What Is Napoleon A Tyrant

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.

All these changes gave Napoleon perfect power to remove any opposition, as he had influence of appointment of judges and the Supreme Court. Napoleon also used the police, which monitored public opinion, used a network of spies and informants. Napoleon also had his own secret police so that he had supreme power to remove anyone at all that stood against him. Napoleon also appointed Prefects for each department which was important as it made a connection between local and central government and Napoleon made the prefects responsible for propaganda, education and conscription within each region, so Napoleon could make sure that he kept his support through out France. This repression was important as Napoleon could prevent any opposition from developing which may threaten his regime, as many normal people wont do anything if there is no organised opposition to turn

Impressed by his feats the five main military leaders asked Napoleon to invade England, instead he offered a plan to invade Egypt. After he got the okay to do so Napoleon took over the Egyptian army and its main leaders (www.history.com, www.thefreesource.com). In 1799 Napoleon overthrew the French Directory in an attempt to gain more power. After the defeat he was the leading political figure to most historians (www.history.com). As leader Napoleon improved not only the military of France but also the economy and other parts of the French empire. He helped reform the banks and education system as well as improving the arts and sciences. But his biggest contribution was the Napoleonic code, which was a big part of the legal system in France.(www.history.com, www.thefreesource.com, www.bbc.co.uk). In 1804 Napoleon declared himself emperor of France, which was meant he was the sole leader of this great empire (www.history.com). Napoleon won many battles and his reign stretched from the edge of the border of Spain to Italy and also some parts in Austria and Egypt. It was a strong and powerful empire at the time. The start of Napoleon’s downfall began when Russia broke agreements with France. So Napoleon brought about 600,000 troops into Russia to attack but the Russians were prepared and had the perfect strategy to defeat the French army. The Russians would retreat and keep the French marching

In order to investigate the claim that ‘Napoleon betrayed the revolution’, it has to be determined what is the French revolution? And what are the revolutionary ideals that Napoleon allegedly betrayed? If Napoleon betrayed the Revolution then he betrayed the ideals of liberty, equality and fraternity. However if Napoleon did not betray the revolution, he consolidated the revolutionary ideals. The only way of determining whether Napoleon consolidated or betrayed the revolution is to explore his actions such as his military success, Dictatorship and social reforms. The difficulty of this analysis is that Napoleons motives for his actions determine whether he consolidated or betrayed the Revolution.

After Robespierre and the Directory, Napoleon came to power. Though he is criticized for being a militaristic dictator, Napoleon was able to spread Enlightenment ideals, in the form of the Napoleonic Code, throughout Europe. This shows the progression of ideas throughout Europe, and also that France succeeded in using the ideals that the revolution was based on. In this way, the French Revolution was extremely successful.

Napoleon actions in power appear to completely contradict his supposed beliefs during the French Revolution, as he reverted back to former times in regards to his power, his administration, and even his self appointed title of emperor. One could suggest that Napoleon utilized the ideals of the revolution to put himself into power with no actual regard for the beliefs of the people who placed him there. With that said, his prominence as a ruler can be explained through his military might, oppressive and unequal policies amongst his constituents, and his successful method of delegating authority over territories to his family and other loyal subjects. Catherine the Great, in a similar fashion to Napoleon, used her power to deny or limit the rights and knowledge of her subjects, as she did when attempting to keep the dialogue of the French Revolution out of her empire. Her consolidation of the social classes served to keep people in their place while simultaneously giving her more structure and stability over her empire. These rulers showcase a style of rule that is oppressive, unequal, and yet wildly

Napoleon managed to maintain the lesser ideals of the French Revolution. However, he managed to do this by giving all of the former ideals a ‘twist’ of his own if he was displeased by them. This included the fact that he re-wrote the constitution that had previously been written; he partially reversed the relationship with the Church, turning France into a Catholic country. It can also be stated that the way he gained power was against the French Revolution’s ideals: and this was the very beginning! On the other hand, Napoleon managed to maintain equal taxation, which had previously been a big issue, especially for the poor. Distinction was removed and there were no privileges for any parties neither was there a way to ‘sneak out’ of

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.

Throughout the course of history, one of the most controversial leaders was Napoleon Bonaparte. Many believed that he was a tyrannical leader who looked solely for power and control throughout his empire. I believe, however, that is his mission to spread the vision of the Enlightenment and improve the lives of the everyday man within nations throughout Europe. His enlightened beliefs focused mainly upon the idea of individualism rather than tradition, as well as the want for knowledge in the form of science and technology rather than the traditional religious institutions. At the beginning of his reign, France was undergoing a revolution as a result of social and political upheaval because of debt they occurred in previous wars.

Between 1796 and 1814, Napoleon rose through the ranks of the French army, and eventually became the Emperor of France from 1804 to 1814. During his rule, Napoleon took over most of eastern Europe, and other parts of western Europe. Napoleon conquered these countries, because he wanted to defend France, which was very cruel. On the other hand, Napoleon respected people's properties, religions, and customs. When he would receive criticism, though, he would want to restrict them, and anyone else, from publicly criticizing him again. Some people might think that he was a hero, while others, like me, saw him as a tyrant.

It forced French and European business men to close down their businesses and industries. This would lead to famine, inflation, unemployment, industrial breakdown, and financial crisis. And this was all just from one thing. However, with all the good he did, he also did a lot of bad. To start, he imprisoned the Pope in 1808, abrogating the concordat. When this occurred, it also reduced Napoleon’s popularity. As well he continuously centralized all powers to himself, leaving no room for democracy. By definition, this means he became a dictator. In education he abolished the teaching of subjects like history, philosophy, political science, and literature. Napoleon also segregated the education system away from girls because “marriage is all they look to.” Not only did he lead education away from woman, he issued repressive laws that violated the rights of women and allowed men to divorce their women for criminal offenses. He also suppressed and restricted the freedom of the press, saying “liberty was not for the common people.” He brought France into endless wars, costing thousand of soldiers and financial resources. The aggressive wars led to economic decline, heavy losses of soldiers, destruction of property, and isolation of France from the rest of Europe. Eventually his soldiers deserted him because of this and without an

The French revolution was influenced by enlightment ideals, and this revolution played a critical role in shaping modern nations. What was revolutionary about the French revolution was how it transformed the way of life in France. In 1789, the structure of French government was transformed radically. The National Constituent Assembly proclaimed the abolition of feudalism, and the first declaration of the rights of man and citizens was published. Noble and clerical privileges were eliminated. In addition, the complete reorganization of the church, took place in which, it made the Church a department of the state. During the Napoleonic era, napoleon demonstrated a commitment to providing equality of opportunity in the service of the state.