The French Revolution and Napoleonic years are very important to European history because they mark a time of great change and transformation, a time when Europe was in the thrall's of its rise to modernity. Two of the aspects of modernity brought to light during the French Revolution were the increasing importance of the middle class and the idea, though not necessarily the practice, of political liberty. However, some of strides made in France toward modern liberty were almost completely erased only a few years after the Revolution by Napoleon Bonaparte, who brought his own thoughts on modernity to Europe with the advent of nationalism and total warfare.

One of the other ways in which the Revolution affected the rise of modernity was by asserting the importance of the middle class and masses. Before the revolution, France was made up of three estates: The First Estate was the Church, which made up 1-2% of the population, the Second Estate was the nobility which made up less than 2% of the population and the Third Estate was the commoners, which made up approximately 96% of the population. Whereas the First and Second estates enjoyed luxury,

The masses were not merely content with having the King agree to follow their demands, they wanted to have some power over their own lives. Thus even when Louis yielded and legalized the National Assembly, the crowd rioted because of his dismissal of a reform-minded minister, leading to the infamous storming of the Bastille by an excited Paris mob. Louis, anxious to avoid bloodshed gave in once more and Necker was reinstated. Later, when rumours of counterrevolutionary court intrigues were exploited, an angry mob marched to Versailles and forcibly moved the royal family and the Assembly to Paris. The tables were now completely turned, instead of the Third Estate being run by the King, the King was being run by the masses. This stunning changeover of power acted as a starting point for the modern notion of the middle class and masses having an important place in society. After the French Revolution, no European kings, nobles, or other members of the aristocracy could take their powers for granted or ignore the cries of the masses.

In the long run, the French Revolution and especially the Napoleonic era made some important steps in the direction of modernity, though Napoleon did reverse some of the liberal gains of the Revolution. The French Revolution and Napoleon ended the supreme rule by French Kings and strengthened the middle class, moving Europe steadfastly towards modernity. Like all great periods in history, the Revolution and Napoleonic years were full of rises and falls, successes and failures, but the end result was a society forever free of the medieval structures of Europe, heading towards 19th century liberalism, and nationalism, in other words, modernity.

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Approximate Word count = 1659
Approximate Pages = 7 (250 words per page double spaced)