Answer 1 of 2 given questions with given sources - Essay Example

While some perceive him as a leader who abused powers and ignored the ideals of the French Revolution, others consider him as a successful leader who delivered the ideals of the French Revolution to his subjects. In this paper, I will comprehensively discuss the figure of Napoleon Bonaparte, his domestic and foreign policies, with an aim of illustrating whether he destroyed or preserved ideals of the French Revolution. Napoleon was a great strategist, a genius, a man with great self-control and very keen to protect his reputation.

He had no friends and loved nobody simply because he believed that a man must be firm and have a resolute heart in order to protect the freedoms of citizens and fight the enemies of political, economic and social progress1. In the Napoleon’s diary, he evidently believed that his success and reputation depended on his ability to win wars, and this made him fight strongly for the freedom of French nationalist. “My power proceeds from my reputation, and my reputation from the victories I have won…conquest has made me what I’m; only conquest can maintain me.

"2 Being a genius and a strategist enabled him maintain an army that could hardly be overpowered. He had a team of secret police that was headed by Joseph Fouché, spies in every corner of his territory to counteract unfriendly governments and watch the actions of friendly powers3. The police force that was supported by millions of taxpayers’ money was predominant in helping Napoleon seize freedom from his political adversaries. What’s more, in many battles, he fought alongside his militias hence giving them inspiration and the army became very loyal to him.

Apparently, it makes sense to consider Napoleon as a leader who preserved the ideals of the French Revolution. Upon completion of the revolution, Napoleon had fulfilled the ideals that the