Nationalistic Ideas Committed By Napoleon
A primary reason to embrace with the speaker’s perspective relates to the actions committed by Napoleon, which introduced nationalistic ideas that spread throughout European countries and its colonies, leading to success in terms of the state of the economy, industrial development, and the build of a mightier military force. In some cases, Napoleon was mindful of the introduction of the nationalistic ideas derived from the French Revolution. An example would be the invasion of Italy, where he attempted to “liberate” the people from the rule by Italian kings. In other cases, Napoleon was unaware that his invasion encouraged nationalistic feelings and the spread of patriotism among the local population, which was the case in the failed conquest
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of the Spanish civilians. Overall, Napoleon attempted to incorporate the ideologies of a democratic government in the areas that he conquered during his ten years of reign as the French emperor through political nationalism. The nationalistic beliefs were mainly spread during his military conquests and by the Grande Armee, which was the army commanded by Napoleon in the Napoleonic Wars from 1804 until his fatal defeat in the Battle of Waterloo in 1814. In the PBS Napoleon Documentary released in 2000 and hosted by acclaimed American author, David McCullough, the splendid uniforms were described to allow the French army to feel “stronger, bigger, and braver” than actuality, allowing the soldiers to feel proud to fight for the nation and to forget the “brutal facts of warfare”. Historian Donald Horward stated his own example of French nationalism by describing how Napoleon questioned a higher ranked officer about “the bravest man in the unit”. After the reply, Napoleon, without hesitance, removed the Legion of Honour from his own coat, and pinned the medal to the coat of the gallant soldier. The Bicorne headwear worn by Napoleon became a form of propaganda, where his own soldiers idolized him eager for words of praise or “an affectionate yank on the ear”. Napoleon not only benefitted from the circumstance of entering adulthood at the beginning of the French Revolution, he also nurtured his image through the use of propaganda. His publications in the newspaper were well read throughout the entire country, where the facts of battles were overly exaggerated in order to attain greater praise and to seize a public support.
Commissioned paintings glorified him as a powerful military general and often cultivated a reaction of fulfillment and heroism. These examples establish how the feelings of patriotism and the feelings of nationalism spurned simultaneously in France as a result of Napoleon. Moreover, Napoleon’s leadership also encouraged the development of nationalism. When The Directory gave Napoleon command of the French army in Italy in 1796, the ragged, disorganized soldiers had a profound lack of confidence in the ability of the new commander, when was extremely short and was referred to as a “Puss-in-Boots”. However, these thoughts of criticism quickly disappeared and were replaced with an awe of admiration following successive victories. Following the War of the Sixth Coalition and the defeat of Napoleon, the Allies exiled him to Elba, an island in the Mediterranean with 12000 inhabitants, where he was provided with full sovereignty over the entire island. Under strong leadership characteristics, a small army and navy were organized within months of stay, and Napoleon escaped the island of Elba with 700
men. Although the French 5th Regiment was sent by the Bourbon King, Louis XVIII to intercept Napoleon, the regiment ultimately proved ineffective. Napoleon’s strong leadership over the past decade of rule brought the French people with sufficiency and fulfilment, resulting in the willingness to defend the country. Louis XVIII, on the other hand, had miniscule political support and was forced to once again, go into exile. The 5th regiment switched allegiances and marched with Napoleon towards Paris with an ever growing army of patriotic civilians and soldiers who had remained loyal to him. Despite being outnumbered two men to one during the Battle of Waterloo, French soldiers fought bravely to their deaths in a hopeless battle for glory. In addition, the Allies were also unwilling to withdraw due to their original way of life being dominated by Napoleon’s presence and authority over the conquered territories. With nationalism entering the mindsets of the British people, the British army drastically increased from 40000 to 250000 people during a 23 year period warring against Napoleon. The British became willing to sacrifice their lives for the liberty and sovereignty of their country. In the Congress of Vienna, which was participated by four major European powers (Austria, Great Britain, Russia, Prussia), the respective countries sought for territorial re-claim of what was taken by Napoleon. An additional goal of the four countries was to balance the power off between major powers. Their extreme ideas of nationalism derived from Napoleon’s war efforts, in order to attain ideas of being sovereign and attaining glory for their nation, and as a result, France lost all its territorial gains. In terms of spiritual nationalism, the Russians had a deep relationship with their territory. When Napoleon invaded Russia in 1812, the Russians heartedly implemented the scorched-earth policy and burned anything useful to the French forces while they were advancing in the area. The Russians destroyed their possessions and territories rather than to have their enemies have access to live off their land. The capital city of Moscow was also set ablaze to prevent the French to approach any Russian marvels, including splendid palaces and residential homes.
