Explain napoleon's rise to power in europe, his subsequent defeat, and how the outcome still affects europe today.

Napoleon managed to get to his position as Emperor of France only because of the French Revolution that took place earlier. Because of the revolution, most of the elite in the society was put aside and striped from any influence in the politics, an ordinary man was able to move up in the class system, and it was much easier for a person to show what talents he has in military and tactician ways. Napoleon used this and managed to make his way up to the crown, but also he fulfilled lots of goals that people had when they were making the revolution, and that resulted in his popularity. Napoleon also was the inventor of the modern day ''nation'', and this was his method of creating sense of unity and uniqueness between the people. He was defeated because he underestimated the Russian power, and even more, the Russian weather conditions which destroyed him. The biggest effect he still has is the nationalism, which is his product, and that same nationalism that he used for unity, actually become a factor for a world war.