Napoleon

Most people remember Napoleon for being a military genius and a tyrannical ruler; however Napoleon’s achievements were many.  His reign as Emperor greatly influenced the social, economic and political systems of Europe.

 

The first way Napoleon influenced Europe was socially. To start, the French Directory was planning to use Napoleon to further their own goals. When Napoleon was a child he was known as an outsider who never wanted to hang out with friends or really leave his house for that matter. He ended up spending his childhood years focusing on his studies and making the most out of his education. This led him to be a very smart man. Napoleon used his knowledge to help people. Under Napoleon’s rule more citizens were afforded rights to property and an education than ever before.  The social structure based on nobility and serfdom was abolished which helped to makes things more fair.  He ended Church privileges as to separate church from state.  Also, he established a meritocracy where people were rewarded based on their merits and skills not their social class. This added to him promoting fairness because people had to work for what they wanted instead of being handed things just because they were born into a specific social class. 

 

As Emperor, Napoleon made many economic changes. Napoleon encouraged new industry so he spent lots of money to build roads and canals to help Europe’s economy grow and prosper. He controlled market prices so he could make things fair for buyers and sellers. He also created the Bank of France, balanced France’s budget and created public work programs so people would have jobs. Not everything Napoleon did was right. During the French Revolution he stole valuable artwork and took extreme amounts of money from Italy. This may have been a good idea to Napoleon himself but was a decision that hurt a whole country.

 

The final way Napoleon impacted Europe was politically. The first thing he did was he built a sovereign nation which included all of Europe except for Britain.  His invasion of Egypt led to the reorganization of Egypt’s government called the Institute of Egypt. Napoleon helped the American expansion by selling the Louisiana Territory to the United States.  By doing so not only did the United States double in size, it also created good relations between Napoleon and the United States.

 

Some say he was a hero, but others say he was the complete opposite. Some don’t like Napoleon for stepping right in and changing most things about Europe’s social, economic, and political systems and others simply don’t like him for the poor choices he has made which have impacted Europe negatively. Although not everything Napoleon did has positive outcomes many people love him for all the great he did instead of the small bad he did for Europe.