Napoleon Bonaparte Free Essays

Napoleon Bonaparte is one of the most powerful individuals in history. He was a great soldier, an unparalleled tactician and a skilled administrator. His dictatorship and ruthlessness led him to his thinking that he could do no wrong. We will write a custom essay sample on Napoleon Bonaparte or any similar topic only for you Order Now As a teenager, he grew in a revolutionary era that gave him the opportunity to become an achiever. His first military opportunity came when he became the captain at the siege of Toulon. Here, he was able to seize crucial forts even bombed the British naval and land military men. The incident brought about the retreat of the British forces. When he was the brigadier-general, he joined the military campaign in Italy but was unfortunately arrested and sent to jail because of his association to his younger brother Maximilien Robiespierre. After his release, he worked with Paul Barras who was a member of the Directory. Barras used Bonaparte’s great passion to stop a royalist mob in 1795 with what the now famous â€Å"whiff of grapeshot.† Despite Napoleon’s leadership skills, he had certain weaknesses such as impatience dislike of criticisms and over-optimism. These qualities manifested when he controlled and censored the press. Perhaps, he would be more admired if he was able to face and do something about his shortcomings rather the controlling the press. One of the grave weaknesses that he committed was actually reforming the tax system. He imposed heavy taxes in Germany and even cut off imports because of the continued wars. This actually decreased his popularity among the people. It is never a good tactic to become a dictator. A leader will only be a good one if his leadership is ratified in the hearts of his people. This was violated by Bonaparte when he opted to put the burden to the people in order to prioritize the war. Bibliography Asprey, R. (2000). The Rise of Napoleon Bonaparte. New York: Basic Books. Connelly, O. (2006). Blundering to Glory: Napoleon’s Military Campaigns. London: Rowman and Littlefield. Cronin, V. (1994) Napoleon. London: Harper Collins. Durant, W. (1975). The Age of Napeleon. New York: Simon and Schuster.          How to cite Napoleon Bonaparte, Essay examples Napoleon Bonaparte Free Essays Napoleon Bonaparte â€Å"The human race is governed by its imagination. †(Napoleon Bonaparte)is This quote by Napoleon shows how he believed that government should be made by the voice of the people. Napoleon Bonaparte was a great leader of war for France, and ruled as a democratic reformer. We will write a custom essay sample on Napoleon Bonaparte or any similar topic only for you Order Now Ever since he was a kid, Napoleon had great leadership skills, and a love for the military. He was an excellent student, and he studied the tactics of previous rulers. Napoleon led many great battles and won most of them by changing the style of the army. His new tactics, leadership skills, and many conquests led him to be praised by many people. This resulted to him being appointed Consul of the French Republic and gaining political power. Napoleon Bonaparte was a democratic reformer because he granted people rights based on the ideas of the French Revolution, understood the importance of civilians, and his people viewed him as a great ruler. Napoleon Bonaparte was a ruler who granted many rights and freedoms to his people. Many of his rights were based on the French Revolution such as the idea of equality. He believed that all people should be treated fairly no matter who they are. This is shown in document four, â€Å"No one should get special treatment based on birth or fortune, and this system of equality is the reason that your English monarchy hates me so much†. Napoleon also believed that improving education was very important, and that it would help bring their country forward. This belief is shown in document two, â€Å"Of all our institutions public education is the most important. Everything depends on it, the present and the future†. He also granted religious freedom, abolished serfdom, and respected his people. All of these freedoms are freedoms that a democratic reformer would certainly give to his people. Napoleon Bonaparte was a man who loved his country and his people which he showed by giving them many rights and freedoms. Napoleon was a man who believed in his people and understood them. He mainly gave his people equality because he understood how important it was throughout his life, especially his childhood. This is shown in document two, â€Å"Before I became a ruler, I was a subject, and before that I was a student. I can never forget how powerfully the sentiment of equality influenced my mind and excited my heart†. He told his civilians that he once was one of them, and he knows how tough life can get. Document four shows how he believes he can make their lives better, â€Å"I have always been of the opinion that the sovereignty should lay with the people†. A democratic reformer would let his people have a say in their government which is exactly what Napoleon did. He wanted the best possible for his people. Unlike an absolute monarch, he listened to what the people had to say, and he based the laws on them. Napoleon Bonaparte was an understanding person who helped the voice of the people be heard. Not only did Napoleon do such great things, but his people admired and praised him as a ruler. Christians believed that God had placed him on Earth to rule as their own benefit. This is shown in document ten, â€Å"God, who has created†¦ by loading our emperor with gifts both in peace and war, established him as our sovereign and made him the agent of his power and his image on earth. † Many of his people respected him, and