Napoleon’s Acts Of Heroism That Made Him Popular

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Napoleon became part of the Directory’s plan to wage continuous wars and they sent him to conquer Italy in 1797. During the campaign, Bonaparte became increasingly influential in French politics. He published two newspapers. In the meantime, the Royalists were becoming strong again and won midterm elections. Napoleon planned an attack on the Royalists and defeated them again. Napoleon became indispensable to the Directory he returned to Paris from Italy as a hero, more popular than the Directors. In 1798 Napoleon planned to invade Britain but on realizing the French were not equipped to do so, he decided to do an expedition to Egypt instead. He included academics and intellectuals in his army because he wanted to plunder Egypt militarily but also culturally. On the way he conquered Malta and finally arrived in Egypt where he easily won the battle of the Pyramids. He was however defeated by the British fleet under in the Battle of the Nile. Napoleon was however unable to conquer the fortress of Acre because his his army was weakened by disease and poor supplies. Napoleon then returned to France against the orders of the Directory. By the time he arrived in France, the French had had some victories in Egypt and this boosted Napoleon’s popularity. The Directory tried to punish him for desertion but they were too weak and Napoleon proceeded to work against them and seized power from them. Napoleon then engineered his election as First Consul in 1800 which made him the most powerful person in France. This created the platform for him to appoint himself as Emperor. Conclusion In conclusion, whilst the Campaigns were pivotal opportunities for Napoleon to make his name and increase his popularity and heroism, this by itself was not enough to make him the most powerful person in France by 1800. His personal leadership characteristics, his ability to exploit
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