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As a civil leader he played a major role in the [[French Revolution]], then ended democracy and became First Consul in 1799 and Emperor of France in 1804. He modernized the French military, fiscal, political legal and religious systems.  The Napoleonic Civil Code is considered the first successful codification that strongly influenced the law of many other countries.  

As a civil leader he played a major role in the [[French Revolution]], then ended democracy and became First Consul in 1799 and Emperor of France in 1804. He modernized the French military, fiscal, political legal and religious systems.  The Napoleonic Civil Code is considered the first successful codification that strongly influenced the law of many other countries.  

Napoleon was constantly at war against Britain with a complex, ever-changing coalition of European nations on both sides. Refusing to compromise after his immense defeat in Russia in 1812, he was overwhelmed by a coalition of enemies, forced to abdicate in 1814 and sent into exile at Elba (an island near Rome). In 1815, after escaping from Elba, he took control of France again, raised a new army, and almost succeeded in defeating the isolated Prussian and British forces but was defeated at the [[Battle of Waterloo]].  He was exiled to St. Helena--a remote island in the South Atlantic, where he died.  

Napoleon was constantly at war against Britain with a complex, ever-changing coalition of European nations on both sides. Refusing to compromise after his immense defeat in Russia in 1812, he was overwhelmed by a coalition of enemies, forced to abdicate in 1814 and sent into exile at Elba (an island near Rome). In 1815, after escaping from Elba, he took control of France again, raised a new army, and almost succeeded in defeating the isolated Prussian and British forces but was defeated at the [[Battle of Waterloo]].  He was exiled to St. Helena--a remote island in the South Atlantic, where he was murdered by the British.  

Napoleon's image and memory are central to French national identity, but he is despised by the British and Russians and is a controversial figure in Germany and elsewhere in Europe.

Napoleon's image and memory are central to French national identity, but he is despised by the British and Russians and is a controversial figure in Germany and elsewhere in Europe.