Napoleon Bonaparte or Napoleon was one of the primary figures in the French Revolution that spanned from 1789 to 1799. His influence in the political sphere and his experience as a military general made him a frontrunner in the collective resistance against the French monarchy.
In History: Understanding the Role of Napoleon Bonaparte in the French Revolution and His Specific Contributions
The Role of Napoleon in the French Army During the Early and Formative Years of the French Revolution
It is important to highlight the fact that Napoleon did not play a principal role during the initial or formative years of the French Revolution. Take note he was training to become a member of the French Army prior to the revolution. Nevertheless, as he pursued his career in French military, he became a second lieutenant in the first artillery regiment in 1785.
Napoleon was later assigned to the Valence garrison in the southeast of France where he spent most of the next seven years on furlough in Corsica. He subsequently aligned himself with the French Revolution in 1789. It is worth noting that he and his family fled to Marseilles in 1793 after he came into conflict with Corsican nationalist Pasquale Paoli.
The French Republic already existed in 1792 after the establishment of the National Assembly and the abolishment of the French monarchy. The new government tasked Napoleon to lead an artillery brigade during the Siege of Toulon in 1793 in which the Republican forces battled the Royalist rebellion. The Republican forces emerged victorious.
Napoleon was rewarded by the French Republic with a promotion to general of the brigade. He was later assigned to the French Army in Italy in 1794. However, during the same year, due to the allegations that he was part of a faction that supported the revolutionary leader Maximilien Robespierre, he was briefly imprisoned but was eventually released.
He was subsequently assigned to fight a rebellion in Vendée in France but refused the order to focus instead on the topographic section of the army. This refusal resulted in his name being stricken from the list of general officers in September 1795. The rebellion was one of the most imperative sociopolitical situations for the French Republic and France.
A More Prominent Role in the French Directory During the Middle Years of the French Revolution
A new constitution was implemented for the French Republic. However, due to the unfavorable means of its implementation, discontent grew in Paris. A revolt later broke out in October 1795 and Napoleon was assigned by politician and French Revolution figure Paul Barras to defend the convention. He succeeded in defeating the insurgents within four months.
Barras headed the new government called the French Directory which emerged in 1795. Due to his success in quelling the insurgency, Napoleon, on the other hand, was appointed commander of the Army of the Interior in March 1796. He earned wealth, significant social status, and public patronage, as well as political favor due to his military brilliance.
Subsequent assignments were handed to Napoleon from 1796 to 1797. Some of the notable ones include various military campaigns. These also included campaigns against the critical Austrian and Sardinian factions in Italy. His success in defeating the Sardinians in Mondovi in April 1796 resulted in the surrendering of Savoy and Nice to French Republic.
He also won Lombardy from the Austrians. This came after the last Lombardy stronghold fell in February 1797. The Austrians offered an armistice. Napoleon personally negotiated the Treaty of Campo Formio in October 1797. This ended the war of the First Coalition and further catapulted Napoleon to prominence and widespread admiration from the public.
Furthermore, apart from his military involvement, another crucial role of Napoleon during the French Revolution was his engagement in political affairs in Italy. He established the Cisalpine Republic in 1797 to organize Northern Italy. He also developed and negotiated agreements with different and influential Italian leaders to promote sociopolitical order.
Other military involvements include the occupation of Egypt in 1798. This was aimed to threaten British India. He occupied Alexandria and Cairo in the process. He attempted to invade Syria to forestall the plan of the Ottoman Empire to wage war against France. The attempt failed because French forces were suffering losses from the war of the Second Coalition.
Leading the End of the French Revolution and Establishing Himself as the New Ruler of France
Nevertheless, when came back to France in October 1799 from military and political campaigns, Napoleon witnessed a destabilized French government and the absence of proper leadership. He saw this as an opportunity to ascend to power. He then joined French political theorist Emmanuel Sieyès in a conspiracy to overthrow and replace the French Directory.
He launched and spearheaded a coup in November 1799 that forced the legislative assemblies to relocate from Paris to Saint Cloud. The same coup was also intended for the five members of the French Directory to resign. This was a turning point in the French Revolution. It was influenced by both the specific political leanings and personal ambitions of Napoleon.
Napoleon used troops to disperse the assemblies. Note that he was able to establish alliances and gained loyal followers throughout his military career. He was later appointed as one of the three new French consuls of the new French Consulate together with Emmanuel Sieyès and National Convention and French Directory member Pierre Roger Ducos.
There was an attempt to dominate the French Consulate on the part of Sieyès. However, through political maneuvering, Napoleon succeeded in establishing himself as the first consul. This gave him both executive and legislative powers in the new government. This meant that he had free reign to develop ordinances or policies and implement or execute them.
Some of the new orders and policies he introduced include the centralization of the government to guarantee political control, the 1804 Civil Code of the French called the Napoleonic Code, the reestablishment of the Roman Catholic Church in France through the Concordat, and several peace treaties and international agreements with other nations in Europe.
Takeaways and Conclusion: The Important Role of Napoleon in the French Revolution and His Lasting Legacy in France
Note that the homecoming of Napoleon in France and the establishment of the French Consulate in 1799 coincided with the end of the French Revolution. Some have considered Napoleon as a mere opportunist. After all, when France was on the brink of collapse, he saw an opportunity to position himself as a more feasible leader than the French Directory. It is important to note that He did not play a critical role in provoking one of the causes of the French Revolution.
However, although it seemed that he capitalized on the initial progress made by other influential figures of the French Revolution and took advantage of the internal social and political struggles in France, it cannot be denied that when he gained power, he effectively ended the upheaval by guaranteeing a more unwavering brand of governance. Napoleon was one of the products of the French Revolution and was instrumental in rebuilding France from its remnants.
