![]() ![]() In 1794 the tide turned, enabling France to go on the offensive and to carry the war to its neighbors rather than desperately fight to save itself. From 1792 to 1794, the French armies struggled to save the Republic from its foreign and internal enemies. How did a young Corsican from a minor noble family, whose native language was not even French, become supreme ruler of one of the most important powers in Europe? The answer has to be sought in the impact of an expanding war on revolutionary politics. ![]() The evidence is presented here under three main headings: Domestic Policies Foreign Policies and Wars and His Legacy. Was he a true son of the Enlightenment who modernized French government and brought the message of equality under the law wherever he went? Or was he an authoritarian military dictator who fought incessant wars and conquered territory in order to maintain his egomaniacal grip on power? There is abundant evidence for both views. Since his first days in power he aroused controversies that continue today. Napoleon created a new form of government in France, reshaped the boundaries of Europe, and influenced revolutionaries and nationalists the world over. The eagle (his preferred symbol) had taken its last flight. When he lost his final battle at Waterloo in Belgium in 1815, the victors sent him to the faraway island of Saint Helena, where he died in 1821. Forced into exile on the island of Elba, Napoleon escaped to fight one last time. ![]() Within two years the powers allied against him had captured Paris. In 1812 he invaded Russia, where he won most of the battles but lost an army in the process. His fall from the pinnacle of power was almost as startling as his rise. ![]()
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