The Weaknesses of the Directory Was the Main Reason for...

The weaknesses of the directory was the main reason for Napoleons rise to power. Napoleon Bonaparte rose to the position of the most powerful man in France by the end of 1799. This occurred after the Coup of Brumaire during the 18/19th Brumaire of year 8, where Sieyà ¨s and Ducos, two directors, attempted to use Napoleon to overthrow the current government in order to create a new, better constitution. Napoleon, after making a speech to the council of ancients, then attempted to challenge the council of 500, the atmosphere was very hostile and soon Napoleon was attacked. Lucien, his brother, escorted Napoleon to the safety of his men, where Napoleon then called upon his men to defend him. A brigade of armed soldiers then stormed into†¦show more content†¦Therefore without his military strengths through the Italian and partially the Egyptian campaign he would never have been chosen to take part in the coup and never have become eventual emperor of France, and even without To ulon Napoleon may have remained unknown forever, it is for this reason that the military strengths and ambitions of Napoleon are arguably the most important Napoleons political strengths were also a unmistakeably important factor in his rise to power. Napoleons role in the treaty of Campo Formio showed Napoleon to be a reliable and decisive/strong character off the battlefield too, which raised support for him among the people of France and his troops, which he later needed the respect of in order to accomplish the coup of Brumaire. Napoleon gained this respect from the people and his men through not only speeches before battles, but because also of the fact that Napoleon used two newspapers to convey the latest new on the frontier to the people, mainly depicting Napoleon as the hero who was restoring Frances national pride. There are however some weaknesses in this factor, for example the propaganda newspapers and also the speeches he gave, were entirely centred on the amazing vict ories and courageous actions he had shown. Without Napoleons military abilities he never would have reached to his role in the Italian campaign and therefore never been able to utilise his political ambition, as it utilises his own military