Napoleon Bonaparte went through his youth studying at various French military schools. His success paid off when he became a military general in King Louis XVI at the age of twenty-four. During the French Revolution he rose to power politically and joined the revolution. When England, Austria, and Russia attempted to put down the revolution by forming a military alliance, Napoleon overthrew the existing government and named himself a consul. After introducing a new constitution, Napoleon named himself Emperor of France in 1804. Napoleon was very skilled politically and helped to bring political stability to France even after having seen constant warfare throughout Europe in the past years. He ended the religious warfare that had been constantly plaguing France when he made peace with the Roman Catholic Church and reversed the extreme policies on religion created by the revolutionists during a convention at the beginning of the French Revolution.
When Napoleon named himself emperor he implemented a series of codes of conduct called the Civil Code. The Code named all adult Frenchmen as equals in the eyes of the government. Politically speaking Napoleon erased the class system based on social status. Instead of being placed in a class because of one’s birth, instead Napoleon put into place s system where individuals who excelled in education and skill base would gain merit in the society. Napoleon’s Civil Codes, however, did not mention anything free speech and, because he was an emperor, did not implement any sort of representative government. Napoleon put heavy constraints on free speech of both his subjects and newspapers and often instituted propaganda to sway public opinion. He started a police force that consisted of public spies in an attempt to suppress political enemies.
Napoleon looked to extend his dictatorship to other parts of Europe. He extended his influence over the Netherlands, Prussia, and Austria when he conquered them militarily. His lust for power took him into Russia, where he easily conquered the Russian capital of Moscow. Though Russia was an ally of France, Napoleon began to think that the Russian tsar had become allies with England, France’s enemy. Once Napoleon’s forces began to overrun Moscow, the tsar ordered that all Russians would leave and burn the city itself. Destroying Moscow left the occupying forces nowhere to stay and the troops suffered during in the harsh winter. Forced to retreat, Napoleon lost a large percentage of his troops getting out of Russia. Once back in France, England and Russia as well as the conquered Prussians and Austrians invaded France and forced Napoleon into exile. Napoleon returned from his exile one year later. In an effort to permanently force Napoleon to abdicate his throne, the British arm defeated his forces in Waterloo, Belgium. Napoleon was once again exiled in a secluded group of islands in the Pacific Ocean, effectively ending his reign. There in 1821 Napoleon died.
Sources:
Traditions And Encounters Volume II: By Jerry Bentley, Herbert Ziegler and Heather Streets
