The French Revolution & Napoleon
In World History & Geography, Chapter 9 the French Revolution Begins, Radical Revolution & Reaction, The Rise of Napoleon and The Napoleonic Wars & The Fall of Napoleon and The European Reaction, McGraw – Hill Networks explains The French Revolution & Napoleon. Causes of the French Revolution were often seen as a major turning point in European history. The long – range causes of the French revolution are to be found in the condition of French society. The First Estate, or clergy, numbered about 130,000 and owned about 10% of the land. The Second Estate, or nobility, numbers about 350,000and owned about 25 – 30 percent of the land. Unlike the First and Second Estate, the Third Estate was divided by vast differences in occupation, level of education, and wealth. The move to radicalism was very important. In September 1792, the newly elected National Convention began meeting. The convention had been called to draft a new constitution, but it also served as the new ruling body of France. It was dominated by lawyers, professionals, and property owners. To meet the crises, the National Convention gave broad powers to a special committee of 12 known as the Committee of Public Safety.
The Rise of Napoleon and his role in the French Revolution is complex. In one sense, he brought it to an end when he came to power in 1799. Napoleon was born in 1769 in Corsica, an island in the Mediterranean, only a few months after France had annexed the island. Napoleon devoted himself to his goals. He read what French philosophers had to say about reason, and he studied famous military campaigns. The fall of Napoleon and Europeans reaction was bound to happen. Napoleon’s downfall began in 1812 when he decided to invade Russia. Within only a few years, his fall was complete. At Waterloo in Belgium on June 18, 1815, Napoleon met a combined British and Prussian army under the Duke of Wellington and suffered a