Question

Describe the rise of Napoleon in France.

Answer 1

Napoleon Bonaparte rose to power as a military dictator in culmination of the following circumstances:

i) The fall of the Jacobin government and the subsequent ascendancy of the wealthier class.

ii) Introduction of a new constitution with the provision of two legislative councils along with denial of rights to the non-propertied classes.

iii) Appointment of a directory as an executive made up of five members in order to prevent concentration of power in one person like Robespierre during Jacobin rule.

iv) Political instability caused by the clashes among the Directors and the Legislative Councils who sought to dismiss them. This political instability led to the rise of military dictator Napoleon Bonaparte in 1804.