Very few men have reshaped the world within their lifetimes. Alexander. Mohammed. Napoleon. You might want to take a look at this article on Napoleon. The author’s thesis is that the world would have been better off if Napoleon had won at Waterloo. I wish he had devoted more time to that idea rather than to why Napoleon lost at Waterloo but the article is still interesting.
I too wish there was more explanation of the counterfactual assumptions being made. Seems like Napoleon winning is a common element in steam-punk alternative histories.
Also note that a number of the comments to that post are from small countries that Napoleon invaded that have a long memory of wanton destruction. Another p.o.v. to consider.
If cultural pluralism and righteousness of character are the criteria, perhaps we should put Napoleon on the ten dollar bill.
Off-Topic, but since France is involved, I will toss it in here:
Moscow Furious After Both Belgium And France Freeze Russian State Assets
This is where I found the story, but there are other sites with it. If you want to know how WW3 starts, look no further. You do not f*ck with people’s money. If anybody thought the Russians were paranoid before, you ain’t seen nothin’ yet.