Romantic Impact On Napoleon

Napoleon Bonaparte will remain in the heart of many French nationals as one of the greatest military leaders that the nation has had when it comes to warfare history. In 1799, Napoleon launched a series of wars, which historian call, “Napoleonic wars” in a bid to extend the territory of France in Europe. Many historians argue that the Napoleonic wars were a continuation of the earlier war under the tag, French revolution in 1789. The French revolution in itself had so many influences in Europe, especially with the armies who felt the greatest impact of the revolution. The revolution brought with it many changes, especially in the production of modern mass weapons with the conscription in place. The new improvements in weaponry made Napoleon seek hegemony in the entire Europe sparking his quest to expand and increase the revolutionary and territorial borders of France. Napoleon, Corsican aristocrat, who was a minor, rose to the position of emperor in France because of the revolution and his idea was to sweep the entire Europe with the reforms brought about by the revolution (Dwyer 32). The idea was to liberate the continent so that all citizens had a chance to take the helm of leadership and do away with the issue of kinship rule. Napoleon was a symbol of change, and although at some point, he comes out as a dictator, he was progressive and created rationalization of governance and all the social

Napoleon won battles in Italy and Austria early in his rule, but eventually, the French Emperor attempted to conquer other major powers in Europe. Napoleon lost major battles in Russia and Britain, and the French people’s perception of their king began to change. Document 5 shows a painting of Napoleon in 1812, during the French invasion of Russia. Napoleon is depicted very negatively: he appears to be short, almost small, overweight, and certainly not the heroic image he carried early in his rule. In Document 7, Napoleon is controlled at the hands of the Duke of Wellington, dancing like a puppet. The painting was published in 1815, the year Napoleon was officially removed from power. As Napoleon’s initial success faded, so did his

Napoleons’ rise to emperor in France was indisputable mostly because of his overthrow of the Directory. His success’s as commander of the French army in Italy, only led to his aspiring status change to “Emperor” of France after overthrowing the Directory in November of 1799. His undying ambition for expansion of the empire he was creating however would be his undoing. Napoleons rule as emperor of France was quit spectacular actually and many admired and adored him as ruler. His ways were very appealing, and as a speaker he was very persuasive and admired by most of his people until his later years in his fall and demise. However, Napoleon did not seriously adhere to the ideals of the French Revolution, he did that of the Enlightenment but his undying ambition and character as “Emperor” undermined the true need of the French Revolution.

During the Napoleonic Era, from 1799 to 1815, France became a military power gaining and controlling land throughout Europe. While some historians believe Napoleon Bonaparte was a ruthless dictator, his military accomplishments far outweigh any atrocities he committed. He helped France gain stability after the French Revolution and he also abolished the Feudal contract. Napoleon was a brilliant strategist using military tactics to cause fear and to defeat whatever enemies stood in his way. Throughout his rule, Napoleon continually gained ground, and by the end of his reign, his empire encompassed all of Spain, Italy, and a small portion of land by Russia and Austria. (see map) He is one of

Napoleon's Conflict with Russia Napoleon was one of the greatest military leaders of all time. By 1812 Napoleon had expanded the territory of France all over Europe including Spain, Italy, Holland, and Switzerland. The countries that Napoleon did not directly control, he was usually allied with. The turning point of Napoleon's career also came in 1812 when war broke out between France and Russia because of Alexander I's refusal to enforce the continental.

Napoleon’s self-defeating actions had a greater impact in his defeat than British strategic performance because of a suboptimal integration of policy, strategy, and operations. First, the Emperor’s political desire for French hegemony led to a strategic overextension from which France was unable to recover. Second, Napoleon’s poor naval strategy inadequately armed the French Navy with a fleet capable of competing with the British Royal Navy. Third, Napoleon’s lack of decentralized execution and his desire for absolute operational control at the organizational level led to his demise. This essay will then examine the counterargument and rebuttal that British strategic performance mattered more to Napoleon’s defeat than the Emperor’s self-defeating actions because of a British strategy of selective engagement.

Impressed by his feats the five main military leaders asked Napoleon to invade England, instead he offered a plan to invade Egypt. After he got the okay to do so Napoleon took over the Egyptian army and its main leaders (www.history.com, www.thefreesource.com). In 1799 Napoleon overthrew the French Directory in an attempt to gain more power. After the defeat he was the leading political figure to most historians (www.history.com). As leader Napoleon improved not only the military of France but also the economy and other parts of the French empire. He helped reform the banks and education system as well as improving the arts and sciences. But his biggest contribution was the Napoleonic code, which was a big part of the legal system in France.(www.history.com, www.thefreesource.com, www.bbc.co.uk). In 1804 Napoleon declared himself emperor of France, which was meant he was the sole leader of this great empire (www.history.com). Napoleon won many battles and his reign stretched from the edge of the border of Spain to Italy and also some parts in Austria and Egypt. It was a strong and powerful empire at the time. The start of Napoleon’s downfall began when Russia broke agreements with France. So Napoleon brought about 600,000 troops into Russia to attack but the Russians were prepared and had the perfect strategy to defeat the French army. The Russians would retreat and keep the French marching

