Napoleon was a famous man throughout French history. He became known at a very young age, only at the age of nine. He is no longer alive today, but he lived a long, eventful and memorable life. Although he was very famous throughout history during his life, there were various points of view and other various opinions about him and the type of ruler that Napoleon was. Napoleon could be seen as either a hero or a tyrant, however, there is evidence to support both of these claims. However, in the end, I believe that Napoleon was a tyrant.
Although there are reasons to support both claims, there are various reasons to support the fact that Napoleon could have been a tyrant. This is seen during events like him having tried to invade Egypt in 1798. The only reason that this was stopped was because of him being stopped by Horatio Nelson. Additionally, there were other instances, such as him establishing Government run schools. This was not a good thing because with the government controlling schools, this made it so that the ones who control the laws were the same ones controlling schools.
Therefore, it could have become legal or illegal to teach certain things in school. Three last reasons that I believe he could have been seen as a tyrant are his three mistakes that he made while ruling. The first one being The Continental System. This was when a blockade was placed to prevent any trade and communication between Great Britain and anybody else. A blockade is an act or means of sealing off a place to prevent good or people from entering or leaving. The second of his three mistakes were the Peninsular Wars in 1808.
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During this time, the French marched through Spain to arrive at Portugal, and he then places his own brother as the Spanish King. His last of three mistakes was the Invasion of Russia. This was for one main reason, this being, the number of casualties. At the beginning, Napoleon sends four hundred thousand to Russia for their attempt to invade. At the end of it all, less than ten thousand of all of those troops return. There were a lot of various opinions regarding Napoleon and his ruling and acts during his life. Although there are many reasons to support him being a tyrant, this is not the only thing he was seen as.
Regardless that Napoleon has a lot of reason for being seen as a tyrant, others also saw him as the opposite, which was a hero. For instance, he went to military school at the age of nine. This was something that showed the fact that fighting to defend his people and nation was something that was important to him, and this can portray him as a hero for that same reason, that he wants to battle to defend himself and other people.
Another factor that could possibly be shown to portray him as a hero could be that in addition to his desire to fight for what he believed was right, he also knew when the time was not right for battle. This is seen when he decides to sign a peace treaty with Russia, Austria, & Britain. This was done because he did not think that battle was right or safe for his people. Therefore, he had the brains to do what was best for that situation, and make peace rather than fighting. My third, final, and most personal favorite reason as to why Napoleon could be portrayed as a hero is because of the Napoleonic code.
What this was was the thing that finally established a set of laws that had been a long time coming. These laws were ones that were established for all members of society. These were the laws that made all people equal and made things more fair for people in general. This was something that was amazing and the result of it was phenomenal. However, there were still common people that tried to find loopholes in this new every day law and those that did in fact get away with it.
Although there is much evidence to support both claims, that Napoleon is a tyrant or a hero, I have my own personal opinion based on everything. Based on all data represented, I had come to the decision that I see Napoleon as a tyrant. I have looked over all of the facts, stuff that made people believe he was a tyrant and other things that convinced people he was a hero.
Like anybody else, Napoleon was a man who did things good and and in life. He made mistakes, he tried to fix them, and he was always trying to do the right thing for himself and the people he cared about. However, this question is an opinionative one, due to the fact that with all of the same information presented to multiple people, I could easily say that his bad things outweigh the good things and another person could think vice versa. It just so happens that my opinion is that his flaws and mistakes outweigh the good things about him and that he had done.
Although he tried to make laws better and more equal for the common people, he also established Government run schools. This made the Government control schools and the laws there, and the things that kids could and could not learn there. This is in the complete opposite direction of what he did later on about making laws more equal, and it was not a good thing of him at all to involve the Government with education as much as he did. This was a big disadvantage towards the kids there.
There were also his three mistakes that he made while ruling, the first being The Continental System, the second being The Peninsular Wars, and the third being The Invasion of Russia. Especially emphasizing the third of the three mistakes, because of the fact that only a small fraction of the soldiers sent for the invasion returned (four hundred thousand were sent to invade and only ten thousand returned). Although there are many valid reasons to support that he was both a tyrant or a hero, I personally believe he was a tyrant, and that his flaws and mistakes outweighed the good things he may have done throughout his life.
