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The Career oj Napoleon Bonaparte 465 which endanger the lives of passengers and crews and threaten the destruction of cargoes. All warring nations are likely to disre- gard the rights of neutrals, and it was such disregard on Ger- many's part which finally led Congress in 1917 to recognize that a state of war existed between Germany and the United States. 820. Napoleon's Effort to make Europe Independent Eco- nomically. Napoleon tried to render Europe permanently inde- pendent of the colonial productions brought from English colonies and by English ships. He encouraged the substitution of chicory for coffee, the cultivation of the sugar beet, and the discovery of new dyes to replace those coming from the tropics. But the dis- tress caused by the disturbance in trade produced great discon- tent, especially in Russia ; it rendered the domination of Napoleon more and more distasteful and finally contributed to his downfall. V. NAPOLEON AT THE HEIGHT OF HIS POWER (1808-1812) 821. Napoleon's Public Improvements. France owed much to Napoleon, for he had restored order and guaranteed many of the beneficent achievements of the Revolution of 1789. His boundless ambition was, it is true, sapping her strength by forcing younger and younger men into his armies in order to build up the vast international federation of which he dreamed. But his vic- tories and the commanding position to which he had raised France could not but fill the nation with pride. He sought to gain popular approval by great public improve- ments. He built marvelous roads across the Alps and along the Rhine, which still fill the traveler with admiration. He beautified Paris by opening up wide streets and quays and build- ing magnificent bridges and triumphal arches that kept fresh in the people's minds the recollection of his victories. By these means he gradually converted a medieval town into the most beautiful of modern capitals. 822. The Question of Spain. Napoleon decided, after Tilsit, that the Spanish peninsula must be brought under his control.