Some individuals who refute Napoleon may argue that the nationalism he introduced throughout Europe resulted in the creation of a dictatorship, as highlighted in the more recent 20th century by Adolf Hitler and Joseph Stalin. However, these ideas must be dismissed because Napoleon sought what he assumed was the best for the country he governed over. The French civilians at the time of Napoleon’s reign flourished from the war reparations collected by him. As well, according to quotations in the historical novel, The Age of Napoleon, written by Alistair Horne in 2004, cited that the poverty levels remained high from 1800 onwards. In an effort to fight poverty, he recreated "soups economique". Horne also described the government’s attempts to fight epidemics in Paris and to intervene any malignant diseases. At the time of Napoleon’s inauguration in 1804, there were three hospitals throughout Paris, but by 1815, had no less than fifteen hospitals. Orphanages were created and hospital for children with mental and physical disability was created as well. The population of France remained at a steady incline despite the casualties in the Napoleonic Wars, at about 29,361,000 people in 1801, to 29,648,000 by 1816, which was the year Napoleon was sent into exile to Saint Helena for the duration of his life. In contrast, Hitler believed in the ideals of Nazism, which was based on the conception of the Aryan race being a master race. Over 11 million people perished in Nazi Concentration Camps, through starvation and by disease during World War II. These statistics comprise of Jews, African, and near Asians, many of which carry German citizenship. The population of 79,375,281 decreased to 65,137,274 during a period between 1939 and 1946 in Germany. People were deliberately murdered in the case of Hitler, while Napoleon and his French forces focused on stabilize the lives of French civilians. An example of this situation occurred among the Spanish civilians, who carried spiritual and political nationalism. Despite the defeat of Spain and the abdication of the previous Spanish king, Ferdinand VII (1784-1833), the Peninsular War engaged between the French and Spanish continued with the emergence of guerrilla warfare used by Spanish partisans. The partisans highly resented the rule by a foreigner and the foreign invasion and were inclined to defend their territory and reattain sovereignty. Thus, nationalistic ideas spread by Napoleon led to the arrogance of citizens in European countries, resulting in a form of positive competition between European country in terms of largest industrial development and the size and strength of the military. These ideas would further justify the position of the assigned source. Therefore, these case studies support the perspective of the assigned source and will further promote the idea that Napoleon’s leadership led to stability throughout France.
of the Spanish civilians. Overall, Napoleon attempted to incorporate the ideologies of a democratic government in the areas that he conquered during his ten years of reign as the French emperor through political nationalism. The nationalistic beliefs were mainly spread during his military conquests and by the Grande Armee, which was the army commanded by Napoleon in the Napoleonic Wars from 1804 until his fatal defeat in the Battle of Waterloo in 1814. In the PBS Napoleon Documentary released in 2000 and hosted by acclaimed American author, David McCullough, the splendid uniforms were described to allow the French army to feel “stronger, bigger, and braver” than actuality, allowing the soldiers to feel proud to fight for the nation and to forget the “brutal facts of warfare”. Historian Donald Horward stated his own example of French nationalism by describing how Napoleon questioned a higher ranked officer about “the bravest man in the unit”. After the reply, Napoleon, without hesitance, removed the Legion of Honour from his own coat, and pinned the medal to the coat of the gallant soldier. The Bicorne headwear worn by Napoleon became a form of propaganda, where his own soldiers idolized him eager for words of praise or “an affectionate yank on the ear”. Napoleon not only benefitted from the circumstance of entering adulthood at the beginning of the French Revolution, he also nurtured his image through the use of propaganda. His publications in the newspaper were well read throughout the entire country, where the facts of battles were overly exaggerated in order to attain greater praise and to seize a public support.
