Napoleon's greatness

Known as one of the world's greatest military, as well as political leaders, Napoleon Bonaparte was born on August 15, 1769, in Ajaccio, Corsica, France. Napoleon was known as a "god" to the people of France, and he still is today. He obtained success in influencing not only France, but Europe too; as well as several other parts of the world. It was in 1799 when he really became known, when he helped overthrow the directory and develop the Consulate (three man government), where in 1802 he would be named "Consul for Life". Also in 1799, he and French troops discovered the Rosetta Stone: an ancient Egyptian hieroglyphic in Northern Africa. If Napoleon hadn't been fighting the English then the Rosetta Stone wouldn't of ever been found, meaning scholars wouldn't of ever been able to decipher Egyptian. Here, he would hold all the power for the consulate. This all had happened before his coming of emperor. He grew up always wanting to be a leader, so when he finally gets the chance to be one, he does the job well enough to be considered the "greatest ruler" of all time.

France was burdened by an out of date social class system. The monarchy did not enact reforms because they were too indecisive and lacked the guarantee of basic rights. The Reign of Terror occurred when enemies outside of France claimed revolution radicals executed the King and Queen. It was when Napoleon became emperor that consolidated his power with France and subdued combined forces of the greatest in Europe. Thanks to Napoleon, ideas of revolution spread across Europe. When Napoleon did become emperor at Notre Dame Cathedral in 1804, though, rather than having the pope crown him (which is the custom way), Napoleon took the crown from the pope's hand and crowned himself. He did this to show he had all the power and that there was nobody above him. He then crowned his wife as empress. This is a good thing because the people he ruled knew they had a powerful leader, but it was also bad because