French Politics and the Rise of Napoleon

​Until the beginning of the French Revolution, Napoleon’s military career was going to be subject to very little alteration due to the inability for lower nobility soldiers to rise up to prominence within the French army. Napoleon and his peers had no chance of rising to ranks of General and Colonel as a result of the oppressive nobility requirements for high ranking officers. Luckily for Napoleon, however, the class system in France was abolished by the Revolution, allowing Napoleon to rise to power based on merit, not familial background. Napoleon’s military career changed drastically during 1789 to 1796 due to the political climate in France at the time, allowing the young soldier to rise rapidly through the ranks. Constant political upheavals and Napoleon's military success gives him the upward mobility he would have never seen otherwise. Although Napoleon is later thrown in jail and his military rank stripped due to his connections to the Jacobins and Robespierre, politics from 1789 to 1796 still positively affected Napoleon’s military career, and propelled him into power.