>>509716658
Napoleon inherited the French government's debt from both losing the French and Indian / Seven Years' War AND from further exhausting themselves financially by helping America win its War of Independence from its hated rival, England

Both of these things created a Himalayas of debt that not only caused the French Revolution and Reign of Terror, but also then necessitated someone like Napoleon coming along to get France back in the financial black through any means necessary -- and that meant lots and lots of conquest and looting of territory, as well as selling off the Louisiana Territory in America

It's always about needing to acquire assets and pay off debts -- this pretty much drives everything