The Revolution lasted some 10 years, and it grew increasingly violent as it progressed. It began in mid-1789 when the government found itself nearly bankrupt, and due to festering discontent among the commoners (the prosperous middle class included), that crisis quickly grew into a movement of reform. The Revolution ended in 1799 when French general Napoleon Bonaparte (1769–1821) seized control of the government. Democracy had not been established in France, but the Revolution had ended the supreme authority of the king, had strengthened the middle class, and had sent the message across Europe that the tenets of liberty and equality are not to be ignored.