they were able to list many positive things about Napoleon’s contribution to them. This is shown in document ten, â€Å"Napoleon, our emperor, love, respect, obedience, fidelty, military service, and the taxes levied for the preservation and defense of the empire and of his throne†. Such praise for Napoleon by his people clearly shows that what he does is for them which is a trait of a democratic reformer. His ways to connect and make his citizens happy definitely affected the way his people think about him. Napoleon Bonaparte’s rights and ideas based on the French Revolution, a strong understanding of his people, and his people praising him as a great person all lead to the conclusion that he was a democratic reformer. It is very important to know what his views on government were and how they resulted because we can relate it to governments of today. People can compare how certain rights given to people can better their view on their government. Additionally, it is a way to compare and contrast Napoleon and his ideas to present day government officials. With all of this information, people can make many connections to present day government to other’s such as Napoleon’s. Overall, Napoleon Bonaparte was a great democratic reformer of the past of France. How to cite Napoleon Bonaparte, Papers Napoleon Bonaparte Free Essays The decision of shipping Napoleon to St. Helena from his place of residence in Elba by the European powers was a counterfeit attempt to defy the will and wish of humane leader like him. They were out of legal pragmatism to down play this shipment not to been an arbitrary or elsewhere capricious punishment. We will write a custom essay sample on Napoleon Bonaparte or any similar topic only for you Order Now On grounds of discrete humanity, Napoleon deserved to live in Elba and not shipped to St. Helena where he would stay separated from the social and legal society he had ruled for long. Historically, he was born on the 15th August 1769 in the Ajacio of Corsica an island in Mediterranean. He was marked as a highly exploratory military leader who never compromised efficiency. From his military activity, Napoleon went into the historical books as a figure of great historical background as well as a legendary icon in defining pragmatic variable of leadership. (http://www.lucidcafe.com/library/95aug/napoleon.html) However, it was only after his fast rise into the military portfolio when the European powers contemplated him as a threat to global stability. However, this attribute was only attributed to his early childhood anticipation of career in the military. His trial was historically allied to his strong military command, which was characterized by hungry for power and leadership traits. According to Napoleon, his military conquest was a tool for the people in the Europe.   (Herson, 2004) As a characteristic of his military campaign, he made formal constitutional grants, introduced various codes of law, made abolishment of feudalism and also created government efficiencies which fostered development in education, arts and also science. In his proof, Napoleon was therefore a civil administrator with quite excellent characteristics. In his leadership, he managed to supervise as well as the collection of the former French law in terms of codes which were more prevalent in providing the country’s revolution. In the law codes, Napoleon had made fundamental incorporations of various freedoms for the French people aimed at providing more liberalized state governance. Such freedoms were legal manuscripts of the formal gains to France during the revolution. They compounded religious freedoms as well as abolition of the state serfdom. Amongst the great codes is the code civil which still persists in the current civil law in the modern France. Elsewhere, he provided governance centralization in which he made appointments for regions administration which was called departments and which were the jurisdiction divisions of France. (Trusdell, 1997) According to him, the government was for the French people. However, he had stern rejections on the people making the government. He used a strong police administration to provide the rule of order and a stronger governance power. In his leadership, Napoleon had abolished the concept of anarchy which helped tom provide order through afflicting the state of chaos. His state of leadership comprehended merit reward without any subjection of benefit based on race or wealth pursuit. His concern led to total abolition of feudalism which spear headed equality to the French people without religious discrimination or defense by impartial law. His rule was to overthrow monarchial rule. (http://www.lucidcafe.com/library/95aug/napoleon.html) Therefore, in the state of concern between the European power and the Napoleon, his final settlement should have been in Elba where he lived but not in St. Helena. Otherwise, the state of leadership by Napoleon was a triumphant attempt to bring to birth societal revolution in France by restructuring the societal portfolio. His emphasis was fundamentally liberal expressions by the people with the rule of law and order standing to provide  Ã‚   every legitimate form of association for the people. The shipment to St. Helena was a passive punishment which would not be fundamentally held to promote conceptual standards of humanity. He should not have been punished. Reference Herson, J, (2004) Napoleon: A Political Life. Parameters, Vol. 34 Napoleon Bonaparte. Retrevieved on 11th March 2008 from, http://www.lucidcafe.com/library/95aug/napoleon.html Trusdell, M, (1997) Spectacular Politics: Louis-Napoleon Bonaparte and the Fete Imperiale, 1849-1870. Oxford: Oxford University Press How to cite Napoleon Bonaparte, Essay examples