Napoleon Bonaparte was an undeniably strong leader of France, however he was not truthful to his inferiors who gave him his power. Napoleon believed he was the master of France and that he had complete power of the country. He looked down upon his peers and the other citizens of France. Bonaparte gained his popularity by standing with the common people during the revolutionary period of France but did not continue with the views he expressed during this period when he became Emperor. Napoleon Bonaparte had many views and beliefs that made him an absolute dictator of France including, making every decision himself, being above everyone in the class systems, and manipulating the citizens of France.

Few humans have ever come as close to ruling over the entirety of Europe as Napoleon Bonaparte did. As the end of the French Revolution drew near, Napoleon Bonaparte did not hesitate long to create policies that kept him in power. With such power, it was certain that Napoleon would use it to influence to people all over Europe. Napoleon’s impact on the people of France and Europe, who he affected through propaganda, his ideas of nationalism and patriotism, and a codification of laws, was a very long-standing and resilient ideology that was mostly prevalent during the French Revolution.

Although it is often debated, the character of Napoleon was neither strictly tyrannical or heroic. Connelly understood this and displayed both sides of Napoleon throughout the book. For example, Napoleon made a great impact on the education system in France that is still evident today. He founded lycèes, collèges, and the Imperial University that allowed those that wanted an education to receive it, sometimes with the help of scholarships (Connelly, 49). However, he did have an ulterior motive driving his work in education: as Napoleon put it, the “means of directing political and moral opinion” (Connelly, 51). Connelly points out that Napoleon was upfront about his motives, and says, “In education, Napoleon’s influence is often decried, but he left a lasting legacy” (Connelly, 49). Fortunately, the same can be said for many of Napoleon’s other endeavors, including his impact on culture. Napoleon enjoyed the arts and had a great influence on what the French people accepted. He reorganized France’s National Library, shaped the Louvre into the phenomenal museum it is today, patronized famous artists, and supported many scientists during that time (Connelly, 52-53). “Repression of political expression there was. But those who say Napoleon created an intellectual desert in France and Europe are wrong” (Connelly, 54). Misconceptions about Napoleon’s work in France have run rampant for years. While some truth lies in

Napoleon Bonaparte was a French military leader and eventual political leader in France who was able to seize power during the end of the French Revolution of the late 1790's and early 1800's. Napoleon was the leader of France from 1804 to 1815 and mostly remembered as a leader in a cycle of European battles. He institutionalized the changes brought about by the French Revolution and sought to spread them throughout Europe. It has been long debated the factors that allowed Napoleon to seize power and eventually crown himself emperor. Such factors that have been considered have been Napoleon's personality, his military exploits, the failings of the Directory, support of the people and army and even sheer luck.

On the other hand, Stock’s debate brings about the idea that Napoleon’s actions are not what lead people into believing that he is a hero or a villain, rather, the “interest in Bonaparte is driven by aesthetic and philosophical concerns: especially the question of whether Napoleon is an ordinary man ‘within’ history, or a semi-allegorical personage” (Stock 1). Stock further dwells into talking about how the perception of Napoleon as a hero or a villain was not based “along a political or chronological narrative”, but rather through romanticism through the British. Overall, Stock believes that Napoleon is “indeed ‘captive’ of Romantic imaginations”, which especially shown by Byron, who “calls him ‘Conqueror and Captive of the

In the years of Napoleon’s reign, he engaged in numerous wars throughout Europe to dominate nations and force them under his control, resulting in the loss of hundreds of thousands of lives. Although, some may say most of the wars were not initiated by Napoleon himself, and he was only responding to a foreign threat. However, that statement is unfair because those countries only engaged in battle when they felt Napoleon’s spreading control threaten their nations. France was a powerful force and the weaker European countries allied together to stop Napoleon from overthrowing their governments and forcing his control on them.

Napoleon was an opportunistic leader who’s military genius was unmatched and his political prowess very solid, but his goal of overtaking Europe ended his power. Napoleon was a powerful military leader who was able to gain the respect and admiration of France through his military victories. He saw the opportunity to be the French leader and jumped at it, but his goal of a unified Europe hurt him. His ego also played a part in his fall from power in his ill-advised decision to have his brother rule Spain. Napoleon’s military power was so great that he came close to ruling Europe in its entirety before meeting the end. His rule over France was very successful and he was able to run a country very effectively. He was even able to rule over

Certain individuals approved of Napoleon 's reign as the saviour of France. He finished and completed the Revolution by fulfilling the ideals the people of France demanded. A person such as one belonging to the bourgeoisie, or even a peasant would be very satisfied with the way Napoleon ruled over the country. He gave them equality, freedom, justice, and many rights. Such things never existed