So
completely did this masterful personality dominate the course of events
that his name has justly been used to characterize this era. The Era of
Napoleon stands out as one of the most significant periods in modern
times. Apart from its importance as marking a revolution in the art of
war, it bore memorable results in two directions: (1) the adaptation of
revolutionary theories to French practical political necessities, and
the establishment of many of the permanent institutions of present-day
France; and (2) the communication of the revolutionary doctrines of the
French Revolution far and wide throughout Europe, so that henceforth
the movement was general rather than local.
During the first five years of the era (1799-1804) France remained
formally a republic. It was in these years that General Bonaparte, as
First Consul, consolidated his country and fashioned the nature of the
lasting gains of the Revolution. Thenceforth, from 1804 to 1814, France
was an empire, established and maintained by military force.
Pages:
1096
1097
1098
1099
1100
1101
1102
1103
1104
1105
1106
1107
1108
1109
1110
1111
1112
1113
1114
1115
1116
1117
1118
1119
1120