Hero Of The Hour, By Charlotte Bronte: Is Napoleon A Hero Or Hero?

Due to the fact that Napoleon was very successful in his efforts for France, his large ego and desire for power made it difficult to judge him as a hero or a tyrant, despite that the French still consider him as a hero. Napoleon’s actions were shaped by the conditions in France and Europe at that time. He made his decisions based on what he thought was best for his country, but also for himself, showing his tyranny. Napoleon established many important ideas that are in place in Europe and France today.
Napoleon did many prodigious things for France, demonstrating his heroic side. Napoleon was a military genius, and this was first shown through his title “Hero of the Hour”, when Napoleon was given the order by a general to fire into a crowd
Napoleon seemed to do many things for power. One example is when Napoleon set up a three person consulate in France, he elected himself as the first consul, or when he appointed himself emperor of France. Once Napoleon started conquering places in Europe, he could not stop trying to continue. This started with the continental system, in which he set up a blockade to prevent all trade and communication between Great Britain and other European nations. However, this effort was not successful. He continued to make mistakes in the Peninsular War, in which he sent an invasion force through Spain and put his brother on the Spanish throne. This angered Spain, and Spanish guerillas fought back, resulting in Napoleon losing about 300,000 men. Napoleon invades Russia, which ultimately was his most disastrous mistake. When the Russian Czar refuses to stop selling grain to Britain, Napoleon becomes angered by this. He attacked, and the Czar practiced a scorched earth policy, which was burning grain fields and slaughtering livestock so the enemy has nothing to eat. When Napoleon moves forward to Moscow, the Russians burn the city, so Napoleon can no longer conquer it. In an effort to fight Napoleon, Britain, Russia, Prussia, and Sweden join forces. After these events, he is exiled to the island of Elba, after having been forced to give up his throne due to his heavy losses. Napoleon continuously tries to regain power in a number of unsuccessful attempts, the biggest of which is the Battle of Waterloo in Belgium, where he fought, and lost against, the British and Prussian forces. Finally, Napoleon is exiled to St. Helena, where he dies due to a stomach ailment. Napoleon’s efforts to gain power have led to his many mistakes, giving reason to consider him as a