Question One
The conditions that allowed or favored Napoleon to follow his policies both domestic and foreign was because of the peace negotiations of the Russia and the British empires. On my opinion Napoleon could have pursued other policies to enable him to conquer Italy and Rome.
One of his policies would have the building of the Suez Canal so that the Egyptian governor and the Britain could not have any access to the shares of this canal. This could have been of great support to his mission of conquering the world starting with Britain and Rome. In his church policies Napoleon could not have allowed the paying of the bishops from Rome with funds generated in France, instead the policy should have stated that the bishops to be paid by the roman pope which could have saved a lot in his efforts of poverty elevation policies.
In his efforts of promoting nationalism and liberalism in Italy, he should have considered this to his rivals Germany too in order to avoid major conflicts with them.
Question Two
Napoleon was a man who was focused and could do anything to see that his wishes are turned into reality no matter the cost. Napoleon was also ego and his egocentric actions clearly allowed him to pursue his domestic and foreign policies. These qualities had the effect of confirming to Napoleon that he was the center of the world. By controlling others, either through nostril-flared tantrums or by force of ‘will’ (here I mean a refusal to have things any other way than his own, a quality inaccurately referred to as ‘strength’ by many) he could continue to live in the world he had created rather than the real one which did not conform to his fantasies, fantasies which were in fact defenses for the fragmented mind which had appeared.(www.prchico.org-bisilva/projects/france.htm)
Narcissism was the other character he had as well as a sense of confidence which was central to his character.He was very ambitious and believed that he was born to lead France just like Julius Caesar.
Question Three
Napoleon is regarded as a great leader because he was able to spread the French revolutionary ideas across Europe and ultimately the whole world. This is why many people in Europe and across the world credit him for spreading republican and democratic ideals which are not an easy thing to do. In 1797,Napoleon became first consul after overthrowing the directory and establishing the Consulate. In administration ,Napoleon is was a good administrator in education,finance,legal and religious reforms as it can be seen in his protection of the Roman Papal.
Napoleon also improved the appearance of French cities such as Paris by building bridges and canal and also planting trees by the road side to protect them from the sun .In fact much of the beauty we see in France today began with Napoleon.(www.pbs.org/empires/napoleon.html )
Question Four
Napoleon failed in his leadership because he wanted to have control of the entire Europe which could not be possible especially from strong rivals in Germany. His leadership was dictatorship kind of leadership which of course did not conform with his ideas of democracy. Napoleon was also discriminative in his ruling which made Germany to oppose his leadership.
Reference
Christopher, J. Herold.(1975),The age of Napoleon. London, Cambridge University Press, pp 12-78
Steven, Eglund. (1987), Napoleon, apolitical life. New York, Prentice Hall, pp 68-125
Napoleon’s leadership available on;
www.pbs.org/empire/napoleon.html (Retrieved on 25th January 2008)
www.prchico.org-bisilva/projects/france.htm (Retrieved on 25 January 2008)
