To what extent did Napoleon change the result of the French Revolution?

Answer 1

When Napoleon became Firrst Consul in 1795, the country had just gone through the Terror. He established a government and an order in which people no longer feared being accused of counterrevolutionary activity, or having been one of the aristocracy, or of siding with aristocrats.

Earlier, about 1790, when he was promoted to general in the revolutionary army, European countries had declared war on France, because they were afraid that the revolution would be "infectious." (By the way, after Napoleon's final defeat in 1815, the European powers forced a restoration of the Bourbon monarchy, and Louis XVIII, then Charles X ruled until another revolution in 1830.) So Napoleon's military accomplishments protected the revolution by actually carrying the war to Europeans in their own countries.

Also, as Adam above rightly answers, Napoleon changed the shape of the revolution by establishing a new aristocracy, monarchy, and institutions that he said would be based on merit. He promulgated the Code Napoleon, a new body of law, which still rules France and our state of Louisiana today.

Answer 2

He took France back to a monarchy and crowned himself the Emperor. It would be as if in the year 1800, John Quincy Adams won the support of the US military, staged a coup, and crowned himself the King of America.

Answer 3

He stopped it cold. It caused france to be under a series of constitutional monarchies for the next 100 years