Napoleon Bonaparte : A Successful Or Powerful Emperor?

There is no question in the fact that Napoleon Bonaparte was a significant character in France. However, there have been debates among historians for years around the central question: “Was Napoleon Bonaparte a hero or a villain?” The answer here relies on how one looks upon the situation. Was Napoleon Bonaparte a savior to the French, or was he a tyrant to the French? Although many historians’ answers do rely deeply onto perspective, their answers also lie within which stage of life Napoleon Bonaparte was in, as well as the shift in opinions that come as time changes. Paul Stock and Phillip Dwyer analyze Napoleon Bonaparte’s influence and through the analysis, debate on whether Napoleon Bonaparte should be considered a hero or a villain,

In France in 1789, A revolution began. The people of France were fighting for their inalienable rights such as freedom from serfdom , equality between the classes. Within this chaos in France, Napoleon, a new thinker, came about and changed France in many ways. Napoleon's policies can be seen as preserving the legacy of the French Revolution by giving equality to the lower classes and creating a governmental system that helped to put the people in charge of their sovereignty, however it can be seen as hurting the legacy by protecting the ideas of absolutism.

During the Napoleonic Era, from 1799 to 1815, France became a military power gaining and controlling land throughout Europe. While some historians believe Napoleon Bonaparte was a ruthless dictator, his military accomplishments far outweigh any atrocities he committed. He helped France gain stability after the French Revolution and he also abolished the Feudal contract. Napoleon was a brilliant strategist using military tactics to cause fear and to defeat whatever enemies stood in his way. Throughout his rule, Napoleon continually gained ground, and by the end of his reign, his empire encompassed all of Spain, Italy, and a small portion of land by Russia and Austria. (see map) He is one of

Napoleon won battles in Italy and Austria early in his rule, but eventually, the French Emperor attempted to conquer other major powers in Europe. Napoleon lost major battles in Russia and Britain, and the French people’s perception of their king began to change. Document 5 shows a painting of Napoleon in 1812, during the French invasion of Russia. Napoleon is depicted very negatively: he appears to be short, almost small, overweight, and certainly not the heroic image he carried early in his rule. In Document 7, Napoleon is controlled at the hands of the Duke of Wellington, dancing like a puppet. The painting was published in 1815, the year Napoleon was officially removed from power. As Napoleon’s initial success faded, so did his

Although it is often debated, the character of Napoleon was neither strictly tyrannical or heroic. Connelly understood this and displayed both sides of Napoleon throughout the book. For example, Napoleon made a great impact on the education system in France that is still evident today. He founded lycèes, collèges, and the Imperial University that allowed those that wanted an education to receive it, sometimes with the help of scholarships (Connelly, 49). However, he did have an ulterior motive driving his work in education: as Napoleon put it, the “means of directing political and moral opinion” (Connelly, 51). Connelly points out that Napoleon was upfront about his motives, and says, “In education, Napoleon’s influence is often decried, but he left a lasting legacy” (Connelly, 49). Fortunately, the same can be said for many of Napoleon’s other endeavors, including his impact on culture. Napoleon enjoyed the arts and had a great influence on what the French people accepted. He reorganized France’s National Library, shaped the Louvre into the phenomenal museum it is today, patronized famous artists, and supported many scientists during that time (Connelly, 52-53). “Repression of political expression there was. But those who say Napoleon created an intellectual desert in France and Europe are wrong” (Connelly, 54). Misconceptions about Napoleon’s work in France have run rampant for years. While some truth lies in

To everyone else, this was quite hard to see. While he was successful in balancing the budget crises, wars would soon follow. Napoleon’s Grand Army was quite successful in its victories over the Austrian and Prussian armies. He expanded the empire of France and gained tremendous amounts of land, calling the expansion “The Rhine.” Having failed to conquer England with the tactical maneuver stopping and shutting down sea trade and a failed invasion of the great country of Russia, Napoleon found himself falling in a downward spiral. Even before his defeat and exile to the island of Elba, European nations were developing peace agreements and ensuring nothing like what France had done would ever happen again.

Napoleons’ rise to emperor in France was indisputable mostly because of his overthrow of the Directory. His success’s as commander of the French army in Italy, only led to his aspiring status change to “Emperor” of France after overthrowing the Directory in November of 1799. His undying ambition for expansion of the empire he was creating however would be his undoing. Napoleons rule as emperor of France was quit spectacular actually and many admired and adored him as ruler. His ways were very appealing, and as a speaker he was very persuasive and admired by most of his people until his later years in his fall and demise. However, Napoleon did not seriously adhere to the ideals of the French Revolution, he did that of the Enlightenment but his undying ambition and character as “Emperor” undermined the true need of the French Revolution.

