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Napolean

BA (Hons.) History (University of Delhi)

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HISTORY OF MODERN EUROPE: I

— Kamakshi Srivastava
History 3B
Roll. no. 91
________________________________________________________________

Napoleon Bonaparte’s empire marked a period of revolutionary reforms

both within and outside France. Is it correct to say that his reforms both
preserved (heir to the Revolution) and destroyed the ideals of the French
Revolution?

“We have finished the romance of the Revolution. Now we must begin its history,
looking only for what is real and possible in the application of principles and not
what is speculative and hypothetical. To pursue a different course today would be to
philosophize, not to govern.”

— Napoleon Bonaparte in the Council of State, 1800.

The coup of Brumaire marked the beginning of the Napoleonic Era in the
European history. There are many who see this period as a departure from the
ideals of the French Revolution but many of his dynamic reforms were a
continuation of those taken up during the revolutionary period. In fact,
according to Philip Dwyer, the basis of his popular support lies in political and
intellectual elites who saw him as the Saviour and the larger section of ordinary
people, who feared for the future of France, thought of him as the “Father of the
People”. Although the political system of monarchy was ingrained into their
minds, the revolution did lead to evolution of the idea of monarchy. Hence,
Napoleon’s rise to power saw dynamic changes in both France and outside
which leads us to view the debate on whether Napoleon was the heir of the
French Revolution or he betrayed the Revolution.

Napoleonic Era (1799-1814)

Napoleon’s period can be divided into the Consulate period (1799-1804) and
the Empire (1804-1814). Alexander Grab considers this division important to
note as it is here where we see the republican ideology transitioning into
monarchy.
Consulate Period (1799-1804)
Out of the 3 consuls, Bonaparte concentrated power in his able hands and
became the First Consul. He was the only person to have powers over domestic
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policy, foreign policy, defence, public finance and appointment of public

officials. This period was characterised by a powerful executive overriding
legislature and a gradual removal of popular sovereignty. Trustworthy and
experienced officers of the Ancien Regime and the Revolutionary period were
appointed as ministers by him. In 1802, he became Consul for Life which was
possible majorly due to the Concordat.
The Empire (1804-1814)
Napoleon was crowned the Emperor by the Pope in 1804, beginning a series of
transformations in the political, social and economic character of France and
moved away from revolutionary ideas and became more of a despot by the end
of his regime.

Reforms in France
1. Legislature
Bonaparte initiated the legislation and reduced the Council of State, an
important centre of power during the Directory, to a body which could only
draft bills. The legislature was divided into the Tribunate (discussed bills but
had no authority to vote), the Legislative body (could only vote on the bills
without any discussion) and the Senate (only review the bills and conserve the
constitution). In 1807, the Tribunate was abolished and the other organs only
retained their ceremonial roles.

2. Electoral Process
The two constitutions in 1799 and 1802 respectively paid only superficial
allegiance to popular sovereignty as the new election process was so stringent
that it reduced the participation of voters. The universal male franchise was
guaranteed but the process became too complicated to reach a mandate. When
the constitution was submitted to a plebiscite, the minister of interior, Lucien
Bonaparte faked votes as most of the voters were indifferent towards the new
regime but the supporters of the revolution supported the constitution as they
feared instability in France. In the 1802 constitution, the wealthy became more
powerful in the electoral system and Napoleon was endowed with overriding
powers.

3. Provincial Administration
French division of France into districts called Départments was a revolutionary
idea that was retained. But a new system of chief representatives called Prefects
was introduced who were central agents of the empire enabling greater control.
This system was similar to the intendent system of the old regime. Jacques
Godechot considered the prefect as a “ miniature emperor” in his own
department as they carried out executive functions tasked to them by
government order.

