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That's true. I think Poland is the only country where Napoleon is (was?) perceived as a hero - for a good reason, he was the enemy of Poland's enemies. The rest

That's true. I think Poland is the only country where Napoleon is (was?) perceived as a hero - for a good reason, he was the enemy of Poland's enemies. The rest of Europe considered him to be someone more like Hitler of his times - for a good reasons too - battles that he fought were really bloody, he didn't care about his own soldiers' life, he didn't care about civilians being killed (those were more civilized times and typically soldiers fought only soldiers), as soon as he did away with Catholic Church influence on government he made slavery legal again. Polish literature that made Napoleon to be a hero and symbol of freedom was also detached from the reality. Napoleon indeed created Duchy of Warsaw (Poland didn't exists at that time) but its king was not Polish but it was Frederick Augustus I of Saxony. Polish Legions that were part of Napoleon's army were eventually sent to Haiti to put down Haitian Revolution. So legions that were created to fight for Poland freedom and independence were used to fight other people who wanted the same for themselves (some legion soldiers even joined Haitian rebels). In addition out of 6000 soldiers sent roughly 70 percent were killed (mostly by tropical diseases), only about 400 soldiers came back. So, effectively, Polish army lost all those people doing nothing good for the sake of Poland.

goto11 8y ago
> The rest of Europe considered him to be someone more like Hitler of his times This is absolutely not true. He was revered by many idealists at the time all over Europe. Just take Germans like Goethe or Hegel. The comparison to Hitler is totally anachronistic. > as soon as he did away with Catholic Church influence on government he made slavery legal again Can you elaborate on that? My impression was that slavery had been abolished by the revolution which also tried to do away with religion. Napoleon era was partially a reaction against the excesses of the revolution, hence re-instating slavery and tolerating the church.
- baud147258 8y ago
  > as soon as he did away with Catholic Church influence on government he made slavery legal again I think it's wrong to conflate the two events. Regarding the Catholic Church, removing its influence on the government was done during the Revolution and so had little influence in the post-revolution government. Tolerance toward the Church (and religion in general) was accomplished through the concordat of 1801 [0]. Regarding the re-establishment of slavery, it was done because of influence from slave-holder families, including the family of Napoleon's first wife. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Concordat_of_1801 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Concordat_of_1801 [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abolitionism#Re-establishment_of_slavery_in_the_colonies_(1802) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abolitionism#Re-establishment_...
- BugsJustFindMe 8y ago
  You're both half right. Napoleon reinstated slavery only in places that had refused to stop and just kept doing it after it was outlawed (i.e. the colonies). Slavery stayed banned in the Metropole.
- jhbadger 8y ago
  Well, the Spanish at least certainly weren't fans. One of the most famous anti-war paintings is Goya's "The Third of May 1808", depicting Napoleon's soldiers executing resistance fighters. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Third_of_May_1808 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Third_of_May_1808
  - goto11 8y ago
    Yes, and on the other hand you have works like the Puccini opera Tosca where Napoleon is the harbinger of freedom which liberates Rome from tyranny and oppression of the Church. It just goes to show there were differing opinions around Europe. As another example he gave Jews full civil rights (which of course offended the church greatly), which also makes the comparison to Hitler ridiculous.
baud147258 8y ago
> Poland is the only country where Napoleon is (was?) perceived as a hero. The rest of Europe considered him to be someone more like Hitler of his times. Well in France, I wouldn't say he's considered a hero, but he's well regarded, in part because of pride (fought against all Europe, conquered most of it and nearly won) and also because he had a huge influence on our institutions (legion d'honneur, code Napoléon, establishment of the prefects, baccalaureat) and for ending the bloody and troubled period of the Revolution.

goto11 8y ago

> The rest of Europe considered him to be someone more like Hitler of his times This is absolutely not true. He was revered by many idealists at the time all over Europe. Just take Germans like Goethe or Hegel. The comparison to Hitler is totally anachronistic. > as soon as he did away with Catholic Church influence on government he made slavery legal again Can you elaborate on that? My impression was that slavery had been abolished by the revolution which also tried to do away with religion. Napoleon era was partially a reaction against the excesses of the revolution, hence re-instating slavery and tolerating the church.

baud147258 8y ago
> as soon as he did away with Catholic Church influence on government he made slavery legal again I think it's wrong to conflate the two events. Regarding the Catholic Church, removing its influence on the government was done during the Revolution and so had little influence in the post-revolution government. Tolerance toward the Church (and religion in general) was accomplished through the concordat of 1801 [0]. Regarding the re-establishment of slavery, it was done because of influence from slave-holder families, including the family of Napoleon's first wife. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Concordat_of_1801 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Concordat_of_1801 [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abolitionism#Re-establishment_of_slavery_in_the_colonies_(1802) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abolitionism#Re-establishment_...
BugsJustFindMe 8y ago
You're both half right. Napoleon reinstated slavery only in places that had refused to stop and just kept doing it after it was outlawed (i.e. the colonies). Slavery stayed banned in the Metropole.
jhbadger 8y ago
Well, the Spanish at least certainly weren't fans. One of the most famous anti-war paintings is Goya's "The Third of May 1808", depicting Napoleon's soldiers executing resistance fighters. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Third_of_May_1808 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Third_of_May_1808
- goto11 8y ago
  Yes, and on the other hand you have works like the Puccini opera Tosca where Napoleon is the harbinger of freedom which liberates Rome from tyranny and oppression of the Church. It just goes to show there were differing opinions around Europe. As another example he gave Jews full civil rights (which of course offended the church greatly), which also makes the comparison to Hitler ridiculous.

baud147258 8y ago

> Poland is the only country where Napoleon is (was?) perceived as a hero. The rest of Europe considered him to be someone more like Hitler of his times. Well in France, I wouldn't say he's considered a hero, but he's well regarded, in part because of pride (fought against all Europe, conquered most of it and nearly won) and also because he had a huge influence on our institutions (legion d'honneur, code Napoléon, establishment of the prefects, baccalaureat) and for ending the bloody and troubled period of the Revolution.