Napoleon Bonaparte's Relationship In France

Napoleon Bonaparte is arguably one of the most influential rulers in recent human history. Beginning with his first military campaign (which took place in Italy in 1796), and ending with Napoleon’s defeat at Waterloo in 1815, Napoleon grew the French Empire with an unwavering thirst for expansion. During his reign, the French Empire expanded into Spain, Italy, Austria, and modern-day Poland. While expanding the French Empire to this size, approximately 500,000 to 700,000 French soldiers died under Napoleon’s rule. To an average person, this high number of casualties might lead them to believe that Napoleon should have been overthrown in order to stop further tragedy from occurring. Somehow though, Napoleon was able to rule for 18 years…

Napoleon attempted to gain trust in order to convince his people that he always had their best interest at heart. However, the fact that Napoleon made an effort to raise his public image is all well and good, but did it work? According to Geoffrey Ellis, the majority of French people thought very highly of Napoleon: "All presented him as a ruler of unrivaled intelligence and wisdom, as a force for good, for necessary change, who swept away the last corrupt vestiges of the old regime in France." Napoleon began his rule in 1796 near the end of the French Revolution – a time period in which thousands of French citizens were executed by the government. When he rose to power, French citizens believed that Napoleon was the person who was finally going to pull their country out of political turmoil. According to Jackson Spielvogel, “In a sense, Napoleon brought the Revolution to an end, but he was also its child… he never ceased to remind the French that they owed to him the preservation of all that was beneficial in the revolutionary program.” Napoleon constantly reminded his people that he felt that it was important to preserve the ideas of the French Revolution in order to display his dedication to his country. According to Míríam Greenblatt, most soldiers who fought for France also understood Napoleon’s close connection with the French Revolution: "Frenchmen in general were proud to serve in Napoleon's army. There was a glory in being led by one of the world's greatest generals. Many soldiers also felt that they were 'soldiers of liberty,' fighting for their country and for the ideals of the French Revolution." Because people felt that Napoleon was a supporter of French ideals, they were more inclined to trust his decision-making skills, without questioning his leadership. Napoleon’s ability to present himself