Napoleon Bonaparte (1769-1821) was a military and political genius of historic proportions. As Emperor (self-proclaimed in 1804), he established a strong central administration and code of law, consolidating and institutionalizing many of the reforms of the French Revolution. More so than any former ruler, including Louis XVI, Maximilien Robespierre or the Directory, Napoleon brought stability where financial, political, and social turmoil had previously reigned. War had plunged the country into debt and brought about an economic recession. The middle class, or the bourgeoisie, felt strangulation by the nobility and the clergy, preventing them from progressing socially or politically. During the ten years of the revolution, the political systems in France were replaced with an ever-changing series of governments. None lasted for more than a few years.
The ruler, and King, of France at the beginning of the Revolution in 1789, was Louis XVI. He ruled as an absolute monarch, yet......
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