Industrial revolution

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Daniel Julich

HUM 2052

May 26, 2020

Napoleon

The French revolution is a period in Europe when the basic ideas of society were

transformed through the adoption of liberal views. Historians view Napoleon Bonaparte as an

essential component in the transformation that occurred in most of the European societies.

However, Napoleon's contributions towards revolutionizing France and other European nations

are weighed against some of his actions that appeared to resist the revolution. Napoleon's

predecessors were mainly supporters of the aristocratic society. On the contrary, he opposed this

order and introduced the system of meritocracy. Napoleon would not have risen to become the

emperor of France without the French revolution, which he strongly supported during his initial

years, but later modified the revolution to suit his idea of a cohesive society.

In Allan Forrest's historical collection, Napoleon was born from a modest and noble

family in Corsica, where his ideologies of liberty and independence were shaped. Although he

was serving France as a military officer, his letters to Paoli, one of the exiled leaders of Corsica,

shows his belief in freedom from the aristocratic rule. During this period, Napoleon condemned

the French rule and rebuked its corrupt and malicious governance of Corsica. He believed that

aristocrats did not deserve to rule his hometown since there were people capable of providing

better leadership.

Nonetheless, his belief in opposing the French rule did not hinder him from displaying

unshakable loyalty to the king. In one of the occasions where he was required to display

pragmatism in Corsica’s desire to join the revolution, he chose to protect the ruling class. In

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1790, he had been driven by his radicalism to join popular activist action, but in 1793 he was

caught in the crossfire, choosing to serve the monarch.

One of the most notable aspects of Napoleon during the French revolution was his

recognition of the citizens' needs and rights. Napoleon was famous for advocating for the civil

rights of the poor, supporting economic welfare, and distributing power to deserving leaders.

First, Napoleon favored equality among his people rather than a privilege, which only fostered

certain people to prosperity and condemned others to poverty. He went against popular opinion

by selling church property to redistribute the nation's wealth. Napoleon did not support the

previous societal setting, and as a result, allowed everyone to earn money from their hard work

and attain high societal status.

After attaining power to become the emperor, Napoleon advanced the wealth

redistribution system according to diligence, which was referred to as the Napoleon Code. Based

on Hunt (652), the Napoleon Code upheld social order and reduced the conflict of interest

affecting the French community. In this way, Napoleon empowered citizens and reduced the

government's instability by distributing power, abolishing out-dated dues, and revoking religious

extremism. Napoleon's leadership helped to resolve most of the citizen's grievances.

In the military, Napoleon displayed shrewd leadership that was absent in his

predecessor’s rule. Instead of purchasing soldiers from foreign lands, Napoleon instilled radical

patriotism by recruiting an army of volunteers. In this military revolution, Napoleon wanted to

motivate the soldiers and create undying loyalty to France. He allowed experienced soldiers from

lower classes to rise in military ranking regardless of their absence of nobility. Napoleon was the

first French ruler to lead a fully-French army to war in foreign nations, in his European invasion.

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Through this invasion, Napoleon advanced his code of liberalization and dethroning of the

monarchs to Spain and Italy.

On the other hand, Napoleon continued the authoritative rule from his predecessors to

protect French power. In Forest's recollection, Napoleon was responsible for the division of

Corsica to enable mainland France to retain control of the rebellious region. Corsica's integration

into France was met with more resistance, leading to Napoleon's family's eviction from the

island. Henchmen, led by Paoli, raided Napoleon's home since he took sides with the French

government as he was not ready to release the region from his rule. Although he remained a

revolutionary leader committed to liberty, he lost the public's support for desiring to retain

governance of all French territories, including Corsica.

Another case where Napoleon shows support to his predecessor’s way of governance is

in his treatment of the French colony in Saint-Dominguez. In 1800, when a revolt broke out in

the region, Napoleon did not recognize the local inhabitants' need for liberty (James). The

inhabitants of Saint-Dominguez revolted against the monarchy and advocated for the

abolishment of slavery. Unfortunately, the island was crucial to sugar supply in France, which

Napoleon was not ready to lose in support of freedom and liberty. As a result, he captured the

inhabitants' leader and tried to re-impose slavery as a way to subjugate the island.

In conclusion, Napoleon was a revolutionary leader in France, who led a successful

invasion against some European monarchs. Although he desired to improve the citizen's welfare

and free his hometown from mainland French governance, once he gained power, some of his

liberal ideologies changed. During his period as the French emperor, Napoleon lost public

support and attempted to subjugate Corsica and Saint-Dominguez to retain governance of the

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regions. Nonetheless, Napoleon was fundamental in the dissolution of aristocratic rule and the

promotion of meritocratic governance in Europe.

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Works Cited

Forrest, Alan. "Napoleon: Son Of The Revolution - The History Reader." The History Reader,

2013, https://www.thehistoryreader.com/historical-figures/napoleon-son-revolution/.

Hunt, Lynn, et al. Making of the West, Volume II: Since 1500: Peoples and Cultures. Vol. 2.

Macmillan. Vol. II. Boston: Bradford/St. Martin’s, 2012. 651-681. Print.

James, Cyril Lionel Robert. The Black Jacobins: Toussaint L'Ouverture and the San Domingo

Revolution. Penguin UK, 2001.