Napoleon's Legacy: The Code That Outlived the Empire

Napoleon's legacy is usually told as a tale of conquest, but the institutions outlived the battles. The Napoleonic Code, the prefect system, the Banque de France and the lycées reshaped how European states function and still do. This long-form analysis traces the rise of Bonaparte from the coup of Brumaire through Austerlitz and the Russian disaster to the fall of Napoleon at Waterloo and the legend built on Saint Helena.