Napoleon’s Conquests That Altered the Course of Europe’s History
By: Vishnu A
Tags: Europe, Past, War, Reform, History

“My death is premature. I have been assassinated by the savage English oligopoly and their hired murderers.”

These were the final words uttered by Emporer Napoleon Bonaparte. Even whilst laying on his deathbed, this ambitious, egocentric leader expressed his untamed vendetta towards his foes, the British forces. The reason for this being that the French army under his leadership was forced to bite the dust in the infamous Battle of Waterloo on the 8th of June 1815.

Following the war’s outcome, he was captured and exiled to the remote island of St. Helena for life. It was there that he spent his last days, tucked up in complete solitude. Around this time, he began suffering from an unknown illness that was slowly leading to the deterioration of his health. Within a few months, this illness would go on to take his life. The British autopsy claimed this illness to be stomach cancer.

However, since history is most often recorded by the winners, the legitimacy of the autopsy report could never be verified.

The Rise of Napoleon Bonaparte

At the peak of the French revolution, political and economic instability was at its highest. This period saw an uncontrolled rise in theft, armed robbery, ransom kidnapping, honour killings, and others.

A painting depicting Napolean Bonaparte emerging victorious after a war; Source: Pic

For a short while, there was a vacuum of power as several factions tried to take control of the nation. Amidst all this chaos, a young leader emerged from obscurity with an audacious vision to unite and rule the entire continent of Europe. This young leader was none other than Napoleon Bonaparte.

Thanks to his unwavering zeal coupled with his ruthless conquests, he ascended the throne of France unchallenged. Then, one after another, he attacked and triumphed over the neighbouring kingdoms. The present-day nations of Italy, Austria, Poland, German States, Holland, Switzerland, Spain, Denmark, and Norway were all conquered by Napoleon and his men. He waged a total of over seventy wars, losing only eight of them towards the end.

However, his military campaign came to an abrupt end with his defeat at the Battle of Waterloo and was followed by his untimely death. Although Napoleon passed away before he could live his dream of ruling over a unified Europe, his visionary ideas and reforms continued to spread all across the continent long after his death. His bravery and insane tactics got him etched into history as one of the most celebrated yet despised military commanders the world has ever seen.

Two hundred years after the fall of his short-lived empire, his legacy and the socio-economic reforms he introduced continues to inspire the world and Europe in particular. Of the many reforms he introduced, some of the prominent ones shall be discussed in this post.

Spreading the ideas of Democracy across Europe :

Even though Napoleon assumed the title of emperor and exercised unopposed limitless powers, he made it extremely clear that every administrative department under his rule would be elected democratically by the citizens, with him being the only exception.

An image of a modern-day Parliament; Source: Pic

Despite facing fierce resistance from the catholic church and several other religious institutions, he openly advocated the ideas of liberty, equality, and fraternity. These ideas were widely popularized during the French revolution and would later go on to become the very core of the French constitution. Subsequently, when countries like Italy, Germany, and Switzerland were subjugated, these democratic ideals were introduced there too. The only drawback of the democratic system was that it gave rise to rampant corruption at the government's higher levels.

Until the defeat of Napolean’s army in the Battle of Waterloo, this democratic system of governance was widely in use across most of Europe.

Introduction of Napoleonic Code (uniform civil code) :

The Napoleonic Code, originally the French Civil Code, was introduced in the year 1804. When Napoleon ascended the throne the following year, one of his top priorities was to overhaul and revamp the existing legal structure.

The First Page Of A Translated, English Version Of Code Napoleonic; Source: Pic

This civil code was considered as a significant gamechanger of its time as it dismissed the aristocratic privileges, guaranteed freedom to own land, promoted secularism, and expanded equality. It further pushed the emphasis of the legislation towards the advantage of the middle class. As the French Empire annexed its neighbours, it instituted these legal reforms in all these regions too. Some of the most important accomplishments of Naepolic code were :

Freedom of religion

Abolition of hereditary privileges

Equality before the law for all men

Uniform metric system

Of all the humungous changes brought about, a few Napoleonic code elements are still in use, albeit frequently revised in several European nations as well the as far away in the American State of Louisiana!

Rise of nationalism in Europe

Napoleon’s rule contributed extensively to the rise of nationalism in Europe. His widespread military conquests ensured the end of numerous small kingdoms and effectively led to Germany and Italy's unification.

For the first time since the early middle ages, Napoleon’s empire integrated most parts of Europe, with the only drawback being that the unification was done forcefully. Despite facing massive backslash, it eventually brought about the sense of togetherness and unity amongst the people. Citizens were forced to accept the differences in their cultures and embrace each other despite belonging to different nations altogether. It is this very idea that helped provide the basis of what is today called the “European Union.”

A painting depicting the fighting at the Hotel de Ville, 28th July 1830; Source: Pic

The French military's heavy deployment in newly annexed countries showed the citizens that service to the nation was above everything else and that no sacrifice was too big if it's for the nation’s cause. This was the same spirit of nationalism that would eventually trigger the annexed nations' citizens to raise-up and speak against Napoleon forcefully ruling their country.

Conclusion

More than 200 years after the historic defeat at the Battle of Waterloo, Napolean’s military conquests continue to raise a varied span of opinions. While a vast majority of people remember him as a tyrant who slaughtered millions so that he could live his dream of ruling the entirety of Europe, others call him a visionary who helped bring about some significant reforms and most importantly brought back glory to France.

The first Baron Acton, Lord John Dalberg-Acton, has famously stated:

“Great men are almost always bad men, even when they exercise influence and not authority, still more when you superadd the tendency or the certainty of corruption by authority.”

By this, it can be concluded that Napoleon’s actions and military conquests cannot simply be generalised as good or bad in any particular way. Moreover, reaching a reasonable conclusion most often depends on the perspective of the reader.