Reflection on Napoleon

Napoleon had a big impact on the social, economic, and political systems of Europe. In class, we watched a video and read through a couple of excerpts to gain more information on Napoleon and his effect on the world. We first watched a video that listed all of the places that Napoleon had successfully conquered. The list just kept going and going. Some of the many places that he took over on his voyage were Italy, Austria, Belgium, Prussia, and a lot more. Although he successfully conquered many places he could not gain power of Britain. People either admired him or were guarded against him. There are many reasons why someone would admire him, but there are also many reasons why someone would be guarded against him. Many admired him because he led a lot of successful victories and he was concise red a military genius. He could be guarded against because in most cases when he took control of a place he ruined their culture.

Napoleon's impact on the social, economic, and political systems of Europe was very significant. The impact that Napoleon had on the social system of Europe is that more people had rights to education and property access. Also, he established a meritocracy in which people got money and jobs based on their skills and not their social classes. His impact on the economic system was that he built roads and canals which helped modernize economies. This was positive for France because they were able to control trade agreements with other places throughout Europe. Napoleon had a big impact on the political system of Europe.  He overthrew the directory, which ran things for the benefits of themselves. His political ways and laws allowed people more rights. As I said earlier many were fans of Napoleon and many were not. Madame de Stael was not a fan of Napoleon at all. She was upset because she was born into her social class and when Napoleon took control and rewarded people based on skill her and her family lost power and money. According to the excerpt Two Views of Napoleon she said, “By alternating between cunning and force he has subjugated [conquered] Europe.” She thinks that he only gained control because of force and his cunning ways and that it affected France in a negative. Her opinion on Napoleon could be based off of the fact that what he did caused her family to lose power making him a family enemy. On the other hand, Napoleon had many fans. One of his officers, Marshal Michel Ney, admired him greatly. This is because as an officer and Napoleon being on his side he gained power. Also according to the same source Marshal said, “To the emperor Napoleon, our sovereign, belongs alone the right to rule over our beautiful country.” Clearly Marshal Michel Ney was a big fan of Napoleon because he seems to look at him as a very good guy. In the article The Lost Voices, it says “while we recognize these defects and faults, let us be equally frank in acknowledging his great qualities.” Even though Napoleon had some faults I think overall he was an excellent military leader and should be seen in a good way.

Madame de Stael: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Germaine_de_Sta%C3%ABl

Marshal Michel Ney: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michel_Ney