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The Rise of Napoleon

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Posted by Your Guide on May 17, 2006 4:54 PM

Though free from royal reign, the country was in terrible shape. The stage was set for the militaristic vision of Napoléon Bonaparte. He was a political and military genius who established a bureaucracy and a code of law that has been copied all over the world. In 1799, at the age of 30, he entered Paris and was crowned First Consul and Master of France. Perhaps his biggest victory was making peace with the Vatican after centuries of bloodshed and religious warring.

Napoléon continued to conquer Europe until his armies were defeated in Russia during the winter of 1812. The combined armies of the English, Dutch, and Prussians then defeated Napoléon at Waterloo. He was exiled to a British-held island and died in 1821.



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