Napoleon Bonaparte Hero Or Villain Essay

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,

On the other hand, Napoleon provided the people of France with the Napoleonic Code and therefore freedom and justice; as he wasn’t particularly religious people could not confuse this act for selfishness it was obviously to make the people of France truly happy.

Napoleon Bonaparte was an undeniably strong leader of France, however he was not truthful to his inferiors who gave him his power. Napoleon believed he was the master of France and that he had complete power of the country. He looked down upon his peers and the other citizens of France. Bonaparte gained his popularity by standing with the common people during the revolutionary period of France but did not continue with the views he expressed during this period when he became Emperor. Napoleon Bonaparte had many views and beliefs that made him an absolute dictator of France including, making every decision himself, being above everyone in the class systems, and manipulating the citizens of France.

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.

His mother still looked at him the same and, still, frequently whipped him when he misbehaved. In 1788, when he was supposed to be sent to return to duty he actually got sent to the Artillery Training School at Auxonne. During that year he learned all he needed to know about cannons. The more he learned about them, the more he liked them. He called them “Engines of Death” which protected the brave soldiers. He studied many books about war, geology, and other subjects. His favorite book was the Social Contract written in 1762 by Jean Jacques Rousseau. Because of this book he hoped for a constitution limiting the kings power and guaranteeing people rights. Which is ironic because Napoleon would later be a dictator and the book is based on aristocracies and democracies.

The Code Napoleon, originally entitled the Code civil des Français, is the French civil code established by Napoleon in 1804. This code forbids any special treatment based on wealth and nobility and allowed freedom of religion and stated that government jobs will go to the most qualified and not just those who are wealthy. This law also focused on equality before the law and in taxation, protection of private property, abolition of serfdom and the secularization of the state. The Napoleon Code “unified the laws of France into a single code of law.” 3 People will not be treated differently for their wealth or social standing and will face all the same consequences as every other person in the country. It acknowledged the equal rights of all people and

Consequently, as most people of such a high status, Napoleon was expected to do immense things for his country. Such things include bringing peace to France and stopping the political disorder within the country. Most importantly, people wanted him to completely encompass the things that they fought for during the French Revolution. Napoleon himself had said that he had kept the best policies and ideas from the Revolution. With all of these things that Napoleon needed to do, many people looked up to him, making him an even higher figure than before. This let him use his power to generate funds for a more nationalist and patriotic country. He had solved many of the problems people were talking about after rising to power, such as making peace between the government and the church.

Napoleon Bonaparte was inarguably an important figure in the history of France and Europe. However, there has been much controversy over the subject in the past. Would history perceive him as a hero or an enemy of France and the world? Many twentieth-century dictators would later model themselves on Napoleon, more than a hundred years after his death. Napoleon was not the first dictator, so why was he such an important figurehead for future dictators? Some historians may consider that Napoleon was a savior of France, and a brilliant military genius. Others would believe that he was a corrupted tyrant and had betrayed key ideals that had been established in the French Revolution. His rise to and consolidation of power made him a full

Napoleon Bonaparte was a French military leader and eventual political leader in France who was able to seize power during the end of the French Revolution of the late 1790's and early 1800's. Napoleon was the leader of France from 1804 to 1815 and mostly remembered as a leader in a cycle of European battles. He institutionalized the changes brought about by the French Revolution and sought to spread them throughout Europe. It has been long debated the factors that allowed Napoleon to seize power and eventually crown himself emperor. Such factors that have been considered have been Napoleon's personality, his military exploits, the failings of the Directory, support of the people and army and even sheer luck.

Not only did Napoleon take control of neighboring countries to France, but he forced his administration, specifically the Napoleonic code, on them as well. When instituting the Napoleonic code, many people rejoiced over the enlightened ideas it spread and freedom it promoted. However, most, if not all of Napoleon’s positive reforms were done so with negative intentions or a counter force in mind. For instance, Napoleon restricted all information in and out of France that viewed him negatively or could potentially obstruct the submissive society he built. In fact, plays, newspapers, and books were censored, which kept his citizens in the dark. The deceit continued when Napoleon promised freedom for all people, but went back on his word once it was no longer convenient for him. For example, Napoleon was facing many

Napoleon’s political ideas were efficient and worked well to rule a country; he even adapted his ideas to help France run more efficiently. The Napoleonic Code gave equality to all male citizens and he rehabilitated the Catholic Church for his people, despite his belief in religious freedom. He created a bureaucracy with subprefects, prefects, and mayors that ran France. All of these ideas helped France run smoothly.

Under Napoleon, France controlled almost all of Europe and Northern Africa as well as most of the Americas(through controlling Spain). Napoleon had tried to conquer all who insulted him, he was egotistical maniac. Although he attempted follow the values that the First French Revolutionists made Liberte, Egalite, Fraternite, Napoleon had set up multiple laws that gave some sense of freedom and equality to the people of france through the civil code also known as The Napoleonic Code.

Napoleon Bonaparte was a French military leader and emperor who conquered most of Europe in the 19th century and created the Napoleonic Code (History, web). Part of Napoleons rise to power was because of his reputation as a victorious commander (Rapport, web). He succeeded by rapidly being promoted in the ranks of the military during the French revolution. In which he then crowned himself emperor in 1804 (History, web). Napoleon being exposed to various cultures and legal systems inspired him to create a unified system for his empire called Napoleonic Code as the foundation for his vision as emperor of France (Zappula, web).

There were many things Napoleon considered a great triumph but there is one that is the greatest and this is called the Napoleonic Code. The Napoleonic Code did a lot of good for the French, the first good thing this code did for the French was it gave the country a set in stone, set of laws and it also eliminated any injustices. But this actually promoted order and authority over individual rights. An example of this is the freedom of speech, and press which was established during the revolution. This made it restricted under the code. Another good but bad thing was that the Napoleonic Code brought back slavery into the French colonies that were part of the Caribbean. There are many reasons Napoleon decided to change the current feudal system of laws and royal laws. Before the Napoleonic Code, there was no “Law” for the French to follow, and the royal and rich were very much treated better and had more privileges so during the revolution Napoleon decided that it would be the best to do away with the feudal laws. This was the set of laws he would use, and some of these laws are still in place, in france today.

The definition of a hero is a person who is admired or idealized for courage, outstanding achievements, or noble qualities. One of the most influential heroes in the United States is George Washington but that’s just what Americans think of him. The British, who were fighting against the United States in the Revolution don’t see George Washington as a hero because he won the war for the United States but lost that territory for England. A hero is only defined by the people they protect and serve. Likewise, after the fall of the French Revolution, Napoleon Bonaparte swept in and seized power. At the young age of 30, he was already in charge of the First Counsel. By 35, he was the dictator of France. Through cunning military strategies and ambition, Napoleon climbed through the ranks of the French military. Napoleon at the time of his reign was seen in the French perspective as revolutionary and a savior. But, when the statistics are put into account, he wasted millions of dollars and lives for unsuccessful wars. He was seen as controlling and wasn’t even native to France. Napoleon can be considered a tyrant based off of the misery, death and grief he caused the French citizens during his reign.