Napoleon Bonaparte and Robert Mugabe were both dictators that maintained an iron fist rule on their respective countries, France and Zimbabwe. In times of oppression and hardship seemingly strong leaders take up the mantle of becoming what seems like a revolutionary hero. In the case of Napoleon this meant ousting the dysfunctional rule of the Directory in revolutionary France. His campaign for power followed a rule of a tyrannical madman by the name of Robespierre, who ushered an age of absolute peril and most heinous of atrocities, murder. Countless of heads poured down the French streets during the Age of Terror. Although the Directory followed Robespierre's rule, there was little they did to help France recuperate. Needless to say France was in absolute chaos. But a savior by the name of Napoleon stood up to rescue the French people in their time of most need bringing lasting justice in the form of the Napoleonic code, religious freedom, and education reforms that still lasts into present time. Similarly, Mugabe was once celebrated as a revolutionary war hero in a perceived era of oppression by the British. Together Mugabe and the ZANU-PF(Zimbabwe African National Union – Patriotic Front) emancipated the people of Zimbabwe of their colonial chains of oppression in 1980. However, unlike Napoleon Mugabe brought economic ruin, genocide, and racial injustice to Zimbabwe. Therefore, Napoleon was a just ruler that did more good than harm for France but Mugabe is a tyrant that
He fought for rights, in regards to the split from the British empire. By verbally expressing his opinions at a time when the values of the nation were still undetermined, Jefferson advocated for a revolution. His leadership is prevalent throughout history as he attained multiple jobs with substantial duties. He sought to utilize his education for the enhancement of society. Through the combination of education and privilege, he contributed his books to the library of Congress, and founded a college.
Rulers; What makes a successful one? Some could argue the accumulation of land and wealth are the defining factors. Others would assert that population size and control over it maketh a great ruler. All these factors are quite obviously good indicators of an empire on the rise, but not necessarily indicators of good ruling. It appears to me that great rulers build their empire like a sports franchise builds their team; around a centralized figure. The centralized figure in regards to empire is the ruler of said empire. They demand the respect and loyalty of their constituents, and any resistance to such demands is met with the harshest of reprimands. Successful rulers make themselves a mandatory fixture into the society they have built. We
Before the Napoleonic Age, France was in a very inconsistent period when it comes to government. In 1789, the people of France overthrew the monarchy and had many types of government to try and replace the terrible monarchy. France went through four different types of government before Napoleon stepped in. There was the National Assembly, Legislative Assembly, National Convention, and the Directory. Napoleon saw this weak government and in 1799, he decided to take over France himself. Although he tried to make some positive contributions to France, Napoleon Bonaparte had more of a negative impact because he was an absolute ruler, did not care about the people, and he did not keep the promises he shared.
Ultimately, the French Revolution led to a law system that was very much against the established principles of the Enlightenment thinkers. Napoleon Bonaparte became the first strong leader of the new France republic in 1799. He was a leader that often gave off the appearance of inclusion of the people in governmental decisions but placed the most importance on his own authority. Though universal suffrage had been established for white males, democratic principles were not exactly used for Bonaparte’s reign. He tampered with voting until he had himself elected as consul for life in 1802. In 1804, he established the Napoleonic Code which took away many rights women had gained during the Revolution, such as the equality they had in marriage. It
After the debacle of the election of —— where Jefferson was finally voted President after the 32nd vote by the House of Representatives. Though the United States was a fairly new country, Jefferson was looking to expand the country, and therefore, hopefully, Republicanism. Unbeknownst to Jefferson at that juncture another man was looking to do the same for his country, France. Bonaparte had become the new leader in France, and was trying to find how to make the most money the fastest. He looked to Haiti, where France had grown their sugar empire and Bonaparte was looking to get the most out of their export by increasing the amount of sugar grown and exported. The solution was to find land that would allow France to grow food to provide to Haiti, while all of Haiti was used to grow sugar. They look to Spain, who had most of the land in the “New World”/North America and asked to purchase Louisiana from them. The King of Spain at the time beleived this to be a good deal, considering Spain did not have many people living in the area and thinking it would provide a buffer of sorts to protect the lands where they do have more people and resources (Texas westward and down into what would become Mexico). So he made the deal with Bonaparte and France acquired Louisiana. However, while that deal was being struck, Haiti was going through a Revolution, where educated free blacks who only make up 7 percent of the population worked with the slave population (making up 90 percent) to come together and oust Europeans. Despite great success in Europe, the French Army was no match to the Haitian rebels, and Bonaparte was losing control. At this time Jefferson had got news about what was happening and had sent two men to ask Bonaparte to sell them just one small area of Louisiana, New Orleans, for 10 million dollars. This came as a surprise to Bonaparte, who thought he had just lost it all with the purchase of this land. So he countered with a proposal of selling all of Louisiana for 15 million, and it was agreed upon.. Not everyone was so keen as to give Jefferson, or anyone from his Administartion any credit for gaining this massive amount of land in the Louisiana Purchase. Instead many criticized how the deal was struck,
