The historical French leader has captivated imaginations around the globe for centuries as the subject of books, films, songs and poems. As a new biopic directed by Ridley Scott is set to further embellish Napoléon Bonaparte's legend, the reality of his legacy is more complicated.
In France, Bonaparte goes by two nicknames: “the Eagle” among those who laud him as a military genius and force for modernisation throughout Europe, and “the Ogre” by those who see him as a warmongering megalomaniac with a callous disregard for human suffering.
Napoléon’s stratospheric rise to power is legendary. Bonaparte was born in 1769 into an unwealthy family on the island of Corsica, and trained in a military academy on mainland France. He was 20 years old when the French Revolution began in 1789 – within three years, France had overthrown its monarch and declared itself a republic.
After the revolution, Bonaparte continued a steady rise through the military ranks, leading armies in Italy, Egypt and Syria as a major general before returning to his homeland in 1799.
France was in the grips of economic and political chaos, and Bonaparte played a role in overthrowing its five-person governing committee, the Directory, which was replaced with a three-member Consulate.
Napoléon took the role of first consul, making him France’s leading political figure – a position he consolidated by declaring himself Consul for Life in 1802 and Emperor in 1804, at the age of 35.
Moderniser
“Napoléon shouldn’t be seen in black and white but rather in shades of grey. His rule over France had some very positive aspects, most notably in terms of modernising administration,” historian and writer Charles-Éloi Vial told FRANCE 24.
Under Napoléon’s rule many staples of French administration which still endure today were introduced, such as upper-level secondary schools (or lycées), the baccalaureate school exam system, the Legion of Honour distinction for military and civilian merit, a reorganisation of governmental legal advisory body the Council of State (Conseil d'État) and even the French rubbish collection system.
The most influential of his administrative successes was introducing the Civil Code legal system in 1804, then called the Napoléonic Code.
For the first time, the code introduced a single set of clearly written and understandable national – rather than provincial – laws to France, legally defining the status of people, property and acquisition of property, and standardising legal procedures.
The code went on to be adopted in many countries in Europe occupied by Napoléon’s armies, marking the end of feudalism and the foundation of legal systems across most of continental Europe, and beyond.
“To this day, you can see the traces of Napoléon’s Civil Code in so many countries – many European nations, Japan, South Korea, Chile and so on – that you could even describe it as a universal code,” Thierry Lentz, a historian and director of the Fondation Napoléon told FRANCE 24.
The legacy of many of the administrative structures that Bonaparte introduced across Europe have endured. “His imprint is everywhere, every day,” said Michael Broers emeritus professor of Western European History at the University of Oxford, and historical consultant on Ridley Scott’s “Napoleon”.
“Every time you buy and sell a house, or use the law, when you go to school or university, when you see [French police] the gendarmerie or [Italian police] the Carabinieri… the way all that is structured is the Napoléonic system.”
'Warmonger'
However, Napoléon is perhaps best known as an expert military strategist and leader. Some of the most instantly recognisable imagery of Napoléon depicts him on the battle field in full military dress, including his iconic bicorne hat.
Read moreNapoléon's hat sells for €1.9 million at French auction
As a leader, Napoléon quickly racked up exception battlefield wins using successful strategies such as quickly moving his army, rapid attacks, and disconnecting enemy units. “He was great military leader. I defy anybody to find a greater military victory than [the battle of] Austerlitz,” said Broers.
As a result, France’s empire grew rapidly, and by mid-1812 most of Europe had either been incorporated into France, was under Napoléon’s control or was allied with the French leader.
But military advances came at a human cost. An estimated 800,000 – 1 million French soldiers and 2 million opposition soldiers losing their lives in the Napoleonic wars.
Although a skilled military leader, Bonaparte’s ambition ramped up the death toll especially towards the end of his reign.
From 1808 onwards, “You can see his ambition carried him away,” said Vial. “In the Peninsular War in Spain – and especially in Russia – it was clear that Napoléon was waging war for an idea of glory. The stakes got higher and higher, the death toll mounted and the battles became even more blood-soaked.”
“He was a warmonger and a warlord,” added Broers. “For the better part of 10 years, he was at war.”
'Enlightened despot'
Another label given to Napoléon is that of “enlightened despot”. As much as he was a man of his time in terms of introducing civil rights such as access to education and systemised legal processes, during his rule there was no tolerance for opposition.
Hard-won political and civil liberties that came as a result of the Revolution were quashed, press freedoms were restricted, troublesome parliamentary institutions were closed and opponents were heavily surveyed by State police, if not exiled.
Napoléon also oversaw reforms that pushed back social progress. As part of a plan to dominate the global sugar cane trade Bonaparte in 1802 reintroduced slavery in France’s overseas territories including modern-day Haiti, French Guiana and Guadeloupe, where it had been abolished since 1794.
Read moreDoes 'the root of Haiti's misery' date back to France's 19th-century extortion?
He also introduced new laws that gave women less rights than children in some cases.
Under Napoléonic laws it became harder for women to obtain divorces and all property owned or inherited by a woman was entirely controlled by her husband or father.
If would be a mistake though, Broers says, to call Bonaparte a misogynist. He was in favour of girls receiving some education and set up a small number of schools for them.
He also trusted women close to him with “enormous responsibility”, Broers added, such as asking his sisters to rule over regions of Italy.
Legacy
After a failed invasion of Russia, Napoléon’s forces were defeated by a coalition of allies and he was exiled to the Mediterranean island of Elba in 1814.
A bid for a return to power resulted in another defeat at Waterloo in 1815, after which the British exiled Napoléon on the remote Island of St Helena, where he died in 1821.
His remains were brought back to France 20 years later and placed in a grandiose tomb under the dome at Les Invalides in Paris.
Yet, despite the scale of his legend, there are few other public monuments to the man who is arguably France’s most famous figure. In Paris there are just two roads named after Napoléon: Rue Bonaparte and Quai de la Corse [The Corsican’s Quay].
Public reckoning with Napoléon’s complicated legacy has been ongoing, especially since the 200th anniversary of his birth in 1969, “which was a landmark in the shift from a public image of Napoléon as just an ingenious force of nature to a much more nuanced understanding of his character”, says Vial.
French President Emmanuel Macron described event’s to mark the 200th anniversary of Napoléon’s death in 2021 as a “commemoration” rather than a celebration.
“Napoléon left an indelible mark on the public sphere of Europe … but even experts don't agree about what kind of person he was,” said Broer.
He credits actor, Joaquin Phoenix, who plays Bonaparte in the Ridley Scott biopic, with summarising it best: “He said it in an interview recently ‘everyone has their own Napoléon,’ and I couldn't agree more.”
