Napoleon and French Revolution

Napoleon's conquering of countries only greatened the spread of those ideas. The citizens thought they could do the same as France did, and overthrow their government. If the citizens did not approve of their government they could overthrow it as proven in the French Revolution. When Napoleon Bonaparte took control he made many changes that shaped the character of Europe in the Nineteenth Century. First off, Napoleon had schools built all over France to educate the country. Education would enhance the economy of the nation. with more educated people in society there would be many advancements in technology to help the economy grow. Schools were put under control by centralized government, and free public schools were introduced. Higher education was opened to all who qualified, regardless of social class or religion.

Every state had an academy or institute for the arts and sciences. Income was given for distinguished scholars, especially scientists so they would be able to continue to go to school and pay rent and other living expenses. The most important thing that Napoleon did to revolutionize Europe was his help of spreading the Industrial Revolution which jumped off during the second half of the Eighteenth Century. Napoleon used the continental system, a series of blockades in which the French confiscated vessels and cargo ships in European ports if they had first stopped in England, to cut off all trade to England causing its economy to decline. When Napoleon cut off all trade with England, there was not enough supply for the demand. Because of this imbalance, the European continent started to industrialize to compensate for the goods that they were denied. There would have been no problem with the supply and demand if Napoleon had not installed the continental system, therefore, Europe would have no need to industrialize. At the time the continental system was a negative change because they supply and demand was not being met but not looking back at this time period it was a good thing because it spread the industrial revolution where many advances in the industrial world took place.

Napoleon Bonaparte used a set of laws he called the Napoleonic Code to rule over the people he conquered. Napoleon created the Napoleonic Code in March 1804, that he imposed over all the lands that he conquered. The Napoleonic Code was a set of laws, they guaranteed the rights and liberties won in the revolution, including equality before the law and freedom of religion. These laws provided more freedom to the lower and middle classes. Even after the final defeat of Napoleon during the Battle of Waterloo on June 18, 1815, these laws still were in effect. The nobles and kings wanted to banish these rules, but one could not just take these rights away from the peasants. This affected the places that Napoleon conquered because the peasants wanted these freedoms of which the nobles forbid. That also brought about the Industrial Revolution on the continent of Europe. These things Napoleon did during his rule greatly changed Europe during the Nineteenth Century. The last and most important aspect that changed Europe's identity was nationalism, which is the love of one's country rather than one's native region. Nationalism emerged in the French Revolution and was used by Napoleon to make France a great power in most of Europe. In 1789 the Estates-General existed, consisting of separate bodies representing the clergy, the aristocracy, and the common people. It was transformed into a National Assembly, France achieved a truly representative system of government. Regional divisions, with their separate traditions and rights, were abolished, and France became a uniform and united national country, with common laws and institutions.

Nationalism played a large part in doing so. Official versions of national languages were taught in schools to replace local dialects. The rise of nationalism went hand in hand with the spread of the Industrial Revolution, which promoted national economic development, the growth of a middle class, and popular demand for representative government. Nationalism rose in the areas Napoleon conquered, and also brought about new nation-states such as Italy, Germany, Romania, Bulgaria, Greece, and the split of the Austria-Hungarian Empire. Nationalist were the ones who actually created the nation-states previously mentioned. Nationalism changed the shape and character of Europe in the Ninetieth Century. The French Revolution and Napoleon's rule in France did many things to impact France as well as European countries the most in the nineteenth century. The French Revolution widen the spread of nationalism, which lead to the unification and creation of countries in Europe. It also brought about the idea of the nation-state were the power of a county resided in the people. The Declaration of the Rights of Man was created during the French Revolution and spread the idea that all men are created equal. The French Revolution also proved that other countries could have a revolution. It influenced America to revolt with Britain. The spread of ideas because of the French Revolution scared the nobility of other counties, but it rose others attention of the middle class of a country because if the government was not working for the needs the people, they could overthrow the government. Napoleon's conquering of most of Europe spread the ideas that arose in the French Revolution to those French controlled areas.

Napoleon was also responsible for bringing the industrial revolution to the continent of Europe by the use of his Continental System. Without the continental system there would have been no need to industrialize the continent at that time because one could get supplies from Britain, it would have just happen at a later date. Louis Napoleon Bonaparte helped in the unification of Italy, which caused a domino effect of the unification of Germany and the independence of Hungary. These nation-state unifications and independences were significant events in Europe. Nationalism was the main cause that changed everything in Europe. Nationalism emerged in the French Revolution and was spread to the rest of Europe by the conquest of Napoleon. Nationalism was the cornerstone for the creation of the nation-states in the nineteenth century. Nationalism also helped countries become more unified by helping create an official national language. The French Revolution and the reign of both Napoleons changed the shape of Europe's boundaries, and influenced Europeans way of thinking, working, and living more than any other factor in the Nineteenth Century.