Wednesday, November 27, 2019

Napoleon Bonaparte and Its Revolutions

Introduction Napoleon is among the most renowned leaders in the world due to his conquest and abilities. During his lifetime, napoleon was able to achieve great success in his leadership, some of which the other emperors could only dream of.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Napoleon Bonaparte and Its Revolutions specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Napoleon was both a military and a political commander; he is considered to be among the greatest military commanders due to his conquest of various regions, sometimes using an army that was by far weaker compared to other armies. The political and military achievements of Napoleon have been studied by many scholars and have been documented in many books. Napoleon Bonaparte was born on 15 august 1769 in Ajaccio, in a Mediterranean island that was known as Corsica. He was the second son of Carlo and Letizia, a lawyer who did not have connections with the rulers and noblemen of the country. This therefore made Napoleon not to have the advantage of being born in a wealthy family that would have facilitated his rise to power. However, this did not hinder Napoleon from becoming wealthy. In fact, by the time of his death, napoleon had acquired vast wealth due to his own ability and by the sheer luck of being in the right place at the right time (Dugdale-Pointon, Para. 2). Napoleon’s life in the military Napoleon had his first opportunity in the military when he was the captain of artillery, which was under General Jacques Dugommier at the siege of Toulon (Dugdale-Pointon Para. 2). He managed to capture Fort Mulgrave and the promontory of L’Eguillette; these were very crucial ports that enabled the French military to have the commanding position using their artilleries. This forced the allied forces that had captured Toulon to withdraw from the island (Dugdale-Pointon Para. 2). Moreover, this acted as Napoleon’s path to the rise in power . His expertise to drive out the revolutionary forces from Toulon, earned him a promotion to the rank of Brigadier-General shortly afterwards in December 1793. The military excellence of Napoleon Bonaparte enabled him to rise through the ranks of the French military at a very fast rate. When napoleon was 26 years old, he was made the second in command of the Army of the interior. With this position, Napoleon was able to fight many other battles with their enemies, and in most cases, he was the victor.Advertising Looking for essay on biography? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Napoleon had arrived in Paris from a battle in Egypt, where his troops had severely lost, hence making him to sneak back to France and leave his troops in Egypt, when he found a power vacuum which had been created due to the internal unrests in the country. He staged a coup, appointed himself as the ruler of France, and had the title of First Consul (Dugda le-Pointon Para. 11). Since a large portion of the other army had perished in Egypt, Napoleon formed another army and soon after, started his conquest of other lands starting with Austria. Napoleon was to later lead other revolutions, which would ultimately lead to the expansion of his empire. Napoleonic revolutions Napoleonic revolutions were generally different from the aims of his predecessors. In undertaking the revolutions, Napoleon was of the view that a strong centralized state was of utmost importance in the strengthening of the advances, which had been made by the revolution (Holmberg Para. 4). Napoleon tried to spearhead revolutions, which would bring about stability to the French and strengthen the powers of the centralized government. In fact, when Napoleon was a Brigadier-General, he helped the government to restore order, as some rebels were openly planning a coup against the leadership (Dugdale-Pointon Para. 4). Napoleon’s revolutions were generally different f rom those of his predecessors in that, upon conquest of a nation, Napoleon facilitated the creation of government based upon the consent of France as a whole. Napoleon regarded himself – and it was generally true – not as a military leader, but a person whom the members of the country saw had the right civilian qualities that enabled them to accept him as their leader (Holmberg Para. 4). This created stability in the revolutions, which Napoleon made as he generally accepted by the people. Napoleon was also different from the other revolutionaries in that, he not only staged the revolutions, but also took measures to ensure that the advances made by the revolution were consolidated. By so doing, Napoleon ended the revolutions taking place in France at the time (Holmberg Para. 5). Most of the revolutions, which took place before napoleon, had come to power mainly led to disunity between the ordinary people and noble men in the society. However, Napoleonic revolutions wer e different in that, Napoleon’s revolutions tried to bring about social change in the country.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Napoleon Bonaparte and Its Revolutions specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Napoleon ensured that careers were given to people who had the abilities to do the jobs regardless of the social status of the person at birth. In addition, Napoleon reformed the French institutions, bringing order and stability to the country. Under Napoleon, the French were able to forge a unity among them (Holmberg Para. 6). To enhance the equality of the society further, Napoleon led to the development of the Napoleonic Code and the Legion of Honor. The Napoleonic code ensured that all the members of the society were subjected to a common justice system. The Legion of Honor on the hand ensured was a reward given to the members of the military, civil, and judicial service. The Legion of Honor provided unity to the above sectors and in effect, leading to the forging of the unity ties between the above groups who compromised a large percentage of the population (Holmberg Para. 8). Conclusion Napoleonic revolutions led to the stability of France through the creation of measures that brought social change to the country. The Napoleonic revolutions can therefore be said to have led to the end of the revolutions, as they brought about the much needed equality, stability, and unity between the French. Works Cited Dugdale-Pointon, T. â€Å"Napoleon Bonaparte (1769-1821).† Napoleon Bonaparte (1769-1821). 2006. 01 February 2011. http://www.historyofwar.org/articles/people_napoleon.html Holmberg, Tom. â€Å"Napoleon and the French revolution.† Napoleon Bonaparte internet guide. 2008. Web. This essay on Napoleon Bonaparte and Its Revolutions was written and submitted by user Felicity Cook to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

