The other powers in Europe were understandably scared of Napoleon. He was a leader that fought tradition, and, furthermore the leader of the European nation with the biggest population, and which had been Europe's intellectual leader for the past century. Under a more merit-based system of selecting France's bureaucrats and officer, France became especially efficient, powerful, and patriotic. Napoleon threatened not only everything the old regime in Europe stood for, but that regime's very existence.

Popular pages: Napoleonic Europe (1799-1815)