Napoleon

Napoleon and his empire left enormous changes on the social, economic, and political structures in Europe. In regards to his social impact on Europe, he was a very famous figure back when he controlled most of Europe, and many people had many different opinions of him. These opinions ranged from complete adoration to bitter hatred. All of these opinions had reasons to back them up, of course, but they still caused tension between people that viewed him differently. Countries that generally liked him would have been viewed negatively in the eyes of countries that didn't, and vice versa. On a smaller scale, this may have torn apart friendships and company's trust in each other. On a more positive side, Napoleon changed a lot in Europe in terms of individual rights and opportunities, adding access to public education as well as other beneficial things. He established what is known now as a meritocracy, where people were rewarded based on skills and hard work rather than social class. This, combined with the abolition of serfdom, gave the lower classes a huge opportunity in life. This was unheard of at the time, and this gave way to many economic changes.

After the social changes that Napoleon put in place, economic changes were already present. With the influx of a new, educated lower class, the economy in many countries started to rise. More people working and creating more supply and demand meant more money flowing through the economy. Napoleon ordered the construction of many roads, canals, and bridges to help trade. These would allow merchants to get from place to place faster, and more money could move faster as a result. In addition, he regulated prices and stimulated new industries, adding more and more to the ever growing economy. These changes were enacted all over Europe, where Napoleon controlled. In France, however, Napoleon got serious. He fixed the budget himself, and made sure massive public works programs were put in place. 

Finally, in addition to the numerous social and economic changes that were put in place, many political changes happened at the same time. Because Napoleon abolished serfdom, previous serfs now had a lot more power than before, and started to stick up for themselves. This lead to many revolutions in Europe about governments. The people realized that most of them didn't want a monarchy, but instead wanted to elect their own leaders and officials. Napoleon also changed some individual countries in a very big way. In 1803, he sold the Louisiana Territory to America. This doubled the size of the new nation and gave way to an age of expansion, which eventually formed the powerful country we know today. In Egypt, Napoleon totally reorganized the government, and at the same time established the Institute of Egypt, which was dedicated to the study of ancient Egypt. Many important parts of ancient Egypt were found due to this increased interest, including the Rosetta Stone. Napoleon definitely had an enormous impact on not only the economic, social, and political structures of back in the 1800's, but today as well.