People disliked Napoleon for different reasons depending on who they were and when they lived, though many also admired him. Among the European monarchs and aristocrats of his time, Napoleon was hated because he threatened the old order. As a product of the French Revolution who crowned himself Emperor, he overthrew legitimate kings in Spain, Italy, and Holland and installed his relatives on thrones, which monarchs saw as illegitimate and dangerous. Among conquered peoples, he was disliked because his wars caused massive suffering. His Grande Armee requisitioned food, imposed heavy taxes, conscripted young men, and caused hundreds of thousands of civilian deaths across Spain, Germany, Russia, and Italy, leading to strong nationalist resistance, especially in Spain where guerrilla warfare against the French was brutal. Among liberals and republicans who initially supported him, many turned against him when he became an authoritarian dictator, censored the press, re-established slavery in French colonies in 1802, and created a secret police. In Britain, propaganda portrayed him as a tyrannical Corsican ogre and warmonger. Among his own soldiers, some loved him but others resented the endless campaigns that led to death and exhaustion, particularly the disastrous 1812 invasion of Russia where over 400,000 French and allied troops died. His ambition for continuous war ultimately made peace impossible and led to widespread war-weariness across Europe.
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