The Cyrannological Hero Of Napoleon Bonaparte: The Tyrannical Hero

In 1797, Napoleon Bonaparte became first consul after overthrowing the Directory and establishing the Consultate. He had many achievements for France under educational, financial, administrative, legal and religious reforms. However, these achievements are often exaggerated. Napoleon was indeed the ‘heir’ of the revolution as he completed much of the work that the revolution had started, such as the creation of a Civil Code and the reforming of the education system. Despite this, he also destroyed much of the revolution’s work.

Despite the efforts of the French Revolution to rid the country of an autocratic ruler, Bonaparte came to power as Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte I in 1804. He claimed that he preserved the goals of the Revolution, which can be easily argued as his rule became more dictatorial as it progressed. Despite his departure from some of the gains of the Revolution, he overall was a hero for the French people. Through his military ventures, political changes and social reform, Napoleon proved himself as a hero. This is not to say that there were aspects of his reign that were tyrannical, but he was overall beneficial for France.

Napoleon was the leader of this revolution to the monarch, then he was the leader of his country. Napoleon supported the revolution and then when it was over became the emperor, which was exactly what they just got rid of but they seemed like they didn’t care, if at all the people were a fan of it. To most people he seemed neither good, nor violent. Napoleons involvement in the suppression of 1795 Vendemiaire uprising in Paris, that brought him into national attention. Napoleon was well known for his temper some would compare him to an exploding volcano.

Finally, the Continental System’s naval blockades impeded European trade and led to harsh economic times (Wilde, 2). These wrongs committed by Emperor Napoleon went against the enlightenment ideas that formed the French Revolution, and even reversed some of their main beliefs (Wilde, 2). The efforts made evident by the French Revolution were denigrated by Napoleon Bonaparte’s wrongdoings as Emperor of France. Napoleon’s speedy rise to power, the lessening of freedoms he imposed, and the many military mistakes he committed completely demolished many of the hopes and dreams of the enlightenment philosophes whose influence began the Revolution in the first place. Nevertheless, Napoleon Bonaparte was a highly influential human being who taught the world many important lessons, such as the horrors that can follow the actions of greedy power.

Napoleon was a very controversial character in his time, some even say he had openly betrayed the revolution. Others say he was an egotistic maniac who abandoned thousands of Frenchmen at Egypt to pursue his own ambitions. Many opposed Napoleon and his outlooks, but the common person in France would soon have a change of heart, as Napoleon did marvelous wonders to the shattered nation of France. Napoleon believed that everyone is entitled to knowledge and education; and therefore he set out on a goal to change education from the old past system to the one we know today. Napoleons new educational system did wonders to the nation.

Henry plunged into needless conflict in Europe, eliminated anyone who opposed him, and became so obsessed with securing a male heir that he engineered a split with the Catholic Church. It was this adventurous spirit that would lead to a decline in both of his key inheritances. Henry VIII may not have been an absolute monarch in the sense that his contemporaries were, but he often acted in a manner that resembled a supreme sovereign. Consequently, his reign seems to have been focused on his own ambitions instead of his subjects’ welfare. Henry VII had won the English Crown in battle in what could be considered a glorious victory.

(Spielvogel, 2007) Life of Napoleon Bonaparte Arguably one of the most brilliant individuals and greatest military leaders in history was the former French Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte. He has also been portrayed as a power hungry conqueror (Chew, 1995). Napoleon dominated both French and European history from 1799 to 1815 (Spielvogel, 2007). He helped remake the map of Europe and established many government and legal reforms. In the states he created, Napoleon granted constitutions, introduced law codes, abolished feudalism, created efficient governments, and fostered education, science, literature, and the arts.

Finally the serious rift with the Roman Catholic Church (which was created during the French revolution) was healed when The Concordat was introduced by Napoleon. Mending the rift between the Church and State allowed freedom of religion and rejuvenated the beliefs within the people of France. This contribution to France ended in French domestic tranquility. Napoleon was not only a great leader, he also was a military genius. As a military genius, Napoleon won many battles to expand France and was always welcomed back to France as a hero.

French Revolution brought a great number of great ideas, but ideas are not beneficial unless they are realized and stabilized. The man to stabilize the concepts of French Revolution was Napoleon Bonaparte. He started out as an Italian general and ended up being one of the greatest historical figures. First, Directors requested Napoleon's support while organizing a coup d'etat. Then, Bonaparte fought Britain in order to benefit France.

These are the same actions taken during the French revolution applied to all other areas. In fact, the promises of these reforms gave Napoleon’s forces supporters in the countries he sei... ... middle of paper ... ...gery he used. Napoleon’s rule was greatly influenced by the Enlightenment ideas, but he was not a “son of the Revolution.” Louis Bergeron considered Napoleon an enlightened despot, saying, “the dynamism of Bonaparte and his rigorous administration revived the experiment of enlightened despotism, somewhat belatedly, since in the setting of Western Europe it was already a bit out of date.” Napoleon did resemble an enlightened despot as he upheld absolute power while encouraging legal and social equality for all classes of people (that weren’t him). What makes Napoleon unique among enlightenment despots is that he formatted his image to appear to be something else. The discrepancies between the image he presented and the person he was creates room for interpretation as to whether Napoleon was a dictator, an enlightened despot, or a champion of the revolution.