Napoleon Bonaparte is a highly influential and controversial person from history. Many people consider him a tyrant and a traitor to the revolution since he named himself emperor and had more power than any bourbon King. An equal number of people, however, consider him a champion of the ideals of the French Revolution which was, in turn, based on Enlightenment thought. While there is plenty of evidence for both of these views, I believe That Napoleon’s advance of the ideals of the French Revolution, and the after-effects his rule, far outweigh his betrayals of those ideals, and that he should be considered a champion of the revolution.
Napoleon was, most certainly, an extremely powerful person. His military talent and his success at suppressing a riot, made him very well known in France. While the French government was headed by The Directory, he was appointed general and instructed to extend the revolution into Italy. By succeeding at this task he extended France’s rule to Rome and was also the first since its founding to capture the independent republic of Venice. When he returned to France he was involved in a coup d’etat which deposed The Directory as the executive governmental power and established a …show more content…
One of the primary influences of the French Revolution was the Enlightenment ideals of the philosophes. Religious toleration was an important part of these ideals, and while Napoleon did establish Catholicism as the official religion of France, he also granted protestants and jews the right to practice their religions freely. He established public high schools, and later a public university system, furthering the enlightenment goal of increased education. As Diderot put it, “To instruct a nation is to civilize it.” One of the focuses that Napoleon put on education was the promotion of science as a means of economic, cultural, and military
Napoleon was, most certainly, an extremely powerful person. His military talent and his success at suppressing a riot, made him very well known in France. While the French government was headed by The Directory, he was appointed general and instructed to extend the revolution into Italy. By succeeding at this task he extended France’s rule to Rome and was also the first since its founding to capture the independent republic of Venice. When he returned to France he was involved in a coup d’etat which deposed The Directory as the executive governmental power and established a …show more content…
One of the primary influences of the French Revolution was the Enlightenment ideals of the philosophes. Religious toleration was an important part of these ideals, and while Napoleon did establish Catholicism as the official religion of France, he also granted protestants and jews the right to practice their religions freely. He established public high schools, and later a public university system, furthering the enlightenment goal of increased education. As Diderot put it, “To instruct a nation is to civilize it.” One of the focuses that Napoleon put on education was the promotion of science as a means of economic, cultural, and military