Was Napoleon a liberal ruler?
So…
Aims of Lecture
• To identify Napoleon’s
domestic reforms and
actions.
• To explain the point of
these changes.
• To assess whether this
makes Napoleon liberal or
illiberal as a leader.
Potential questions
• How important were
Napoleon’s administrative
reforms in maintaining
control in France in the
years 1799 to 1814? (24)
• Explain why a Concordat
was made with the Catholic
Church in 1801. (12 marks)
1799
Constitution
1st Consul – Napoleon
Council of State
30-40 members chosen by
Napoleon. Could nominate
local and central officials and
initiate legislation
Tribunate
100 men aged over 25, able
to discuss legislation but not
vote on it
Democratic
Façade!!
Senate
60 members chosen by
Napoleon.
6,000
Notables
60,000
Departmental List
600,000 Communal
List
Is this system democratic?
6,000,000
All Frenchmen aged
21+
Legislature
300 members aged 30+ able
to vote on legislation in
secret, not discuss it.
1799 Constitution
• Drafted by Sieyes and
referred to as “short and
obscure”.
• Used Roman terms to
create sense of history,
i.e. Consul.
• Gave dictatorial powers
to Napoleon as First
Consul.
• First constitution with a
Declaration of Rights.
• Created the law making
bodies of the Senate,
Tribunate and Legislature.
• Also mentioned the term
“notables”, recognised by
French as ‘important
people’ in society, i.e.
clergymen. These were
generally voted in to
represent the people.
• Accepted by plebiscite in
1800, which offered a
“veneer of democracy”.
Additional Laws
1.
The French Republic is one and indivisible. Its European territory is divided into
departments and communal districts.
2. Every man born and residing in France fully twenty-one years of age, who has
caused his name to be inscribed upon the civic register of his communal district
and has since lived for one year upon the soil of the Republic, is a French citizen.
22. The sittings of the Senate are not public.
33. The session of the Legislative Body commences each year upon 1 Frimaire, and
continues only four months; it can be convoked in extraordinary session during the
other eight months by the government.
41. The First Consul promulgates the laws; he appoints and dismisses at will the
members of the Council of State, the ministers, the ambassadors and other foreign
agents of high rank, the officers of the army and navy, the members of the local
administrations, and the commissioners of the government before the tribunals. He
appoints all criminal and civil judges other than the justices of the peace and the judges
of cassation, without power to remove them.
42. In the other acts of the government, the Second and Third Consuls have a
consultative voice: they sign the register of these acts in order to attest their presence;
and if they wish, they there record their opinions; after that the decision of the First
Consul suffices.
Civil Code
Code Napoleon
• Before the code was
introduced in 1804,
France was governed by
confusing set of Feudal
laws.
• Key ideas included
religious freedoms,
meritocracy within
government jobs and
ended privileges of birth.
• Laws written without
religious bias and in
French.
• Established supremacy of men
over women. Divorce by
mutual consent was abolished
in 1804 and women had the
same rights as a minor.
• Father absolute power in
families, could imprison
children under age of 16!
• Focused on removing Church
control.
• Allowed religious freedoms for
Protestant sects and Jews.
• Rationalised the laws of
France and was adopted
across the World.
Other aspects…
• Slavery re-introduced in French colonies.
• Livret introduced to allow workmen to be
supervised by the police.
• Also abolished and confirmed end of
feudalism and allowed idea of partage, where
the will was divided equally after death.
1801 Concordat
• Main terms of the Concordat of 1801
included:
– Catholicism was the religion of the
great majority of the French" but
not the official state religion, thus
• Agreed in 1801 with Pope
maintaining religious freedom.
Pius VII, re-established
Catholicism as religion of
– The Papacy had the right to
the majority.
depose bishops, but this made
little difference, because the
• Restored Roman Catholic
Church following the Terror.
French government still
nominated them.
• "Skillful conquerors have
not got entangled with
– The State would pay clerical
priests. They can both
salaries and the clergy swore an
contain them and use
oath of allegiance to the State.
them." Napoleon saw
– The Roman Catholic Church gave
relationship with the Church
up all its claims to Church lands
swing back in his favour.
that were confiscated after 1790.
Clever, clever
Concordat
Religion under Napoleon
• Organic Articles were tacked
on the end of the Concordat
in 1802.
• These confirmed that the
state of France controlled
the Church officials.
• This move allowed
Napoleon to gain Catholic
French support, but control
the Church as well.
Napoleonic changes to education
• Required change to provide
officials, administrators and
officers.
• Also binds a country together,
shared history/aims etc.
• ‘Normal’ people largely ignored,
Church provided moral education
– not equal opportunity kinda
guy.
• Secondary ed. restricted to sons
of notables – taught in lycees, or
military colleges.
• Government appointed teachers
– all shared timetable and
syllabus.
• “marriage is their destiny” –
Napoleon’s approach to
female education.
• Scientific education neglected.
• Imperial University set up in
1808 (Ministry of Education).