Sunday, November 24, 2019

Ragnar Lodbrok

Ragnar Lodbrok Many people have heard of Ragnar Lodbrok, or Lothbrok, thanks to the History Channel drama series Vikings. However, the character of Ragnar isnt new- hes existed in Norse mythology for a long time. Lets take a look at who the real Ragnar Lodbrok was- or wasnt. Ragnar Lodbrok Fast Facts Historians arent sure if Ragnar Lodbrok really existed; it is most likely that he is a composite of multiple historical figures.The sons of Ragnar Lodbrok feature prominently in Norse mythology and history.According to legend, Lodbrok was a great warrior king who invaded England and West Frankia. Ragnar Loà °brà ³k, whose surname means Hairy Breeches, was a legendary Viking warrior who is described in the Norse sagas, as well as numerous medieval Latin sources written by Christian chroniclers, but scholars arent sure if he existed at all. Norse vs. Frankish Accounts In the Norse legends, Sigurà °r hringr, or Sigurd Ring, was the king of Sweden, and battled against the Danish leader Harald Wartooth; Sigurd defeated Harald and became king of both Denmark and Sweden. After his death, his son Ragnar Lodbrok succeeded him and took the throne. According to the sagas, Lodbrok and his sons killed Haralds son Eysteinn, and then led an invasion into England. According to the Icelandic saga Ragnarssona à ¾ttr, The Tale of Ragnars Sons, during this invasion, Lodbrok was captured and executed by the Nortumbrian king Ælla, and so his sons sought vengeance and attacked Ællas stronghold. The legend holds that the sons of Ragnar Lodbrok then executed the Northumbrian king in retaliation, although English sources claim he died in battle at York. Despite the accounts in the Norse sagas, its possible that Ragnar Lodbrok was someone else entirely. In 845 c.e., Paris was under siege by an invading force of Northmen- led by a man who is identified in Frankish sources as a Viking chieftain named Ragnar. Historians dispute whether or not this is the same Ragnar named in the sagas; the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle indicates that the Ragnar who invaded and conquered Paris is unlikely to be the one referred to in the Norse legends. What is more likely, according to academics, is that the character we know today as Ragnar Lodbrok is an amalgamation of the Norse chieftain who took over Paris and the legendary warrior king who was killed when King Ælla threw him into a pit of serpents. In other words, Lodbrok is a literary composite of at least two different figures, as well as several Norse chieftains. However, several of his sons are documented as historical figures; Ivar the Boneless, Bjà ¶rn Ironside, and Sigurd Snake-in-the-eye are all considered part of Viking history. The Sons of Ragnar Lodbrok According to the Norse legends, Lodbrok had several sons by different women. In the Gesta Danorum, a book of Danish history written in the twelfth century by a Christian chronicler, he was first married to the shield maiden Lagertha, with whom he had at least one son and a daughter; Lagertha is largely believed to be representative of Thorgerd, a warrior goddess, and may be a mythical figure. Lorado / Getty Images Lodbrok divorced Lagertha and then married Thora, the daughter of an earl of Gotaland, with whom he had Eirà ­kr and Agnar; they were eventually killed in battle. Once Thora died, Lodbrok then married Aslaug, whose father was the legendary Sigurd the Dragon Slayer; Sigurds tale is told in the poetic edda, the  Nibelungenlied, and the saga of the Và ¶lsunga. Aslaugs mother was the Valkyrie shield maiden Brynhildr. Together, Lodbrok and Aslaug had at least four sons. Ivar the Boneless, also called Ivar Ragnarsson, earned his nickname because according to Norse legend, his legs were deformed, although some sources say that boneless referred to impotence and an inability to have children. Ivar was instrumental in the conquest of Northumbria and the death of King Ælla. Bjà ¶rn Ironside formed a large naval fleet and sailed around West Frankia and into the Mediterranean. He later split up Scandinavia with his brothers, and took over rule of Sweden and Uppsala. Sigurd Snake-in-the-eye got his name from a mysterious serpent-shaped mark in one of his eyes. Sigurd married King Ællas daughter Blaeja, and when he and his brothers divided Scandinavia, became king of Zealand, Halland, and the Danish islands. Lodbroks son Hvitserk may have been conflated with Halfdan Ragnarsson in the sagas; there are no sources that mention them separately. Hvitserk means white shirt, and could have been a nickname used to distinguish Halfdan from other men of the same name, which was a fairly common one at the time. A fifth son, Ubba, appears in medieval manuscripts as one of the warriors of the Great Heathen Army that conquered England in the ninth century, but is not referenced in any of the earlier Norse source material. Sources Magnà ºsson Eirà ­kr, and William Morris. The Volsunga Saga. NorrÅ“na Society, 1907.Mark, Joshua J. â€Å"Twelve Great Viking Leaders.†Ã‚  Ancient History Encyclopedia, Ancient History Encyclopedia, 9 July 2019, www.ancient.eu/article/1296/twelve-great-viking-leaders/.â€Å"The Sons of Ragnar Lodbrok (Translation).†Ã‚  Fornaldarsà ¶gur Norà °urlanda, www.germanicmythology.com/FORNALDARSAGAS/ThattrRagnarsSonar.html.â€Å"Vikings: Women in Norse Society.†Ã‚  Daily Kos, www.dailykos.com/stories/2013/10/27/1250982/-Vikings-Women-in-Norse-Society.

