Very demure, very mindful: Napoleon’s coronation as French Emperor came only 15 years after the French overthrew their last autocratic ruler. Source: Workshop of François Gérard / Public Domain.

Right Man, Right Place, Right Time: The Rise of Napoleon

In 1799 France changed forever. After a decade of rumbling discontent regarding the concentration of wealth towards the powerful and the exploitation of the masses who were facing widespread starvation, the French rose up and killed everyone in charge, from the King on down. The failure of the ancien regime, the creaking feudal order of