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4. The Concordat

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The signing of Concordat with the Catholic Church in July, 1801 transformed
the attitude of indifference towards Napoleon’s rule to widespread support. The
Concordat helped in providing legitimacy to his power, gaining support from
catholic groups, ending counter-revolutionary forces in France and undermining
the opposition of royalists. The Pope also wanted to reconcile with France as
they feared French attack on the papacy in Rome. It declared Roman
Catholicism as “the religion of the vast majority of French citizens”, instead of
the state religion. Here, we see a debate where historians like Alexander Grab
believe that it preserved religious pluralism in France and allowed for freedom
of religion which shows Napoleon retained the revolutionary principle of
secularism whereas some historians view it as a step away from the revolution
as Napoleon used the papacy to gain legitimacy by the theory of divine
kingship. But we can see revolutionary changes in the form of the “Organic
Articles” unilaterally added by Napoleon in the Concordat which restricted the
powers of the Church and reconfirmed the supremacy of the state, treating the
Church like any other institution in the state. Although Napoleon did reestablish
religious holidays, he also made the papacy give up its claims of the
ecclesiastical properties that were sold as “national property” during the
revolution. He also granted full protection to French Jews and Protestants to
convert into useful economic citizens of the state.

5. The Notables and the Imperial Nobility

This class was created and consolidated to serve as a social support base for
Napoleon’s regime. These notables were defined by Napoleon and included
revolutionary bourgeoisie and rich farmers who bought confiscated land of the
church during the revolution as well as local and civil administrators,
entrepreneurs and professionals which formed the new influential middle class.
These groups helped him implement his policies in their areas of influence. In
return, these notables were guaranteed property rights, administrative positions
as well as education for their sons.
The new imperial nobility was created to weaken any support for the Bourbons.
In 1802, Napoleon granted amnesty to the émigrés if they came back to from
before 23 September and sworn allegiance to the constitution, excluding only
the most extreme émigrés. These émigrés who were returned their unsold
property or those nobles who never left France regained their influence and
Napoleon appointed them and other nobles to high posts to reconcile with them.
This transformed into a new aristocracy with the Legion of Honour which was
against the revolutionary policies of abolition of titles and noble ranks. By
1808, this aristocracy was consolidated into a hierarchy of princes, dukes,
counts, barons and knights.

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But these elites differed from the ancien regime nobility as the criteria for their
selection was wealth, service to the state and merit instead of the old regime
ideals of birth and privilege. Napoleon did bring back the old political culture

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but they became a heterogeneous group constituting the bourgeoisie, the old
nobility and the commoners who not enjoy any legal or tax exemptions.
Therefore, according to Phillip Dwyer, Napoleon wanted to create a nobility
that was “free of nostalgia for either the Ancien Regime or the revolution”
which he achieved.

6. The Police
The main objective of the police was maintaining law and order as well as
suppressing any opposition to Napoleon’s rule. This was achieved by the post of
Minister of Police which was established by the Directory in 1796 but came to
prominence under the ministership of Fouché, an ex-terrorist. He created a
modern police force and exercised control over puplic opinion and detained any
opposition in special prisons without trials. He was made in-charge of
uncovering conspiracies against the state and censorship of press. In fact, Lynn
Hunt described as Napoleon’s entire empire as an “authoritarian police state”
that was so stringent that any criticism of Napoleon or his Grande Armée was
prohibited and there was only one official paper of the state whereas
“dangerous” books were banned.

7. The Judiciary
For maintenance of public order, the revolutionary system of judiciary was
continued by Napoleon. During the consulate, Napoleon and the Senate
appointed all judges, except justices of peace, who held their position for life. In
1801, the state established special courts while in 1802, the election of justices
of peace was abolished and they were nominated by Napoleon. After he became
the emperor in 1807, he purged members of the courts just like he purged his
former republican supporters who were weary of his monarchy.

8. Code Napoleon
It is the most important legacy of Napoleonic rule that still continues to be used
as the foundation of French civil law. The revolutionary period recognised the
need for legal unification but instead passed a plethora of laws complicating the
system. Napoleon released a uniform and concise civil code called “Code
Napoleon” to overcome the problem of legal diversity, strengthen central
control and build national unity. The modern concept of property ownership
saw its emergence as property gains during the revolution were acknowledged
by the state. Abolition of primogeniture allowed division of property among all
sons but one heir may get a larger share which was against the revolution’s idea
of equal property among all. Equality before law, freedom of religion and

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occupation, abolition of feudal rights were some of the other revolutionary
principles that were guaranteed under this code. The notables were the ones
who benefited from the property laws, and opening of administrative posts for
them guaranteed their status in society.