Thursday, November 21, 2019

HR AND LEADERSHIP Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

HR AND LEADERSHIP - Essay Example DuBrin (2011) have pointed out that organizational change is organic in nature, which means that leaders and managers need to ensure that the change process includes the employees in the organizational rather than banking on resource and process deployment. Hence, it can be surmised that change management is direction oriented process, which means that, managers and in some cases leaders need to take the responsibility to move the organizational change. On the other hand, research work of DuBrin (2011) shows that organizational change can be three types, 1- strategic- which is relatively low human resource driven, 2- tactical- which is relatively high human resource driven and 3- operational- which requires extensive amount of human resource involvement. Careful observation of the research work of DuBrin (2011) shows that, whatever the strategic orientation of change management, one thing remains constant that is the involvement of managers and leaders for giving the direction to the change. Research works of previous research scholars regarding organizational change and role of leaders have forced the researcher to raise a pertinent question, is there any strategic relationship between leadership dimension and success of organizational change management process? Well, throughout the essay, the researcher will try to find answer of this question with the help theoretical argument of various research scholars and in some cases taking help of real world business cases. At this point of the essay, one thing needs to be clarified that the essay will not use any subjective view to establish the relationship between engagement of leaders and success of change management rather the study will take conjectural view on the research topic. In the next part, the study will try to understand different aspects of change management process. It is essential to know why an organization changes in order to understand how leaders and managers can help the organization to incorpo rate the change. Understanding the macro dynamics of change can help the researcher to understand why some organizations implement successful change management process while others fail to do so. The question may arise that is there any magic formulae or special skill which bifurcate winners from losers in context to change management process. Tichy (1983) has identified that leader’s capability to cope with macro environmental challenges and use organizational learning concept in order to change the existing system. According to the research work of Tichy (1983), leaders and managers need to identify three forces such as economic forces, cultural forces and political forces in order to incorporate organizational change in accordance with the magnitude of these three forces. (Source: Tichy, 1983) According to the above mentioned triangular model, organizations develop three types of systems such as technical systems, cultural systems and political system in order to incorpora te change. Gone are the days when organizations can expect that it would achieve competitive advantage by using age old technologies. Organizations have understood the fact that they need to integrate state of art technology in order to deliver better value proposition to customers, decrease cost of operation, and achieve economies of scale etc. The study will use the example of Toyota