Napoleon

Napoleon: Friend or Foe of the French Revolution?

Napoleon Bonaparte is one of the most authoritative people in history. During his reign, he radically changed the landscape of Europe, as well as the political playing field of the time. Born of the French Revolution, Napoleon was able to get power from his famous Coup d’état, in which he overthrew The Directory and established himself as the ruler of France, a rule which lasted from 1799 to 1814. While at first, Napoleon generally obeyed to the philosophies of the French Revolution as written in The Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen, as time progressed, his absolute power suffered from corruption at the expense of the French people. It is thoroughly possible that Napoleon personally did not believe in obeying to the principals of the French Revolution during his entire reign. However, he sought to supply a few basic rights of the French Revolution which only ultimately benefited himself. Napoleon violated almost every principle delineated in the Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen in order to benefit his own means. He did, though, support several principles, primarily manifested with the Napoleonic Code. At first, Napoleon was simply the “First Consul” of France, giving him the particular position of power with the country, but not yet supplying him with total control. Slowly but surely, this changed as Napoleon ameliorated his power further with each plebiscite. In order to give an illusory that his power was increasing through democratic means, Napoleon held a plebiscite in which people can decide whether or not Napoleon can increase his power. The validity and honesty of these plebiscites were questionable; but nonetheless, the people of France were under the impression that they were ruled by a leader that they elected. Eventually, Napoleon would become the emperor of France, having comprehensive control over the French empire which he worked to create for years. The Napoleonic Code was a...