The Duke of Wellington

The Duke of Wellington
A self portrait

Thursday, December 16, 2010

The History the Duke experienced

                The Duke of Wellington fought against France, he saw the French Revolution, saw Napoleon's rise to power, and destroyed Napoleon’s Grand Empire. Because of the reign of terror in France in the late eighteenth century, the rulers Austria and Prussia were scared of their citizens rebelling against their absolute monarchy. However, the Duke of Wellington did not need to fear that happening to Britain as the Glorious Revolution already happened in England. The Glorious Revolution made Britain a constitutional monarchy and so there was no need to overthrow a king, as the king had severely limited powers. This provided an advantage towards the Duke of Wellington and made it easier for him to attack France as France’s army was made up of peasants, the third estates, and supporters of the revolution. Throughout France, many were executed by the guillotine so it is possible a few of Arthur’s friend had been lost. France’s army probably lacked tactic and strategy as the royal guards of the king were skewered and the nobility fled (most of them at least). Robespierre began executing many with the guillotine, abusing his power as a member of the Committee of Public Safety, while Georges Danton persuaded the peasants to enlist in the army and fight. This allowed the Duke to have a major advantage over the French Army (and the fact that a lot more countries were at war with France). However, Napoleon took charge of France and his military Brilliance led to France winning wars and expanding. However Napoleon’s Empire was destroyed just as fast as it was built.  

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