Commissioned paintings glorified him as a powerful military general and often cultivated a reaction of fulfillment and heroism. These examples establish how the feelings of patriotism and the feelings of nationalism spurned simultaneously in France as a result of Napoleon. Moreover, Napoleon’s leadership also encouraged the development of nationalism. When The Directory gave Napoleon command of the French army in Italy in 1796, the ragged, disorganized soldiers had a profound lack of confidence in the ability of the new commander, when was extremely short and was referred to as a “Puss-in-Boots”. However, these thoughts of criticism quickly disappeared and were replaced with an awe of admiration following successive victories. Following the War of the Sixth Coalition and the defeat of Napoleon, the Allies exiled him to Elba, an island in the Mediterranean with 12000 inhabitants, where he was provided with full sovereignty over the entire island. Under strong leadership characteristics, a small army and navy were organized within months of stay, and Napoleon escaped the island of Elba with 700
men. Although the French 5th Regiment was sent by the Bourbon King, Louis XVIII to intercept Napoleon, the regiment ultimately proved ineffective. Napoleon’s strong leadership over the past decade of rule brought the French people with sufficiency and fulfilment, resulting in the willingness to defend the country. Louis XVIII, on the other hand, had miniscule political support and was forced to once again, go into exile. The 5th regiment switched allegiances and marched with Napoleon towards Paris with an ever growing army of patriotic civilians and soldiers who had remained loyal to him. Despite being outnumbered two men to one during the Battle of Waterloo, French soldiers fought bravely to their deaths in a hopeless battle for glory. In addition, the Allies were also unwilling to withdraw due to their original way of life being dominated by Napoleon’s presence and authority over the conquered territories. With nationalism entering the mindsets of the British people, the British army drastically increased from 40000 to 250000 people during a 23 year period warring against Napoleon. The British became willing to sacrifice their lives for the liberty and sovereignty of their country. In the Congress of Vienna, which was participated by four major European powers (Austria, Great Britain, Russia, Prussia), the respective countries sought for territorial re-claim of what was taken by Napoleon. An additional goal of the four countries was to balance the power off between major powers. Their extreme ideas of nationalism derived from Napoleon’s war efforts, in order to attain ideas of being sovereign and attaining glory for their nation, and as a result, France lost all its territorial gains. In terms of spiritual nationalism, the Russians had a deep relationship with their territory. When Napoleon invaded Russia in 1812, the Russians heartedly implemented the scorched-earth policy and burned anything useful to the French forces while they were advancing in the area. The Russians destroyed their possessions and territories rather than to have their enemies have access to live off their land. The capital city of Moscow was also set ablaze to prevent the French to approach any Russian marvels, including splendid palaces and residential homes.
Some individuals who refute Napoleon may argue that the nationalism he introduced throughout Europe resulted in the creation of a dictatorship, as highlighted in the more recent 20th century by Adolf Hitler and Joseph Stalin. However, these ideas must be dismissed because Napoleon sought what he assumed was the best for the country he governed over. The French civilians at the time of Napoleon’s reign flourished from the war reparations collected by him. As well, according to quotations in the historical novel, The Age of Napoleon, written by Alistair Horne in 2004, cited that the poverty levels remained high from 1800 onwards. In an effort to fight poverty, he recreated "soups economique". Horne also described the government’s attempts to fight epidemics in Paris and to intervene any malignant diseases. At the time of Napoleon’s inauguration in 1804, there were three hospitals throughout Paris, but by 1815, had no less than fifteen hospitals. Orphanages were created and hospital for children with mental and physical disability was created as well. The population of France remained at a steady incline despite the casualties in the Napoleonic Wars, at about 29,361,000 people in 1801, to 29,648,000 by 1816, which was the year Napoleon was sent into exile to Saint Helena for the duration of his life. In contrast, Hitler believed in the ideals of Nazism, which was based on the conception of the Aryan race being a master race. Over 11 million people perished in Nazi Concentration Camps, through starvation and by disease during World War II. These statistics comprise of Jews, African, and near Asians, many of which carry German citizenship. The population of 79,375,281 decreased to 65,137,274 during a period between 1939 and 1946 in Germany. People were deliberately murdered in the case of Hitler, while Napoleon and his French forces focused on stabilize the lives of French civilians. An example of this situation occurred among the Spanish civilians, who carried spiritual and political nationalism. Despite the defeat of Spain and the abdication of the previous Spanish king, Ferdinand VII (1784-1833), the Peninsular War engaged between the French and Spanish continued with the emergence of guerrilla warfare used by Spanish partisans. The partisans highly resented the rule by a foreigner and the foreign invasion and were inclined to defend their territory and reattain sovereignty. Thus, nationalistic ideas spread by Napoleon led to the arrogance of citizens in European countries, resulting in a form of positive competition between European country in terms of largest industrial development and the size and strength of the military. These ideas would further justify the position of the assigned source. Therefore, these case studies support the perspective of the assigned source and will further promote the idea that Napoleon’s leadership led to stability throughout France.