territorial
divisions of Europe. Representatives of all European powers except for Turkey
assembled at the congress.
At the congress there were many changes to the divisions of Europe. Here are some of
those changes. All
the territory conquered by Napoleon was taken away from France. Russia received the
major part of the
former Duchy of Warsaw. Prussia Received West Prussia,Posen, The Northern half of
Saxony, and the
greater part of the provinces of the Rhine and West Phalia. And Austria Got back most
of the territory that
it had lost. The congress took an important step in condemning the slave trade. It
provided the freedom to
navigate rivers that formed boundries between states. Also the congress reestablished the
balance of power
among the countries of Europe.
Napoleon never really abused his power he remained a fair leader to the people of
France. Napoleon has
been referred to as the “first modern dictator,” because he didn’t abuse his power
compared to other leaders
in western civilization. Napoleon cared more about the well being of the French people,
and didn’t care
about getting money from the government or getting tons and tons of power.
I think that Napoleon’s achievements and goals should be evaluated in a good way.
Because he wasn’t a
tyrant, he achieved those goals in a civilized way. Napoleon was one of the more fair,
and better leaders
than the ones that came earlier in history.
Words: 1284
Resources:
Can`t Find Your Essay? Our writers can help you with any essay topic, any form of
report, any
essay volume and level of writing. Fill in the request
form to order your
custom written essay or book report today!
Category:
Free Essays & Book Reports
> European History
Research Sites:
Visit these research sites top
25, top
50 and top
100 for assistance with high quality paper writing samples.
Copyright 2003, FreeEssays.cc, All Rights Reserved
|
