Napoleon Bonaparte And French Revolution
Napoleon Bonaparte stabilized and united French society yet supported the ideals of the French revolution.
The French Revolution was a violent revolt that started in July, 1789 till 1799, that greatly impacted European history. At that time the society of France was divided into three estates. The first estate was the clergy, the second was the nobility and the third was made up of the Bourgeoisie, wage earners and peasantry, basically from all the rest of the population. Some of the reasons that started the Revolution were the increase of taxes, influence of American Revolution and the new school of thought of Voltaire, Rousseau and others. The effect of the Revolution was unbalanced government and economy, which was restored by great dictator, Napoleon Bonaparte.
The first two estates were the richest and were not taxed, and they were also the only members in society who could hold position of importance. While most of the peasants in the third estate lived horribly, they only earned enough to feed their families. This caused great discontent within the third estate which motivated people to action. When France was stirred to its depths by tremendous upheaval of the Revolution, Napoleon Bonaparte was able for fifteen years to direct France back to its feet
(1799-1815). For about ten years he met with continual success and in battles displayed great combinations of military and administrative skills.
Napoleon was born August 15, 1769 at Ajaccio, Corisca an island that belonged to France. His father bought him a position at a French military academy where he started training. Napoleon began to excel in the areas of mathematics and mostly history. He had a hard time fitting in with his classmates because of his Corsican roots and his Italian accent. It was said he was unpopular there because of his foul mouth and excessive talking. After graduation he went on to spend another year at the Military Academy of Paris. In 1785...
View Full Essay