Napoleon Bonaparte Was Not a Warmongering Conquerer

Let's get to business. "My opponent states that the 'Emperor' of France" He was not Emperor of France. He was Emperor of the French. There is a large difference between the two---a emperor of the people is much different than the emperor of a country. In fact, Napoleon was the only legitimate monarch in Europe---none of the other monarchs were voted in by the people, they ruled by the "divine right of God" or other nonsense. "The Wars left France with an extravagant debt" No, they did not. Even in 1814, when the Allies invaded France, it had little debt. Thanks to Napoleon's extraordinary efforts on balancing the budget it always remained stable. "He fired upon his own people with cannon on October 1795." Those people were Royalists, people unsatisfied with the new government (the Directory), and Napoleon was ordered to defend the Republic. What, exactly, would have happened had that Royalist mob suceeded? They would have destroyed the Constitution, a Constitution freely voted by an overwhelming majority of Frenchmen. He had saved the Republic from crumbling and being ruled by anarchists or, worse, the Bourbons. "Napoleon also led the Invasion of Italy, which was just that. Italy hadn't any major armies to fight with and they hadn't provoked France in any way, yet France ordered it invaded." You misunderstand the conflict that erupted there. Since 1791 France had been at war with Austria, mostly because of the Revolution turning France into a republic. Most of northern Italy was under Austrian domination, and they resented that domination. Piedmont, ruled by a Bourbon king, was conspiring to work with the Austrians to overthrow the Republic. When the Army of Italy went through towns and cities, they were hailed as liberators and heroes. When Napoleon entered Milan they threw open their gates and welcomed the French. One might argue that Napoleon eagerly took all treasures and arts from Italy. First off, this was on orders from the government; Napoleon tried to be as respectful as he could to the locals without defying the Directory. Second, how could he take pleasure in looting when he was against it? His punishments for even minor looting was very harsh; one grenadier who took a chandelier without permission was shot. Cruel, but necessary to stomp out any more plundering in his army. "...and subjugated the Papal States." Pius VI and his cardinals detested the Republic; despite Napoleon's chastizing swoop the year before, they openly sympathized with Austria and had made Rome a capital of emigre activities. Napoleon received orders from the Directors to march south a second time and punish the Pope. Once the Papal States were occupied, Napoleon waited for orders. One of the Directors, the hunchback La Revelliere, was an atheist who flew into a fury at the very mention of the Pope's name. He wanted Napoleon to depose Pius VI. When he came to Tolentino to meet the Pope's envoy, Napoleon found himself making a cruel choice. On the one hand was the Directors wish to destroy the Papal government, on the other hand were the facts. Pius VI, 69 years old, was a misguided but harmless old man with the usual papal foibles. Napoleon decided not to depose the Pope. Instead, he would oblige him to close his ports to all hostile navies, and take from him 3 of the Papal States, plus 30 million in gold. He would weaken, not destroy him, and try to win his friendship. "Napoleon also led the invasion of Egypt. Once again, it was France and Napoleon to ignite the conflict and invade first." Because Britain was still at war with France. Napoleon was ordered to lead an invasion of England; he instead wished to invade Egypt, as it was less dangerous. When he was in Egypt, the Egyptians, surprised at his knowledge of Islam, was largely friendly to the European occupiers. In his brief 14 months set up there Egypt had been modernized, and modern Egypt's roots can be traced to this event. "Napoleon also willfully executed the Duke of Enghien after a secret trial. The Duke was formally accused of imparting in an assassination attempt, even though he had taken no part in it" Really? Is that why he "' had sworn implacable hatred against Bonaparte as well as against the French; he would take every occasion to make war on them"? D'Enghien during his questioning at the court told them that he was being paid L4,200 per year by England 'in order to combat not France but a government to which his birth had made him hostile.' Further, he stated that 'I asked England if I might serve in her armies, but she replied that that was impossible: I must wait on the Rhine, where I would have a part to play immediately, and I was in fact waiting.' D'Enghien was found guilty of being in violation of Article 2 of a law of 6 October 1791, to wit, 'Any conspiracy and plot aimed at disturbing the State by civil war, and arming the citizens against one another, or against lawful authority, will be punished by death.' He was executed in the ditch of the fortress of Vincennes. "And also rather hypocritical in that the French Revolutions (of which Napoleon gleefully imparted) where designed to eradicate a monarch and initiate a Republic. Rather, the regressed again under his rule to achieve a more tyrannical despot - an emperor." As I said, he was Emperor of the French, and he did not hold absolute power. The Imperial government was a constitutional monarchy, similar to that of Britain. He did not crown himself out of sheer lust for power; on the contrary he was very reluctant to do so. He knew very well that France had executed a king, and when he accepted the advice to do so he put it in a vote; he was overwhelmingly voted Emperor. "The soldiers themselves, discontented after Austerlitz, cried out for peace after Eylau...even the soldiers were wearied by the imperial conquests and wars...Napoleon conscripted thousands of eligible (and unwilling) men to supplement his armies so that he could wage war and 'conquer' Europe." This is a rather absurd argument. If they "cried out for peace", why did they always cheer him on the battlefield? Why were the conscripts actually eager to sign up? Why, in 1815, when he returned to France, not a single soldier fired on him and joined him instead? He was immensely popular with the army and continued to be until the very end. Let me play the devil's advocate and say that Napoleon was a warmongerer. Then one cannot deny his political/administrative achievements Napoleon's achievements as head of state in France are impressive. The most commonly known is the Civil Code, known as the Code Napoleon, in which France was given its first uniform law code. Others include building harbors, draining swamps, built canals, built three trade roads over the Alps, planted trees along France's roads. Napoleon concluded no less than 16 treaties in a few short months. Unusual for a " Napoleon established a government office to protect France's natural resources and established new water and sewer systems in Paris. He also gave Paris a fire department, improved the opera as well as the modern system of street numbers. He established, not only in France, but in allied and vassal states as well as territories incorporated into France proper freedom of religion, basic human rights, better hospitals, orphanages, and public sanitation. Napoleon encouraged improvements in French manufacturing and farming and established a firm financial system. Napoleon concluded a concordat with the Pope and reestablished the Church and he completely revamped France's education system. He also emphasized, and insisted upon, honesty and efficiency in the officials that were appointed. Corruption was rooted out, and Napoleon also conducted a thorough reorganization of the National Gendarmerie when he took power. SOURCES: -Napoleon: An Intimate Biography by Vincent Cronin -The Wars Against Napoleon by Ben Weider