Napoleon Bonaparte Research Paper

The Age of Napoleon
Napoleon Bonaparte was a very influential character in the history of France. When Napoleon rose to power, many reforms were made regarding the social system, economics, education, and political aspects. For some, the reforms made under his rule were for the better of the people, but others viewed the reforms as negative changes. Nonetheless, Napoleon will always be thought of as a powerful figure in the French Revolution. A leader from the beginning, Napoleon was sent to France for military training at age nine.
Before Napoleon completely conquered France, he had a number of early successes such as defeating the British in Toulon in 1793, and he won victory against the Austrians in Italy. In 1799, he came to France and
France was also in a state where they desperately needed a system of order, they are in a midst of a revolution with no one taking charge. It makes sense that Napoleon, a man who seizes power, takes control of the revolution. Napoleon also had a reputation of being an excellent military chief, which lead to an even greater acceptance to him in France. In 1802, he declared himself the consul for life, and 2 years after that, he held enough power to become the emperor of the French. The French longed for change because the American Revolution had inspired them, and there was a large gap between the rich and the poor.
Napoleon valued order while he was in power. Order, security, and efficiency replaced liberty, equality, and fraternity. He restored the struggling economy by building new roads and canals, so it could be easier to transport goods or obtain them from other society's. He also set up a public school system and made peace with the Catholic Church by signing the Concordat of 1801. The Concordat of 1801 was an agreement between the Roman Catholic Church in France and Napoleon, for the French had been in disagreement with the Catholic Church since the revolution. The Third Estate (made up of peasants
His reign included achievements and failures. One of his greatest successes was that he equalized the people of France, and their worth was based off of merit instead of social status. He established the Napoleonic code, which is still in use in France and other parts of the world today. Most importantly, he restored order in France by stabilizing the economy, building schools for better education, made roads, and built hospitals and orphanages. Some of the failures encountered when Napoleon was in rule was that he violated the freedom of the press when he censored the newspapers being published. He invaded Spain, which began a war with the Spaniards. He changed the European boundaries forever. He was the first modern dictator and brought out the spirit of nationalism in France. Overall, Napoleon changed the way of life for the French and surrounding countries