Why Was Napoleon Bonaparte Considered A Hero?

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Heroes are people who admired for their bravery, achievements, or their noble qualities. This definition creates several variations and concepts on what a hero should or must be. Heroes could be those who put the needs of others first before themselves or people who serve a higher goal than what most people would ignore or be reluctant to partake. It is even possible that heroes do not have to be noble or have noble qualities to improve the lives of others. A hero that sometimes act wrongly or selfishly can still be called a hero, this definition defines Napoleon Bonaparte. He was the general and emperor of the French during the Napoleonic Era, his empire included almost all of Europe by 1810-1811. He was a ruthless leader, often his goals …show more content…

Heroes try to create fewer enemies than they encounter, Napoleon had to deal with the enemies of the French Revolution. He provided amnesty to the royalists that escaped France and made peace with Britain in 1802 with the Treaty of Amiens. He gave the bourgeoisie, the émigrés, and many classes in France equal opportunity to attain jobs in many careers. He abolished feudalism, religious toleration, legalized divorce, and made education reforms. Then, with the Concordat with the Catholic Church, he made revolutionary ideas coincide with church doctrine. It required the refractory clergy to resign, the new clergy had to be chosen by the state but had spiritual investiture by the pope, and had to swear loyalty to the state. This reduced domestic opposition created in the French Revolution. Finally, the Civic Code of 1804 made every citizen of France equal under the law and secured the property and wealth of all male citizens. As Napoleon spreads his empire throughout Europe, many nations like Italy and Germany benefited from Napoleon. Italy was mostly free from Austria due to the Treaty of Campo Formio and was treated better under Napoleon than Austria. He dissolved the Holy Roman Empire and allowed Germany to create the Confederation of the Rhine, a liberal foundation that eventually led to a unified Germany. Heroes are people that provide a good influence on others, …show more content…

Heroes definitely need to have perseverance and tenacity. Napoleon is well known for his desire to constantly wage war with other countries and his iron grip on countries he has already controlled. In his diary entries, he constantly talks about the need to keep winning battles to stay in power and receive support. This made Napoleon study vigorously on strategy and military tactics, which displays his determination. An example would be the battle of The Three Emperors, where Napoleon lost 9,000 and Russia and Austria lost 26,000. This is significant because he was heavily outnumbered and still managed to win with comparatively fewer casualties. He declared the greatest general of his age. Napoleon was resilient when he was faced with conservative forces that marched into Paris, forced to abdicate, and then he was exiled to the island of Elba. He escaped a year later and when he faced French forces that were sent to attack him, they switched sides and overthrew the monarch. This started at period called the 100 days, a period of Napoleon ruled France until he exiled to St. Helena after his lost in the battle of Waterloo. This displayed the best of Napoleon, even when he lost basically everything he still managed to rise again for