The Rise Of Napoleon
In 1799, one General Napoleon Bonaparte , who had made a name for himself as commander of the Revolutionary armies in Italy and Egypt, returned to France and took power in a coup d'etat. He was appointed First Consul, with power to choose officials and initiate legislation. He redesigned the tax system and created the Bank of France, replaced the power of local institutions by a corps of prefets answerable to himself, made judges into state functionaries - in short, laid the foundations of the modern French administrative system. Though Napoleon upheld the fundamental reforms of the Revolution, the retrograde nature of his regime became more and more apparent with the proscription of the Jacobins, granting of amnesty to the emigres and restoration of their unsold property, reintroduction of slavery in the colonies, recognition of the Church and so on. Although alarmingly revolutionary in the eyes of the rest of Europe, his Civil Code worked essentially to the advantage of the bourgeoisie. In 1804 he crowned himself emperor in the presence of the pope. Decline, however, came only with military failure. After 1808, Spain - under the rule of Napoleon's brother - rose in revolt, aided by the British. This signalled a turning of the tide in the long series of dazzling military successes. The nation began to grow weary of the burden of unceasing war. In 1812, Napoleon threw himself into a Russian campaign , hoping to complete his European conquests. He reached Moscow, but the long retreat in terrible winter conditions annihilated his veteran Grande Armee. By 1814, he was forced to abdicate by a coalition of European powers, who installed Louis XVIII , brother of the decapitated Louis XVI, as monarch. In a last effort to recapture power, Napoleon escaped from exile in Elba and reorganized his armies, only to meet final defeat at Waterloo on June 18, 1815. Louis XVIII was restored to power.
Tour France On Line (Video + Stills)David Mundstock says "My recent film “Napoleon Slept Here” takes you all around France, beginning and ending in Paris, with Notre Dame Cathedral, the Pompidou Center, Eiffel Tower, Napoleon’s Tomb, Sainte-Chapelle’s stained glass & the City of Lights at night; plus Nimes with its Roman Arena and Temple, the walled city of Carcassonne, Lourdes, the Palace of Chenonceau, a peek at the Bayeux Tapestry, and much more.
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