Age of Nationalism, Realism (1850-1871), and Age of Progress (1871-1894) - Essay Example

While Napoleon III sought to preserve the most famous medieval buildings which had been disregarded since the French revolution, he directed the flattening of Large sections of the city and the replacement of old winding streets with broad avenues and large thoroughfares. This rebuilding was very significant as it turned Paris into a city of broad tree-lined boulevards and parks that are major tourists’ attraction sites today. Another positive legacy of Napoleon in France was the development of infrastructure.

Under him, the French railway network was built. This greatly contributed to the development of steel industry and coal mining in France and radically changed the nature of the economy into the second largest in the world. Coal mining and steel companies issued stocks, which saw the French stock market expand enormously. The country entered the modern age of large-scale capitalism. Tycoon such as Eugene Schneider and James de Rothschild are symbols of the period. Frances largest banks founded during that period exist even today.

Napoleon III was the first French ruler to have taken great care of French economy. His restructuring of Paris made the city to be what it is today as it determined a new type of urban setting and has had a great positive productive impact on the daily lives of Parisians. In fact, all posterior trends and powers referred to these renovations to either adapt or reject them or to recuperate certain of France’s elements. However, politically, Napoleon left a negative legacy, as his martial escapades were sometimes a fatal blow to Europe’s performance.

Even when it involved radical and potentially revolutionary changes in politics, Napoleon III attempted to rearrange the world map to the favor of France. He was overambitious and he had gone too far and committed severe mistakes. He entered in wars that were not necessary for instance, the war with Russia and with Prussia that led