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But this code did not benefit the working class or women. No economic rights
were given to workers. Workers were banned from organising in unions or
strikes. Family, being an important arena of control, saw changes that
reinforced paternalistic ideas in guise of reforms. Although marriage was
secularised, fathers had a veto-right on the question of marriage of his children
and could sent his children to jail by law like in the Ancien regime. In case of
divorce, the laws did not prohibit it like the old regime instead legalised it like
the revolution but only on three grounds of ill treatment, criminality or adultery,
making it extremely difficult for women especially to get divorced. Wives were
considered subordinate to their husbands.

9. Economic and Financial Reforms

Most of these policies were taken from the French Revolution idea of a liberal
uniform economy. Napoleon’s aim for the economy was to stabilise it and
provide for a national credit and fiscal system. He reintroduced metallic
currency and withdrew the paper currency called assignats introduced in the
revolutionary period as it caused discontentment among the people. He
established the Bank of France in 1800 to allow state to draw loans from within
France and overcome any borrowings from outside by the previous
governments. He ordered for a land survey for uniform collection of direct land
taxes in 1807 and reinforced old regime’s indirect taxes on tobacco, liquor, and
the much hated salt tax (gabelle) in 1806. Tobacco became state monopoly and
state drew income from customs, registry duties as well as sale of national
property. The effective system of tax collection was the key to the improving
economy of France as Napoleon rectified the Directory’s mistake of not
creating a class of tax collectors.

10. Educational Reforms

Under the Ancien Regime, there was no need for a centralised education system
as the church was responsible was it but with the revolution, the focus was on
primary education. Napoleon believed that education was the key to creating
patriotic and obedient citizens and therefore he set up a national education
system focussed on a uniform, centralised and standardised curriculum that
trained young males to become efficient bureaucrats. He left charge of primary
education with municipal schools and focused on secondary education by
instituting the lycées designed to train sons of rich families for national service.
He also organised a new body called the Imperial University and placed all
schools under it but it was not very effective as clergy’s role in teaching

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increased even more than the revolutionary period and girls were not allowed
education.

Reforms outside France

Conquest of Europe by France began during the revolutionary period in 1790s

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but intensified under Napoleon. His expansionist policies exported the ideas of
the French Revolution to the rest of Europe and integrated the continent on
what was an extension of the French model of a centralised, uniform,
bureaucratic state. The ideology beind these conquests was what Stuart Woolf
called “cultural imperialism”, that only France had the ability to save the
barbaric states of Europe and modernise it. This was also echoed by Michael
Broers and Marshal Massèna. But as Grab rightly points out, Napoleonic rule
over Europe possessed a Janus face, combining both reform and exploitation as
one of the major reason for this expansion was the economic need to fund his
military campaigns.

Reforms and Modernisation

Napoleon succeeded in replacing old traditional systems of administration with
new modern French model. This began by territorial reorganisation and changes
in governments. He created new states and altered boundaries by annexing land
into France. Napoleon changed the map of Europe by wiping out innumerable
principalities of states and merging them together into less number of states, eg.
Germany went from 300 small states to 39 large states which together became a
part of the Confederation of Rhine and Italy went from 10 states to just 3
kingdoms. This helped in better administration of these areas. Organisation of
the Great Empire:
1. The Direct Formal Empire (pays réunis)- these were the areas in close
proximity to France and under direct control of Napoleon. This region saw
the maximum impact of the reforms introduced.
2. Satellite States (pays conquis)- these included the Swiss Confederation, the
Kingdom of Italy, Kingdom of Maples, Spain, etc. Some of these were
created by Napoleon who appointed French rulers or his own relatives to
govern them.
3. Allied States (pays alliés)- most of the members of Confederation of Rhine
and south German states like Saxony, Baden and Bevaria were included.
These areas were ruled by old royals who had to pay tributes to Napoleon.
These areas were more autonomous and hence showed less impact of
Napoleonic reforms.

The formal empire rigorously applied all laws of France whereas the satellites
and the allied created french-like constitutions and effectively dismantled
traditional structures of bureaucracy. The states were divided into departments

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headed by prefects. He opened the administration to non-nobles who were
appointed on the basis of their merit. Code Napoleon was translated into
regional languages and applied everywhere. This along with application of the
Concordats in different states led to religious freedom and secularisation. Jews
ere emancipated in German and Italian states. The civil code abolished feudal
rights but not in the areas of strong local elites where Napoleon arrived to a

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compromise. Educational reforms were also brought here and implemented.

