“His Main Aim Was to Himself in Power” How Far Do You Agree with This View of Napoleon Bonaparte from 1799 to 1850?

Napoleon loved power. He clearly states throughout multiple documents that he loves power. In document 1, he actually exclaims that, “I love power” (doc 1). In that statement, Napoleon makes a very blunt fact and doesn’t sugar coat it. Another example of him showing his love for power is “Napoleon held absolute power” (pg.598) . Also “Two years later, he crowned himself Emperor Napoleon I” (pg.589). In that support, Napoleon takes all the power from everyone else and does something not even allowed to make himself superior.

Napoleon helped France come out from the ashes & fog into the light of sun. Napoleon tried to as much as he could for majority of the French population, but some still were not pleased. Napoleon wrote a new constitution for all men; like freedom of rights, freedom of religion, and equality before the law. Napoleon believed natural rights should apply to the country. Napoleon also allowed the rights to average/poor citizens of France[doc.3]

We can see how Napoleon Bonaparte repeatedly opposed himself in each one of the French Revolutionist areas. Napoleon claimed to stand for Liberty, to free the people of France and provide them with justice. He planned to do this by standing for the reform the French people needed the most,

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.

In France in 1789, A revolution began. The people of France were fighting for their inalienable rights such as freedom from serfdom , equality between the classes. Within this chaos in France, Napoleon, a new thinker, came about and changed France in many ways. Napoleon's policies can be seen as preserving the legacy of the French Revolution by giving equality to the lower classes and creating a governmental system that helped to put the people in charge of their sovereignty, however it can be seen as hurting the legacy by protecting the ideas of absolutism.

Consequently, as most people of such a high status, Napoleon was expected to do immense things for his country. Such things include bringing peace to France and stopping the political disorder within the country. Most importantly, people wanted him to completely encompass the things that they fought for during the French Revolution. Napoleon himself had said that he had kept the best policies and ideas from the Revolution. With all of these things that Napoleon needed to do, many people looked up to him, making him an even higher figure than before. This let him use his power to generate funds for a more nationalist and patriotic country. He had solved many of the problems people were talking about after rising to power, such as making peace between the government and the church.

Napoleon continued in the Revolutionary tradition of liberating and introducing revolutionary ideals to the territories he claimed for France. In the areas he conquered Napoleon granted constitutions, introduced law codes, abolished feudalism, created efficient governments and fostered education, science, literature and the arts. However these reforms always failed as Napoleon was always attempting the politically impossible. This did not stop Napoleon from continuing his conquests. Napoleons battles were fought in order to consolidate his dictatorship. His Military success initially consolidated the revolution, but once he turned France into a military dictatorship he betrayed the revolution.

Napoleon Bonaparte, an influential leader of France, was a man of many facets. On one the one hand, Napoleon was a strong leader who created durable institutions and strengthened France, but on the other, there is a more pitiful view of Napoleon. The view of Napoleon was initially very positive: he viewed himself as a protector of the people, and the people saw this too; however, over time, this image was greatly worsened, due to military hardship.

Napoleon managed to maintain the lesser ideals of the French Revolution. However, he managed to do this by giving all of the former ideals a ‘twist’ of his own if he was displeased by them. This included the fact that he re-wrote the constitution that had previously been written; he partially reversed the relationship with the Church, turning France into a Catholic country. It can also be stated that the way he gained power was against the French Revolution’s ideals: and this was the very beginning! On the other hand, Napoleon managed to maintain equal taxation, which had previously been a big issue, especially for the poor. Distinction was removed and there were no privileges for any parties neither was there a way to ‘sneak out’ of

The enlightenment was a time of great learning throughout Europe during the eighteenth century. Although the period is significant for scientific and other scholastic advancements, it is most important because it allowed for the opening of great minds—such as that of Napoleon Bonaparte. Shortly after this enlightenment made its way through Europe, revolution and civil war ripped through France between 1879 and 1899. The unrest of the time called for a strong ruler. A man/woman with an open mind and an enlightened soul. France needed a child of the enlightenment to sew its tattered flag. Napoleon Bonaparte was a child of the enlightenment. This was displayed in both his attitudes and

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.

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

He made peace with the catholic Church to prevent it from being an Enemy managing to remain autonomous in the nominating of bishops and paying the clergy of protestant ministers along with the catholic clergy through the state. The French who acquired church property through the revolution where allowed to keep it making them supporters of his regime. A new code of laws was achieved throughout all of France, but at the loss of some of the liberties gained by the Revolution. Napoleon eliminated local governments by assigning prefects who acted as agents of the central government or, more accurately, of Napoleon himself. All tax exemptions were removed and professional tax collectors were employed by the state. Napoleon’s control tightened as he shut down newspapers and forced all manuscripts to be subject to government scrutiny even going as far as having the police open private mail. Napoleon was very inconsistent with the ideals of freedom and

Napoleon’s rise to power can be explained by France’s desperate need for a leader in the aftermath of the governmental devastation of the French Revolution. He exercised his power through militaristic operations and foreign affairs that increased his fame, but led to his eventual destruction. Machiavelli and his works greatly influenced him, contributing to his ability to be a formidable military leader and emperor. Born in Corsica, Napoleon did not become a leader because he was from nobility, but rather it was his skillful military ability that allowed him to rise up through the ranks.

Under Napoleon, France controlled almost all of Europe and Northern Africa as well as most of the Americas(through controlling Spain). Napoleon had tried to conquer all who insulted him, he was egotistical maniac. Although he attempted follow the values that the First French Revolutionists made Liberte, Egalite, Fraternite, Napoleon had set up multiple laws that gave some sense of freedom and equality to the people of france through the civil code also known as The Napoleonic Code.