As the Former French Prime Minister States in source 11, “France was isolated, beaten, occupied, dominated, hated, and smaller than before”. Paradoxically, was on its way to become a even stronger world power if not for the British and her allies. In source 12, Napoleon is outnumbered, but still continues the battle that becomes his final defeat. This was Napoleons last struggle once he returns to power and after this decisive battle, which in turn Napoleon was sent back into

By conquering most of continental Europe and causing mass devastation, the rest of independent Europe joined to bring about Napoleon’s defeat. And Napoleon’s dream of a united Europe would be unfeasible under the Congress of Vienna which divided Europe back into its separate entities. The aftermath of the Napoleonic Era left France weakened and strengthened other powers. France lost 1.4 million to Napoleon’s wars, it was cut back to its 1792 borders, and made to pay a reparation of 700 million Francs (Ellis 108-109). Napoleon lost territories around the world to Britain, and sold its largest overseas possession, Louisiana, to the Americans (“Napoleon’s impact”), making the United States into a continental power (Klepp). Britain was without a rival for a century, and reigned as the world’s superpower, an era of Pax Britannica. By abolishing the Holy Roman Empire, uniting German lands, and leaving behind effective institutions, Napoleon made the Germans an even more powerful foe (Ellis

Napoleon did make irresponsible decisions, but he made beneficial decisions that supported France’s post-Revolutionary progress. As Napoleon says, “I am concerned for the happiness of your subjects, not only as it affects your reputation, and my own, but also for its influence on the whole European situation . . . (Document #5)” He also took steps to end corruption by starting a centralized government and supported laws that would strengthen the government. Lastly, Napoleon established a phenomenal national banking system that would be still be used in today's French

Napoleon’s self-defeating actions had a greater impact in his defeat than British strategic performance because of a suboptimal integration of policy, strategy, and operations. First, the Emperor’s political desire for French hegemony led to a strategic overextension from which France was unable to recover. Second, Napoleon’s poor naval strategy inadequately armed the French Navy with a fleet capable of competing with the British Royal Navy. Third, Napoleon’s lack of decentralized execution and his desire for absolute operational control at the organizational level led to his demise. This essay will then examine the counterargument and rebuttal that British strategic performance mattered more to Napoleon’s defeat than the Emperor’s self-defeating actions because of a British strategy of selective engagement.

From the years 1804 to 1814, also referred to as the Napoleonic Age, France became an empire, ruled by its first emperor, Napoleon Bonaparte. When Bonaparte became emperor in 1804, it was because “the Senate – who had all been chosen by Napoleon - passed a law making him Emperor of the French” (Wilde Par. 6). If it were not for the people he put in Senate, Napoleon would not have become emperor because citizens were already beginning to disapprove the changes he was making to their government. Since he is able to chose men who will support him and follow his commands in Senate, it reveals how much power Bonaparte really holds in his empire. Bonaparte surrounded himself by “his tribe of paltry, rapacious and

These wars, while trying to establish the French Empire, would significantly weaken France. During his reign, Bonaparte’s main goal was to conquer all of Europe. In order to do so, he recognized that he needed to defeat France’s main threat, Great Britain. In order to weaken them, Bonaparte created the Continental system. The Continental system was a set of blockades that was “designed to cut the British off from trade with the rest of Europe… (but,) by 1812, it was clear that the Continental system was not working.” (Source E) Underestimating the power of Great Britain’s superior navy, Bonaparte did not realize that the British would able to make their own blockades around France. Napoleon Bonaparte would blame Russia for his failure, and invade the vast country. This would be the biggest failure of his career. In an attempt to defeat his new enemy, Bonaparte would march 600,000 thousand troops into Russia. Even as the weather conditions worsened, Bonaparte decided to always push further into Russia, trying to “conquer Moscow before winter,” (Source E) which he knew would cost him more lives. Eventually losing about 500,000 of these men, he return to France with the remains of an army. This means that Bonaparte did not consider what the cost of these wars could be. This is significant, as this is a decision that no enlightened monarch would make. Instead of actually thinking about the

Napoleon accomplished much during his era. "The name Napoleon recalls to mind great battles won, mighty countries humbled, and the near establishment of a union of all Europe under the supreme leadership of Napoleonic France." (Modern Times 59) But "as others had discovered before him…no nation can rule Europe for long." (The World in 1800 p89) Later came his ultimate downfall- the Russian Campaign in 1812.

In 1792 France embarked on the first Napoleonic war. At the time, France was fighting to prevent other European monarchs from hindering their revolution. However by 1795 France was fighting to gain wealth, power, and a dynasty. In the beginning France was thought to be weak by its neighboring countries, but they were soon shocked when they got news of how successful the French were. By the beginning 1800's Napoleon had built an empire that covered Europe. He proved to be a superior military leader when he fought the Austrians. They were expecting a full frontal assault, but they were ambushed from behind, preventing any chance of retreat. He soon defeated both the Austrians and Russians, who quickly declared peace. Napoleon's victories frightened Prussia's of France's power. Prussia became nervous when Napoleon destroyed the Holy Roman Empire. So in 1806 Prussia declared war on France. That war went relatively smoothly for Napoleon as he took Berlin. From 1807 to 1812 France’s empire spread from France to the border Russia. He directly