Napoleon changed Europe during his reign.

He changed the map once again with his huge empire and dreamed to bring back the huge empires of before. Through his rise to his conquests to the Congress of Vienna, he changed Europes map and its history, but France and its people still lived on after he left power, just with a different govenrment. While many question if he was cruel or not, it is definitely never questioned that he altered history and left his name and legacy behind even after that not so helpful battle at Waterloo. France before the time of Napoleon Bonaparte and his empire was going through a bloody revolution. Like a bad relationship, they had some on again, off again tries for democracy and monarchy. Throw in a Reign of Terror and a lot of chopped heads, and you have the French Revolution. This delicate balance that France was in was perfect for Napoleons ambitions of ruling Europe as a dictator; basically, he wanted a coup d'tat. And a coup d'tat was what he was going to get. He went from a general to the First Consul to Emperor of France. While he did keep parliament, it had no power, and he limited freedoms of expression. Both of these solidified his role as a dictator. Though his dictatorship can be considered cruel, Napoleon also created freedom of religion, many new universities, and more equality for men (not women). Napoleons desire for an enormous empire pitted France against most of Europe. Because of his empire, the economy in Britain drastically fell, which affected more of the world. Most of his time was spent on expansion and war. By 1810, Napoleon had conquered many areas in Europe and even more nations were dependent on him. His empire was now great, but he, of course, wanted more. In 1812, he went with his army into Russia to conquer this giant state, but Russia had other plans. They had burned the land, so Napoleons army had no supplies and became tired, cold, and angry. Because of the cold, many of his great army perished and victory became a distant dream. Even though his empire was slowly deteriorating, his revolutionary ideas of nationalism spread throughout Europe and changed how Europe thought. Because of a culmination of disastrous defeats, Napoleon was sent to Elba to live the rest of his life alone. During this time, the Congress of Vienna was started. There King Louis XVIII was put into power. Because the Napoleons empire was so large, Europe felt the need to redistribute land evenly back to the nations. But even with all of this, Napoleon wasnt going down without a fight, and escaped his imprisonment in Elba to continue his rule for a hundred more days. Waterloo was his final battle, where the Duke of Wellington and his army finally officially defeated him. He was sent of once again, this time to Saint Helena. This is where he died, and where he only had his legacy to live on. Though Europe tried its best to redistribute the land fairly, some nations still received more land than others, including Russia who acquired more of Poland and Britain who received more land abroad (which solidified their power in colonization). This made it even more obvious that nothing was going to be exactly the same after Napoleon. Not many things stayed the same after Napoleons ride and fall (though Europe was still Europe and Wednesday came after Tuesday). Some economies had been strangled by Napoleon, and other countries had to get used to not being controlled by an emperor anymore. Though Europe tried its best to redistribute the land fairly, some nations still received more land than others, including Russia who acquired more of Poland and Britain who received more land abroad (which solidified their power in colonization). This made it even more obvious that nothing was going to be exactly the

same after Napoleon. Napoleons empire created a revolutionary view of nationalism in Europe. While he failed at some key battles, he created something that hadnt been seen since the glorious time of Rome and still has not reappeared since. Even if he is considered cruel, nobody can deny he changed the course of history for the world. Napoleon Bonaparte revolutionized Europe and their view on the world.