>Napoleon held out the hope of an eventually independent, unified nation-state and thereby kindled the sparks of Italian nationalism. To that end, the day after his arrival in Milan, he declared the creation of a Lombardic Republic. It would be governed by Italian pro-French giacobini (Jacobins, or ‘patriots’) and he encouraged political clubs to mushroom throughout the region (the one in Milan soon included eight hundred lawyers and merchants). He also abolished Austrian governing institutions, reformed Pavia University, held provisional municipal elections, founded a National Guard and conferred with the leading Milanese advocate of Italian unification, Francesco Melzi d’Eril, to whom he handed over as much power as possible.
>Reforms that Napoleon imposed on the newly conquered territories included the abolition of internal tariffs, which helped to stimulate economic development, the ending of noble assemblies and other centres of feudal privilege, financial restructurings aimed at bringing down state debt, ending the restrictive guild system, imposing religious toleration, closing the ghettos and allowing Jews to live anywhere, and sometimes nationalizing Church property. These modernizing measures, which were repeated in most of the territories he conquered over the coming decade, were applauded by middle-class progressives in many lands beyond France, including by people who hated Napoleon. Voltaire’s view that European civilization was on a progressive course was fairly universally held in France in Napoleon’s time, and underlay his civilizing mission.
Benjamin Davis
Exactly. Based Napoleon was not a conqueror but a liberator.
Liam Phillips
>Is he the most benevolent conqueror? Almost certainly yes.
Evan James
hey spain lets team up togheter !
lelelel I will now take your capital
he was an asshole
Eli Lopez
t. Eternal Anglo
Him or Cyrus the Great
Justin White
USA post-WWII
Ryan Ross
No.
There were places in Germany where they've been more free than feudalcuck France for centuries.
Brody Ramirez
This is literally the most problematic thing he did and it pisses me off until this very day. The only thing which makes it bearable is the reason why Spain tried so hard to resist the french invasion, namely that it tried to implement so many reforms and to enact human rights which pissed of the people in power
John Hill
He had some Italic blood, what did you expect?
Josiah Green
He also ended the MEMEpire and consolidated it into a handful of relatively powerful modern states, which in turn were united into the Confederation of the Rhine as a predecessor for german unification. He liberated and recreated Poland. He tried his best to bring Spain screaming and kicking into modernity. He liberated Egypt out of the clutches of the middle ages and the Ottomans
His only concern was for the wellbeing of others.
Juan Adams
Based frog spreading civilization everywhere they go.
Anthony Hall
Its utterly ironic, that the king in whose name the whole anti-napoleonic uprising and the Peninsular War were fought, turned out the be one of the most opressive, incompetent shitbacks that ever ruled Spain. It took a whole six years to piss off every part of spanish society -besides losing the massive colonial empire of course- that they launched another revolution to get rid of him and regain some of the personal freedoms, liberal constitution and modern reforms that the french occupants had given them. Of course now the rest of Europe was begging France (under the freshly installed Bourbons and with most of the original Napoleonic Marshals at the head of their armies) to invade Spain AGAIN to reinstall the old order and that shitty king.
You really cant make that stuff up.
Chase Kelly
>Is he the most benevolent conqueror?
He was the Emperor of the Enlightenment.
He was a true believer in the ideals of the revolution.
I mean he really bought that shit and lived it.
...and then he put a fucking crown on his head.
>sigh
Adam Myers
he has the same physical appearance and personality of every conqueror in history
just compare stael's description of him to jordanes' description of atilla
Robert Scott
The revolution wasn't about monarchy, Nappy crowing himself Emperor tp "protect the revolution" is ok.
Joshua Mitchell
Frederick the Great was better.
Andrew Bell
more frederick the gay was batty
Hudson Rivera
He also re-instituted slavery and used chemical weapons on the Haitian civilian population.
Caleb Allen
And still the best monarch around.
Jacob Jones
there's nothing wrong with either of those things
Carson Watson
Only to appease the French in Haiti so they wouldn't revolt.
Ian Long
Spanish monarchs (who were French by the way) were just biding their days to attack France and reinstall Bourbons (which they were part of).
Napoleon wanted to create a Spain in the image of France, with revolutionary ideas, central government and modernised state so they could stand up to British navy. Joseph was more than capable for the job. He more than proved himself in Italy.
Aiden Miller
Yeah as a black guy I don't really care about that as long as it wasn't racially motivated on his part.
