Description
While the French Emperor Napoleon is one of the most recognizable figures in all of history, how he rose to such colossal power is sometimes overlooked: Born into a poor but proud Corsican family, he became the most powerful man in Europe for more than a decade by his intellect, his sheer force of will, and his understanding of how the nature of power in the Revolutionary Era was being transformed. This discussion will address Napoleon’s rise to power, contrasting what he was able to accomplish on his own merit versus how he leveraged situations and acquaintanceships to suit his ambitious purposes. We will also see how his inability to adapt led to his spectacular downfall.
