Question

Who was Napoleon Bonaparte? What reforms did he introduce in France?

Answer 1

Hint: Napoleon was the greatest emperor and one of the greatest military commanders France and the world has ever seen. He became the emperor of France in 1804 just five year after he became a commander in a French artillery unit.

Complete answer:
Napoleon Bonaparte left a striking legacy behind him due to which he is to date revered as the greatest military commander and one the ablest rulers in the world. Napoleon had virtually each and every one of the battles he had fought. Right after his proclamation of being the emperor of France, he meted out a series of political, social cultural reforms which not only brought prosperity to the country but also paved way for much dissent among other European countries, mainly Britain.

He decided to introduce reforms to mitigate inequality of powers enjoyed by his countrymen. He increased the central government’s powers of the local government. This limited the autocracy of the local rulers.
He established a Legion of Honour consisting of 6000 members. The members were appointed on the basis of their merit and were only those people who had served the nation or society.

He also took a decision to return the property of the nobles and clergy which had been taken from them during the period of French Revolution.
He established the concept of Uniform Civil Code and was determined to provide rapid justice at all levels of the society without any discrimination.

Note: Napoleon Bonaparte was of Italian noble ancestry. He was born in Corsica just a year after the briefly independent Republic ceded its powers to France and became a part of it. Napoleon could never speak fluent English and was often bullied in his school for his Corsican accent, his inability to speak fluent French and his small stature.