Napoleon
Bonaparte certainly played a
significant role in the French Revolution. Whether or not he helped
it or was
responsible for its end depends greatly on your point of view.
In
a
practical manner, he certainly helped its cause in 1795 when he commanded
forces in Paris during
the brief War in the Vend©e. This attempted
reestablishment of power by royalist forces
threatened to undo the republican
efforts of the Revolution. Napoleon's successful repulsion of
the royalists
led to his instant fame and promotion to major general.
Throughout the later years of the 1790s, Napoleon victoriously commanded the
French
army against the other major powers of Europe. In this way, he helped
preserve the French
Revolution as the other European monarchies, such as
Austria and Great Britain hoped to see the
Bourbon monarchy restored.
However, Napoleon's role in preserving or ending
the
French Revolution grows murky in 1799. In November of that year, he returned to a
very
unstable France. Once there, Napoleon participated in the Coup of 19
Brumaire which overthrew
the Directory. Napoleon replaced the Directory as
head of a three-man consul, making him the
most powerful person in France.
Two years later, he seized further power through a
constitutional amendment
naming consul for life. In 1804, he went beyond even this by crowning
himself
emperor of France.
If you look at it one way, Napoleon preserved
the
French Revolution by restoring stability to France after years of chaos
and dysfunction. If he
had not done so, it is quite possible that the French
Republic would have crumbled and all the
desires of the revolutionaries would
have been for naught. By taking power, he was able to
safeguard the newly won
rights of the Third Estate. On the other hand, by essentially making
himself
no different than a monarch, Napoleon defeated the democratic ideals of the
Revolution
by turning France into yet another
monarchy.
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