Saijaku Muhai no Bahamut:Volume 18 Illustrations
Novel Illustrations
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SETTING THE STAGE Napoleon Bonaparte was quite a short man—just five
feet three inches tall. However, he cast a long shadow over the history of mod- ern times. He would come to be recognized as one of the world’s greatest mil- itary geniuses, along with Alexander the Great of Macedonia, Hannibal of
Carthage, and Julius Caesar of Rome. In only four years, from 1795 to 1799, Napoleon rose from a relatively obscure position as an officer in the French army to become master of France. Napoleon Seizes Power Napoleon Bonaparte was born in 1769 on the Mediterranean island of Corsica. When he was nine years old, his parents sent him to a military school. In 1785, at the age of 16, he finished school and became a lieutenant in the artillery. When the Revolution broke out, Napoleon joined the army of the new government. Hero of the Hour In October 1795, fate handed the young officer a chance for glory. When royalist rebels marched on the National Convention, a government official told Napoleon to defend the delegates. Napoleon and his gunners greeted the thousands of royalists with a cannonade. Within minutes, the attackers fled in panic and confusion. Napoleon Bonaparte became the hero of the hour and was hailed throughout Paris as the savior of the French republic. In 1796, the Directory appointed Napoleon to lead a French army against the forces of Austria and the Kingdom of Sardinia. Crossing the Alps, the young general swept into Italy and won a series of remarkable victories. Next, in an attempt to protect French trade interests and to disrupt British trade with India, Napoleon led an expedition to Egypt. But he was unable to repeat the successes he had achieved in Europe. His army was pinned down in Egypt, and the British admiral Horatio Nelson defeated his naval forces. However, Napoleon managed to keep stories about his setbacks out of the newspapers and thereby remained a great hero to the people of France. Coup d’État By 1799, the Directory had lost control of the political situation and the confidence of the French people. When Napoleon returned from Egypt, his friends urged him to seize political power. Napoleon took action in early November 1799. Troops under his command surrounded the national legislature and drove out most of its members. The lawmakers who remained then voted to Napoleon Forges an Empire
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dissolve the Directory. In its place, they established a group of three consuls, one of whom was Napoleon. Napoleon
quickly took the title of first consul and assumed the pow- ers of a dictator. A sudden seizure of power like Napoleon’s
is known as a coup—from the French phrase coup d’état (KOO day•TAH), or “blow to the state.” At the time of Napoleon’s coup, France was still at war. In 1799, Britain, Austria, and Russia joined forces with one goal in mind, to drive Napoleon from power. Once again, Napoleon rode from Paris at the head of his troops. Eventually, as a result of war and diplomacy, all three nations signed peace agreements with France. By 1802, Europe was at peace for the first time in ten years. Napoleon was free to focus his energies on restoring order in France. Napoleon Rules France At first, Napoleon pretended to be the constitutionally chosen leader of a free republic. In 1800, a plebiscite (PLEHB•ih•SYT), or vote of the people, was held to approve a new constitution. Desperate for strong leadership, the people voted overwhelmingly in favor of the constitution. This gave all real power to Napoleon as first consul. Restoring Order at Home Napoleon did not try to return the nation to the days of Louis XVI. Rather, he kept many of the changes that had come with the Revolution. In general, he
supported laws that would both strengthen the central govern- ment and achieve some of the goals of the Revolution.
His first task was to get the economy on a solid footing. Napoleon set up an efficient method of tax collection and
established a national banking system. In addition to ensur- ing the government a steady supply of tax money, these
actions promoted sound financial management and better control of the economy. Napoleon also took steps to end corruption and inefficiency in government. He dismissed corrupt officials and, in order to provide the government with trained officials, set
up lycées, or government-run public schools. These lycées were open to male stu- dents of all backgrounds. Graduates were appointed to public office on the basis of
merit rather than family connections. One area where Napoleon disregarded changes introduced by the Revolution was religion. Both the clergy and many peasants wanted to restore the position of the Church in France. Responding to their wishes, Napoleon signed a concordat, or agreement, with Pope Pius VII. This established a new relationship between church and state. The government recognized the influence of the Church, but rejected Church control in national affairs. The concordat gained Napoleon the support of the organized Church as well as the majority of the French people. Napoleon thought that his greatest work was his comprehensive system of laws, known as the Napoleonic Code. This gave the country a uniform set of laws and eliminated many injustices. However, it actually limited liberty and promoted order and authority over individual rights. For example, freedom of speech and of the press, established during the Revolution, were restricted under the code. The code also restored slavery in the French colonies of the Caribbean.