University controlled
appointments and tightly
controlled all aspects.
• No freedom of choice
allowed, total obedience
required, lessons followed
government’s aims
Economic Stability
Economic Reforms
• Absolute need for financial
reform.
• Direct and indirect tax
collection redefined, more
organised and done under a
centralised system.
• Land tax still main tax and
land registers updated.
Despite this taxes remained
fairly constant at 250m
Francs until 1813.
• Indirect taxes more
successful, especially with
Central Excise Office in
1804.
• Tobacco, alcohol, gold, silver
and playing cards saw tax
placed on them.
• Salt was added in 1806.
• Revenue increased 400%
between 1806-1812.
• Public banking started.
• Minister of Finance Gaudin a
strong appointment.
Bank of France
• Established 1800, BofF
was a private bank with
shareholders, but was
allowed to issue paper
notes.
• Early freedoms failed
(risky silver import deal
with Mexico) and
Napoleon introduced
stricter control.
• 1803 Napoleon
introduced the franc de
germinal.
• This was tied to the
price of gold, which
gave stability to the
currency.
• Stayed the basis of the
currency for 120 years!
Control and the Police
• My thighs really are not
this big, it’s a bad
drawing.
• Police force used to
consolidate and centralise
power.
• Major changes to legal
system:
– Judges appointed by
government for life and
kept loyal through purges.
– Criminal codes updated,
hard labour, loss of right
hand and branding brought
in. Brutal.
Police continued continually in
perpetuity…
Impact of Changes
• 1810 arbitary imprisonment
without trial brought in
again (lettre de cachet).
• House arrest often used
instead.
• More prisons built and in
1814 64,000 inmates
interned, three times as
many as in 1800. Clever
Napoleon.
General Police
• Minister of Police = Joseph
Fouche.
• Monitored public opinion in
Paris.
–
–
–
–
Used censorship
Spied on threats
Searched for army deserters
Raided houses of draft dodgers
• Fouche a plotter and always
suspected. Not very nice and
ruthless.
As I was saying…
Gendarmes
• Set up to help police,
approximately 18,000 in
France by 1810.
• Reports submitted to
Napoleon daily.
• Information could be used to
bribe and blackmail
individuals.
• Napoleon set up a prefect of
Police for Paris to run parallel
to Fouche – lack of trust.
Prefects
• Established in 1800 and
placed into each
department with subprefects in arrondissements
(sub-divisions of
departments).
• Answerable to Napoleon –
bureaucratic repression.
• Monitored public opinion
and could order house
arrest.
Success of repression
• Any threats removed under house arrest.
• Opposition to conscription was weaker, 90% of
people required turned up pre-1808, less after
defeats began.
• Livret and police stopped workers strikes, striking
was banned and the livret maintained good
behaviour and stopped movement of labour.
• HUGE SUCCESS MAN – WRAPPED UP
OPPOSITION
Patronage and Bribery
Legion of Honour
• A reward to commend civilians and soldiers and
from this wish was instituted a Légion d'Honneur,
a body of men that was not an order of chivalry,
as Napoleon knew that France did not want a
new nobility system, but a recognition of merit.
• The members were paid, the highest of them
extremely generously:
–
–
–
–
5,000 francs to a grand officier,
2,000 francs to a commandeur,
1,000 francs to an officier,
And 250 francs to a légionnaire.
Imperial Nobility
• Set up in 1808 – rewarded for services of state
or military, created title of Chevaliers.
• 3,500 titles granted by 1814.
• Civilians rewarded with large land grants
called senatoreries and annual grants of
25,000 francs.
• Recognised bribery and patronage not enough
on its own, hence fear, intimidation and
repression. Clever.
Censorship and Propaganda
Role of Censorship
• Napoleon recognised the role
and importance of the written
word (comes back to haunt
Louis-Phillipe).
• Press was mouthpiece of
regime.
• Parisian journals decrease
from 73 to 13 in January 1800.
Provincial papers reduced to 1
per departement in 1810 and
official news could only come
from Le Moniteur.
• 1809 censors were appointed
to each paper and by 1811
only one paper per
department.
• Books and plays reported on
and by 1810 half of publishers
in Paris were shut down.
• Going against censorship could
be published by death.
• “The great Napoleon is a great
chameleon” enough for a poet
to be consigned to a mental
asylum. Crazy. Man.
Role of Propaganda
• Take your pick…
• Positive spin on the
people with terms like
‘citizen soldiers’.
• Militiary achievements
exaggerated, i.e. Battle of
Marengo.
• 1796 shown in an heroic
light through artwork.
• Bulletins from the front
lines sent home to
exaggerate military
successes.
• Art used to sell Napoleonic
image. Louvre art gallery
showcased works and
renamed Musee Napoleon.
• Prints of Italian campaign
commissioned.
• Artists David, Ingres and
Gros used as state
propagandists to show
Napoleon in classical poses.
Assess the view that Napoleon was
nothing more than a dictator. [50]
Due in next week as we need to crack
the hell on man. So stop moaning.