Napoleon Bonaparte

On August 15, 1769 Napoleon Bonaparte was born (1769-1821). The legendary figure of the Romanticism and the carrier of the French Revolution, he dreamed of a United Europe under the leadership of France. A true cosmopolitan, Napoleon was too ambitious and too impatient for a natural development of history. The end justified the means to him and the use of force was a necessary by-product of realizing his dreams-- too far-fetched often. Yet, he was also a nationalistic figure, since he sought to subjugate all of Europe under the leadership of the French empire. Like Alexander the Great and Ceasar, Napoleon will remain a controversial figure. The dream to conquer the world historically always ended in a disaster... Pax Romana ended in the collapse of the Roman Empire and the attempts of expansionism brought the demise of the Soviet Union... Some people argue the unipolarism of today's world is a birth of Pax Americana... Hopefully, we have learned the lessons of history...