Although his tragic defeat at Waterloo and his tragic death of a stomach ulcer at Saint Helena were unforeseen, something was bound to happen to this man who was half-revolutionary and half-tyrant, which just proves that even the unconquerable can be conquered. ...
How is it that Napoleon, one of the best military leaders in all of history and ruler of the powerful French empire, was ever defeated? As history has shown, empires come to ruins because of the many factors they deal with maintaining control. Napoleon had many factors in his favor that made him a feared and powerful man, but it was not so much the battles he lost that lead to his downfall; it was the struggles that he faced in his own empire that lead to his end as emperor. Some people would credit the defeat of Napoleon to the losses that he suffered in Russia and at Waterloo. Not only is th...
During this time in Europe and especially in France, state-making the emergence of nationalism and the increase in secular political institutions transformed the European continent. Napoleon Bonaparte helped to overthrow the Directory, which held power from 1794-1799, and he helped transform France into an empire. The French revolution was the beginning of the end to the Monarchy and absolute rule. The revolution came about for a number of reasons. The economic conditions in the previous two decades, the growing discourse with the social privileges of the few fueled what many say was inev...
