Top Five Historical People, Events, and Ideas
1. Louis Napoleon Bonaparte – Louis Napoleon Bonaparte, or better known as the nephew of Napoleon I, has made his mark throughout history not only in Europe, but all over the world. He was born in 1808 and grew up while his Uncle was coming off of his reign over France and most of Europe. He grew up in Switzerland with his mother, where he adored Napoleon I and all of his ideas. He longed to return to France and reclaim the power that was formerly in his family. His importance came from his political rise throughout the middle of the 19th century, becoming President of France in 1850 until 1852, then he took over and ruled as emperor until 1870. He was involved in a great time throughout France. The country was growing and the landscape was ever changing. France was going through the industrial revolution as most of Europe during this time. Also Napoleon III was a key player in the role in the promotion of railroads and sanitary housing for workers. Something that not all leaders across Europe were embracing. He sought to rebuild modern Paris and build up the city that was rich with history and culture. Paris would not be the same today if it was not for Napoleon III’s personal interest in his beloved city and support towards French inventors to help create a better France. He was involved in the Franco-Prussian War as well, which turned out to be his downfall. The war was disastrous and lead to what would be Germany rising up as the most powerful land on the continent. Once he was captured, the Third Republic of France was announced, thus ending his very active reign as the leader of France for nearly 20 years.
2. Industrial Revolution – Most of Europe was teetering on the fence, with both legs back on the side of the past. Farming had not changed since the medieval times and the continent was almost in a sort of stagnant rut. Once Great Britain began its industrial revolution in the mid-18th century, it took nearly one hundred years after them for most of Europe to catch up. But once everyone took notice of what was occurring, they all started to participate. It created jobs, industry, and built up cities all over Europe. The standard of living shot up and people’s lives were substantially better. This is why this is so crucial in the importance of Europe. All of Europe shot up economically and everything was better off for the people. From France, to Hungary, to Russia and everywhere in between. There were many great inventions that were made and machinery that was put into place to make work easier. For the first time in over 400 years there was progress in the economy and people were earning more money than ever and were able to support their families. With that there comes an increase in money to spend to travel and pour into other facets of the economy.
3. Laissez Faire – This ideal simply means “Let it be” in French. It was a democratic approach that the people wanted to strive towards. They wanted the government to be hands off and let the economic policy and businesses rule themselves. This was a huge first step back in France in the early 1800’s as it laid a foundation for other countries all over the world and also help with the ideas of keeping the government out of other dealings, such as religion. Free from government restrictions, it gave more freedom in all aspects of the business world. Free trade is a product of laissez faire as well as the world trade organization. If this idea was not brought up by the French, there is no telling how long it would have taken for Europe, and the rest of the world to encourage the ideas of free trade and less government interference with the economy. It is a basic tenet of capitalism. It encourages everyone to compete in the economy, and gives everybody a fair shot to make a significant profit. This idea helps get the middle class more involved in merchant like settings on the streets. While there is no economy in the world