The careers of Robespierre and Napoleon were very similar. They both accomplished many big things and both crashed in a terrible way. Robespierre stood behind the idea of a great republic instead of a monarchy and followed the ideology no matter what. His purity allowed him to make decisions that got him to one of the highest positions in the National Assembly. He even managed to get to become the one that was making the decisions. He was a member of the Jacobin’s club which was strongly republican. However, after Robespierre started getting too violent and also, little bit after he ordered the death of, the people loved, D’Anton, the common people started to not like him. The common people saw him as another dictator how was trying to get to the place of Louis
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 Bonaparte was a great leader until he took his power too far. He helped France get out of their debt and also won multiple territories from winning wars. He continued to strengthen France with his great leadership and military strategies. Eventually, though, he began to abuse his power. He proceeded through a war, without forfeit and experienced a great defeat. During his time of power Napoleon was a paradox. Napoleon’s fall from being a great leader taught us that, sometimes when people get too used to having so much power and authority, they may abuse their powers to a large extent.
When we think of Alexander the Great, we think of an outstanding war hero. When we think of Napoleon Bonaparte, we think, again, of an outstanding war hero. If a random person were asked who either of these rulers was, their first response would be a fact about war. Alexander and Napoleon share similarities in their warfare, and how they used it to conquer and establish new lands. Alexander the Great’s strong perseverance and incredible battle strategies led to increase his power over his empire. Napoleon used his intelligence and skill of manipulation to earn respect and support from the French people, which gained him great power. Both men had similar qualities attaining leadership but their strategies to reach this were very
In 1795, the Directory was busy with the war in western and southern Germany and had sent most of the French forces their to launch an offensive. The leaders of the Directory believed that Italy “was something of a sideshow”(Roberts 78) and gave Bonaparte command of some troops to fight in Italy. It was Bonaparte's first military campaign at age of 26 against Austrians and their allies the Italians. Unfortunately, when he arrived in Nice to command his troops, they were in a horrible condition. The weather was frigid and the men had no overcoats, no shoes, or clothes stolen from dead enemies. Unpaid and starving Napoleon had a daunting task to win over the troops who were muttering about mutiny (Roberts 78). Firing inefficient officers and
The Napoleonic Age was the most controversial time period. Some people thought Napoleon was a reformer, while others thought he was an absolute dictator. One thing is for sure though, that he shaped France/Europe into the continent/country is is today. Napoleon was very narcissistic and cruel, and did not value human life. At the same time, he believed in education and instruction. Also, he positively influenced the schools and created the Napoleonic Code, which solved a lot of France's problems. Napoleon Bonaparte had a negative impact on France, because he mistreated the rights that every human should obtain, created a bad image for other countries, and only really cared about absolute power.
Napoleon Bonaparte is often characterized as one of the most brilliant and influential military leader in all of history. Known mostly for his diminutive stature and extraordinary military skill, Napoleon Bonaparte is commonly recognized today for his great accomplishments and works regarding the country of France. Though he achieved many great things, the successfulness of this leader is often still debated all across the world. Many believe he was unsuccessful and arrogant while others argue that Napoleon’s great skill shaped the world as it is known today. Though there are numerous conflicting viewpoints throughout the world, Napoleon’s successfulness is more prominent, for his reforms to the country of France and military dominance set him apart from all other preceding leaders.
Napoleon Bonaparte was a powerful leader who established the foundations of modern Europe through an administration riddled with controversy. Napoleon came to power in 1799 by overthrowing The Directory in France and appointing himself as the emperor, thus having complete control over the country. Napoleon's most lasting achievements include instituting the Napoleonic code, taking control of nearly all of Europe, and engaging in numerous battles with European nations. After years of serving in Europe, Napoleon had many foreign interactions and made himself a reputation split between a hero and a tyrant. To be a tyrant means to be a cruel and oppressive leader, something Europe was familiar with from the absolutist monarchs in their history
Napoleon was one of the most important figures in European history. As one of the greatest military leaders, Napoleon did many things to modernize the European nations he ruled.
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