But the success of these implementations differed from state to state. The
factors on which the success of the reforms depended were:
a. Duration of Napoleon’s rule- the longer he ruled a region, the more
reformed the region was, eg. Italy was very similar to France as it had been
under French’s control since 1790s where he ruled over Portugal for a few
months, evident from its state structure.
b. Structural preconditions before Napoleonic occupation- Developed
countries with strong urban class of professionals were much more
conducive to reforms than feudal agrarian societies.
c. Power of Local Elites- If nobility in the states were powerful, they were
pacified by compromises like fiscal rights over peasants as these elites
helped Napoleon in suppression of any local resistance.

Exploitation of the Empire

Napoleon exploited the human and economic resources of his empire to build
his grande armée and expand territorially. These exploitative measures reduced
internal opposition in France.
a. Military Conscription- This was the most hated napoleonic policy. He
concripted thousands of young men into his grande armée and even though
this system existed in the old regime too , he expanded it to such
unprecedented scale that it sowed the seeds of resentment in the minds of
the states. Conscription began a double-edged sword as the states drafted
more soldiers into their armies which were later used to assert their
independence from French rule and it also gave way to fostering of national
identities in an European army.
b. Tax Impositions- Napoleon based his fiscal policy on “war should support
war” which led to more revenue collection from the occupied empire to
fund other military campaigns. Grab estimates that between 1804 -1814,
these states paid for half of his military expenditure.
c. Economic Concessions to France- Napoleon forced his satellite states to
give advantages to French industries and commerce. He prohibited import
of industrial products to France and reduce tariffs on French products. Paul
Schroeder considered these reforms to be inadequate and a clear departure
for Ancien Regime practices.

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d. The Continental Blockade- In 1806, he issued the Berlin decree declaring
that Britain was in a state of blockade. This was Napoleon’s international
policy to launch economic warfare against the British by prohibiting all
trade between Britain and the French empire. This policy went hand in hand
with his expansion into European countries with the ultimate aim of ruining
Britain through an economic crisis. But this policy failed because the
satellite states had to buy French products at a higher price and sell items to

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France at a low rate. Deprived of colonial staples like coffee and sugar, the
consumers rose to rebellion. There was widespread corruption and
smuggling of British goods in Holland, Iberia and Malta. These
shortcomings led to Napoleon himself compromising his own system and
negotiate with Britain.

Conclusion
Through the above analysis, we can see that there are 2 views on the debate
regarding nature of Napoleonic rule. Although the early historiography was
influenced by enlightenment and romanticism and valorised Napoleon to be a
liberal reformer like Benjamin Constant, there were others like Tocqueville who
demonised his rule. Marxists of 1950s and 1960s focussed on the consolidation
of bourgeois as a class under him. But recent historiography by Alexander
Grab, John Merriman and Stuart Woolf suggest that his reforms were a
synthesis of old and traditional as well as new and modern. Frédéric Bluche
believed that Napoleon was an heir to both the French Revolution and absolute
monarchies of 17th and 18th century and coined the name “democratised
absolutism” for his regime. David Bell considers him to the last of Europe’s
enlightened despots. Furet called his regime “dictatorship of public opinion” as
monarchy under him was widely accepted and thought of him as “Louis XIV of
a democratic state” and Jacques Godechot attributed the phrase “monocratie
démocratique”. Phillip Dwyer believes that Napolean did not give up the
reformist zeal and revolutionary ideals but he detached himself from radical
agenda. Therefore, he can be seen both as the preserver and the destroyer of
French Revolution.

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Bibliography

1. Grab, Alexander. Napoleon and the Transformation of Europe. United

Kingdom: Palgrave Macmillan, 2003. p. 19 -59.

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2. Furet, François. “Napoleon Bonaparte” in The French Revolution: Recent
Debates and New Controversies ed. by Gary Kates. United
Kingdom: Routledge, 1998. p. 337 - 355.
3. Merriman, John A.. A History of Modern Europe: From French Revolution
to the Present, W.W. Norton & Co., New York, 1996. p. 479 - 512. 4. Dwyer,
Philip. G. ed. Napoleon and Europe. United Kingdom: Taylor & Francis,
2014. p. 1- 21.
5. Dwyer, Philip. G. “Napoleon, the Revolution, and the Empire”. The Oxford

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Handbook of the French Revolution ed. David Andress. United Kingdom:

OUP Oxford, 2015. p. 573 -584.

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