How Did Napoleon Support The Enlightenment

Napoleon supported liberté, a main focus of the revolution. In other words Napoleon supported citizens having personal freedoms. In a speech to his troops before his coup d’etat, Napoleon said “friends, I promise you this conquest; but there is one condition you must swear to fulfill--to respect the people whom you liberate” (Document C). Here, Napoleon explains that when he takes over the government, the people of France will be liberated. Since he says he plans to liberate people, it shows he supported liberté. In a conversation with his doctor on St. Helena, Barry O’meara, Napoleon explained “my imperial government was a kind of republic. I was called the head (leader) of it by the voice of the people” (Document F). In this quote Napoleon points out how his

We can see how Napoleon Bonaparte repeatedly opposed himself in each one of the French Revolutionist areas. Napoleon claimed to stand for Liberty, to free the people of France and provide them with justice. He planned to do this by standing for the reform the French people needed the most,

No one could have imagined the impact that the Enlightenment would have and its long-lasting effect. The Enlightenment and its ideas became so widespread that they did not only affect France, but many other countries also. The French Revolution was directly inspired and influenced by the Enlightenment. Revolutionaries in France built their cause around the ideals of the Age of Reason.

Napoleon Bonaparte is sometimes viewed as a democratic reformer, the views he expressed to give people this image was a complete lie. In a letter Napoleon sent to his brother after defeating the Prussians, Bonaparte says that he believes in public trials along with liberty, equality, and prosperity. These statements are the ideas of the French Revolution and what he told the citizens of France that he believed in. These ideas are what a democratic reformer would believe in and what made him popular during the revolution among the people. These viewpoints he expressed in this letter are not those of which he gave to the people of France. In December of 1812 Bonaparte said to other European monarchs, “Since I have worn a crown I have shown clearly enough that I mean to close the door on revolution. The sovereigns of Europe are indebted to me for stopping the revolutionary storm that threatened their thrones.” With these words he proves that he has no intention of giving the people of France a democracy and that he plans to stop the revolution. The belief that Napoleon Bonaparte is a democratic reformer is based solely on his words and not his action, making them lies to his people.

In France in 1789, A revolution began. The people of France were fighting for their inalienable rights such as freedom from serfdom , equality between the classes. Within this chaos in France, Napoleon, a new thinker, came about and changed France in many ways. Napoleon's policies can be seen as preserving the legacy of the French Revolution by giving equality to the lower classes and creating a governmental system that helped to put the people in charge of their sovereignty, however it can be seen as hurting the legacy by protecting the ideas of absolutism.

To what extent were Enlightenment ideas responsible for the outbreak of the French Revolution and the reforms of 1789?

The enlightenment was a time of great learning throughout Europe during the eighteenth century. Although the period is significant for scientific and other scholastic advancements, it is most important because it allowed for the opening of great minds—such as that of Napoleon Bonaparte. Shortly after this enlightenment made its way through Europe, revolution and civil war ripped through France between 1879 and 1899. The unrest of the time called for a strong ruler. A man/woman with an open mind and an enlightened soul. France needed a child of the enlightenment to sew its tattered flag. Napoleon Bonaparte was a child of the enlightenment. This was displayed in both his attitudes and

The ideals of the Enlightenment were pretty straightforward. They involved the change of speculation, to experimentation thanks to the help of Galileo (1564-1642, Buckler, J., Crowston, p.592 para. 6), the hope of religious tolerance regardless of the type of religion, individual freedom, as well as secular Education for man to better understand their world and that of their surroundings. Napoleon very charismatically ruled over his empire and actually did advocate the ideals of the Enlightenment. He was a supporter of religious tolerance, believed in individual freedom,

Conservatism began as a reaction to the French Revolution. The overthrow of the French monarch was accomplished in 1789, and it was led by a liberal ideology of individual equality. The ensuing dictatorship of Napoleon Bonaparte was not the objective of the liberal revolutionist. The unexpected changes to France highlighted Edmund Burke’s conservative ideas.

France’s rulers had a bad habit of either giving in to the people and being a weak ruler or being a harsh dictator that did not regard the people's feelings. Napoleon changed this he managed to please all of the social classes while still holding his power high. For peasants, Napoleon made sure that they could keep their land by eradicating Feudalism. He restored the Catholic Church to its former importance through the Concordat, and the peasants no longer had to pay tithes. For the Nobles, Napoleon offered ‘king-like’ stability. He created titles for some people, though these new nobles had no special privileges. Napoleon tried to reward talented and hardworking people by setting up the legion of Honor in 1802. It is still one of the highest honors you can receive in France today. Napoleon as a strong leader finally got to control the people which was

think that he did put into practice the ideals of the French revolution and Enlightment. He supported education and he made some schools that gave education for girls. Napoleon Bonaparte led a coup d’état against the directory to gain power. He brought glory and pride to France. The Napoleonic Code guaranteed the equality of all

Napoleon’s civil reforms brought about religious freedom, set up an education system, and provided France with

In 1769, Napoleon was born in Corsica. 15 years later, he entered military school in Paris. The French revolution started 5 years later in 1789 when Napoleon took part in. In 1793, he was promoted to brigadier general and 3 years later he was appointed to command army of Italy. In the same year, he married Josephine, a beautiful young girl. 3 years later, he returned from Egypt and became the First Consul of France. With his successful leading, France controlled most of the continental in Europe in 1807. Sadly, Napoleon divorced Josephine and married Marie-Louise, the daughter of Austrian emperor. 2 years later, he was forced to retreat from Russia and exiled to island of Elba another 2 years later. In the same year as he was exiled to Elba,

Napoleon is an illustrious figure in history. His name and legacy is well known, but on who he really was and on what he wanted there are differing accounts. This is partly because he himself weren’t very consistent about his goals. In Italy he proclaimed that he was fighting to liberate it, in Egypt he claimed to be a friend of Islam and that he was fighting for Egypt and Muhammed and in France that it was to restore the glory of France.

Some of the laws, orders, and the Napoleonic Code created when Napoleon was emperor of France shows that he did become an antithesis to many of the original ideals of the revolution. Although Napoleon did give the oppressed French some rights, he still went against the original idea of the French Revolution which was to give every Frenchmen their natural rights regardless of their social class or gender. According to the Napoleonic code divorce was made a little easier for women, but they still did not have rights. Girls were also not allowed to go to school, while boys were allowed. Napoleon censored the press from releasing negative articles about him which violated freedom of the press. Napoleon further became an antithesis when he forced Germans to go into the French