Napoleon Bonaparte Is Napoleon a tyrant or a hero? Initially, Napoleon Bonaparte was a popular military general who was winning several victories. Chaos had risen in France after ending the terrible horrific Reign of Terror. Politicians planned to use Napoleon to accomplish their goals, yet little did they know Napoleon would become the emperor of France. However, as the ruler of France, Napoleon imposed his rule, conducted several reforms, and made new laws that would improve France’s stability.
Napoleon Bonaparte is a highly debated figure in academic circles pertaining to if he was a tyrant or a good leader. The knowledge most commonly associated with Napoleon paints him as an intelligent, successful military leader and emperor of France. As stated by Napoleon "history is a set of lies agreed upon". Which I find to be a very truthful and appropriate statement from a man whose history is concealed in lies. This essay will be discussing how Napoleon Bonaparte was indeed a tyrant.
In 1800, Bonaparte was responsible for creating the Bank of France, which has continued to be the main financial establishment in France. Created so that both the bank and commoners owned stock, this bank created stability for the economy by “supplying funds to enterprisers at whatever rate seemed required by the circumstances” (Connelly, 42). While noticing areas of weakness in his countries, Napoleon also saw a need for change in the exchange of moneys. He began to realize that inflation was bound to occur if hard coins, the most stable form of money, were not used. Therefore, Bonaparte changed the French currency to the franc de Germinal, a form of silver.
One of them is how they treated relationships with other countries. Kamehameha loved to trade and gain new resources, so he monitored the trade deals Hawaiians made and maintained good relations with countries such as Britain. On the other hand, Napoleon did attempt to form a temporary peace with European nations such as Britain, but the peace was unsteady and did not last long, and war resumed afterward. The second difference is how they grew or extended their existing empires. Kamehameha, as mentioned before, extended his power using trade and by making Hawaii into a port city, while Napoleon focused on extending his military power.
He too was killed by the guillotine. Napoleon came into rule after Robespierre and ruled as emperor of France. Napoleon was a hero because he believed in better education for the people of France, he wanted to get rid of the tyrants of other countries to better the lives of people under their rule, and people had civil rights, which they didn’t have prior to his reign as emperor. Others argue that Napoleon was a tyrant because he
Napoleon At the start of the French Revolution, Napoleon shared the same radical ideas as many of the French people at the time. However once he became emperor, maintaining power and control became more important than the interest of the people. It is debatable whether or not he was a democratic reformer or absolute dictator because even though he was able to create stability in post-revolutionary France, he also centralized power around himself. Napoleon Bonaparte was born in Ajaccio, Corsica, an island in the Mediterranean Sea that belongs to the French. His father was a part of a noble Italian family and when the French took control, the family was able to maintain their status.
Following the Reign of Terror, France was ruled by a corrupt five-man governing body called the Directory, which was overthrown by Napoleon Bonaparte through a coup d’état. Napoleon, a military general, rose to power through a series of military conquests and eventually became the First Consul of the French Republic. The French people viewed Napoleon favorably, as his military and political genius would likely lead to the creation of a prosperous and united France. Moreover, they believed that he would uphold the ideas they had fought for during the French Revolution: liberty, equality, and fraternity. While Napoleon stabilized and united French society by supporting the liberty of his people and ensuring equality of opportunity in education
Napoleon Bonaparte was born on August 15, 1769 on the Mediterranean island of Corsica. He attended school in France, where he learned French and graduated from a French military academy in 1785, where he became a lieutenant of the French Army. He became the husband of Josephine de Beauharnais in 1796, but got divorced since they did not have any heirs yet, he married Marie Louise in 1810 and had a son named Napoleon Francois Joseph Charles Bonaparte a year later. Since Napoleon had conquered the city of Rome, he gave his son the title of King of Rome. There are many facts that explain why Napoleon was considered one of the greatest leaders in history, but the main reasons why he is regarded as such is because he was helpful, charismatic, brave and brilliant.
He was a very strong military general, and he extended France power with his “Great Army”. He had brilliant strategies, which helped him win many of his battles such as in Austerlitz and Ulm. He tried to unite Europe, under one French Empire. Napoleon built bridges and canals, that made it easier for people to trade. Some might think that Napoleon took it way too far by attacking Russia which caused him losing a huge amount of his army.
During the French Revolution, the revolutionaries developed a common identity among the French people with the national motto “Liberty, Fraternity, Equality.” Therefore, Napoleon saw nationalism as an indispensable tool to maintain the loyalty. During Napoleon’s ruling, many of the people, who were drafted into the army, actually were willing to serve because they identified the army with the nation (Hunt et al. 659). Moreover, Napoleon not only inspired almost the fanatical loyalty and support from the soldiers by fighting along side in some sixty battles, but also created the spirit of nationalism among the citizens by remarkable series of victories (Hunt et al. 660).