The Overwhelming Legacy of Napoleon Bonaparte

The legacy of pile Bona officee began in 1793 and continues to this day. Although the french general Napoleon left France sm eacher than it origin in ally was at the beginning of the Revolution in 1789, he was widely respected during his lifetime and thereafter. Napoleon Bonaparte produced an everlasting imprint on the history of atomic number 63 as a result of his great military genius, development of political ideas, and the remodeling of cut law. At the bow of Napoleons success lay his military genius. Much of Napoleons military genius comes from his studies of historys finest commanders.Of these influences on Napoleon were Alexander, Caesar, Hannibal, Gustavus Adolphus, Turenne, Eugene, and most of all Frederick the Great. Napoleon used Fredericks strategies and adapted them to his own tactical system (Chandler 70). Napoleons military tactics were based rough the corps d armee, a small army containing the elements of sawbuck, infantry, and artillery. The most important adva ntage of the small army was its cleverness of fighting alone for a long period of time a profitsst superior enemy forces until help could be attained (Chandler 79).With speed, good order, and carefully principal(prenominal)tained formations, a successful cavalry was developed. Every type of cavalry was placed in one of three categories, each with specific tasks. The heavy cavalry used their sizing and weight to create holes in the enemies line of battle. The cavalry of the line was expected to protect lines of communication and stretch forth out raids. The light cavalry was mainly used for pursuit and to explore areas in order to gain military information (Chandler 94). Napoleon was the first general to employ cavalry simultaneously to conceal his main troop movements and to recognize the front.The foot soldiers of the infantry were the backbone of Napoleons army (Chandler 97). The infantry marched in a editorial up to the attack instead of a line. This column was more maneuvera ble than lines, and could swing into a limber alteration of columns and three-rank lines (Herold 97). Eventually, Napoleons enemies were influenced by these grand tactics. The enemy reformed and devised countermeasures that proved to bring down Napoleon (Chandler 69). Boldness, the earmark of the Napoleonic tactics, influenced warfare for a century.Napoleon Bonaparte carried through a series of reforms that were begun during the Revolution. He constituted the Bank of France, which has continued to function, more or less unchanged, up to the present time, as a discipline bank and as the source of the French government for currency, public loans, and the deposit of public funds (Thompson 169). In addition to the influence on Banks, Napoleon also reformed the education system. The present secularly controlled French educational system was begun during the Reign of Terror and completed by Napoleon.A corporation, known as the University of France was organized. The University was res ponsible for sightedness that all education (including private), would turn out citizens to be attached to their religion, ruler, and family (Cronin 204). Primary schools were reopened with priests as teachers, but Napoleon gave most of his attention to secondary schools, where he changed the curriculum to allow early specialization. At age fifteen, a boy chose to study either mathematics and history of science, or classics and philosophy (Cronin 204). This system of education lifelessness remains in France.One of Napoleons greatest constructive works lies in the remodeling of French law. The reckon Napoleon, although naturalized by Napoleon about 200 years ago, has had lasting effects and influences to this day. This remodeled the entire body of French law, and is contained in five legislations dealing with civil, commercial, and criminal law. The civil code established the citizens right to equality originally the law, religious toleration, the inviolability of property, and the superior place of the father in a family. The commercial code reordered every part of industrial and agricultural life.It brought about full employment, more stable prices, and a balance of trade. The criminal code set up a superior system of circuit judges, but rejected the idea of juries (Chandler 104). As a result of the Napoleonic conquests, the code was introduced into a number of European countries, notably Belgium, where it is still in force. It also became the model for the civil codes of Quebec Province, Canada, the Netherlands, Italy, Spain, some Latin American republics, and the state of Louisiana. Napoleons influence is evident in France even today.His spirit has spread throughout the constitution of the Fifth Republic. The countrys basic law is still the Code Napoleon, the administrative and judicial systems are essentially Napoleonic, and a uniform state-regulated system of education persists. Napoleons reforms in all parts of Europe cultivated the ground for the revolutions of the 19th century. Today, the impact of the Code Napoleon is apparent in the law of most European countries. Napoleon Bonaparte, who once studied the greatest commanders to have lived, could now discover himself recognized along with those same great names.