Napoleon’s Reign
“The
Revolution is
over . . .
I am the
Revolution.”
What does the quote mean? What
does it reveal about Napoleon?
Think About This Quote---After We Are Done I
Will Ask You If You Agree---Why or Why Not?
"I closed the gulf of anarchy and brought
order out of chaos. I rewarded merit
regardless of birth or wealth, wherever I
found it. I abolished feudalism and
restored equality to all regardless of
religion and before the law. I fought the
decrepit monarchies of the Old Regime
because the alternative was the
destruction of all this. I purified the
Revolution.“
– Napoleon Bonaparte
Early Life
• Born (1769) in Corsica
to poor family
• Character traits from the
Enlightenment
– Creative, scientific, nontraditional, liberal
– The ideas of the
philosophes influenced his
government, religion, law,
education, and economy
reforms.
Discrimination Napoleon Faced In
Military School Because He Was
Corsican
• Corsicans were thought of as lower people and Napoleon's Corsican decent
could have hindered his advancements because of stereotypes such as they
were dirty and poor islanders with no education or class.
• Also Corsican society had very different ideals and values from those of Paris
which people sometimes associated Napoleon with even though he moved to
Paris when he was nine years old.
• It was also easy for people to realize that Napoleon was an islander because of
his accent.
• He was so worried about being accepted by the people of Paris that he even
changed the spelling of his from Buonaparte to Bonaparte to give it a French
rather than Italian pronunciation. (Erickson 140)
• This is why his marriage to Josephine later on would make it easier for him to
rise politically.
Early Life
• Napoleon was commissioned as a
lieutenant in the French army.
• He was not popular with his fellow
officers.
• He was able to inspire and motivate
the troops under his command.
Early Life
• Studied French philosophy
• Analyzed famous military campaigns and
strategy
• Studied the use of artillery in the army.
• The revolution provided Napoleon with
the perfect opportunity to take
advantage of his knowledge and
talents.
Military Successes
• Napoleon rose quickly
through the ranks of the
French army.
• By age 26 he was the
Commander of the French
armies in Italy.
Military
Successes
Italian Campaigns
In a series of lighting quick
victories Napoleon crushed the
The Treaty
of Campo
Formio:
Austrian
armies
in Took
Italy.Austria out of
the war and placed all of Italy and Switzerland
On hiscontrol.
own initiative
he concluded
under French
It made Napoleon
a national
the Treaty
heroof
in Campo
France. Formio with
Austria, against the wishes of
the government in Paris.
Impact of Josephine
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Josephine Bonaparte had an immense impact on her husband Napoleon, assisting him to
his rise to one of the greatest political powers and military leaders that Europe has ever
seen.
Josephine's social powers and great personality assisted and affected Napoleon.
The emotional ties that bonded them greatly impacted Napoleon from day to day.
It was also her opinions that influenced him, for he often listened to them and took them
to heart.
Napoleon remained grateful til the day he died for her "devotion and self-sacrifice" (Laing
193) and regretted divorcing her for the rest of his life.
Josephine's good friend Claire Rémusat once said that "She (Josephine) acted as the
original link between the French nobility and the Consular Government."(Laing 123).
She would listen to their needs and tell Napoleon what she thought should be done to
satisfy them fairly (Laing 124).
When Josephine was Empress, Napoleon made it part of her job to enforce the new
social code and it is said that he did this because many of the reforms she
herself had introduced (Erickson 240).
Napoleon had many great ideas and actions which Josephine often gave her input into and
had an effect on the final result.
Character Traits of Napoleon Also
Found In Dictators of 20th Century
• Impressive intellectual ability
• Could work 18 to 20 hours at a stretch without a break in concentration
• He was “a typical man of the 18th century, a rationalist, a philosophe who placed
trust in reason, in knowledge and in methodical effort”
• He also had a love for action and boundless ambition.
• He had charisma and could move men to obedience, to loyalty, and to heroic acts.
• He was quite arrogant and manipulated people at will.
• He said, “A man like me troubles little about the lives of a million men.”
• From the Revolution, he learned that he must become a statesman and a tyrant
to consolidate the Revolution and bind together the different social classes.
• Machiavelli, the author of The Prince, would have thought Napoleon was the
perfect prince---the whole concept of the end justifies the means.
• Napoleon made it impossible for the Old Regime to be restored as it was.
• The Consulate had
democratic principles
Napoleon was the first modern
figure to
and political
voting rights,
however,
Napoleon
use the philosophies of the
Enlightenment
seized power for
combined with the ideasoon
of nationalism,
himselfpower
and was
and to back both with military
and
named the First
force in the service of his own power and ambition.
Consul.
“The truest conquests, the only ones that
give rise to no regrets, are those gained
over ignorance. The most honorable as
well as the most useful activity of nations
is to contribute to the advancement of
human knowledge. The real strength of
the French Republic should henceforth lie
in its determination to possess every new
idea, without a single exception.”
— Napoleon Bonaparte
(upon his election to the National Institute of France)
"A man will fight harder
for his interests than for
his rights."
– Napoleon, quoted in Thorpe, Scott, How to Think
Like Einstein, Barnes & Noble Books, Inc., 2000,
p.167.
Used:----Propaganda
1. Rhetoric of the Revolution
2. Nationalism
3. Force
• Combined these three into a
mighty weapon for expansion of
France and of his power – was a
model that future dictators
Followed
• At 30, was a virtual dictator
• Was the end of the Revolution
Plebiscite
(Napoleon’s Use of “Democracy”)
A direct vote by the people on a specific issue.
1. Napoleon overthrew the Government (1799)
• 3,000,000 Approved
•
3,000 Disapproved
2. Napoleon was named Emperor (1804)
• 3,500,000 Approved
•
2,600 Disapproved
He used rhetoric of Revolution to “legitimize” his
actions, but gave people very little choice.
Why Napoleon Had Support
• The leading elements of the 3rd Estate
(government officials, landowners, doctors,
lawyers, bankers) had achieved most of their
goals by 1799
– Had abolished hereditary privilege, allowing people
of talent to achieve wealth and status
– Were not really excited about sharing wealth with
the poor
• Peasants had also gotten what they wanted
– Got their land
– Got rid of feudal privileges
• People were tired of the chaos, and Napoleon
appeared to be the man who would give them
security now that their privileges were won
Class System
• Émigrés could return if swore loyalty to new French gov’t.
• Peasants kept lands they’d bought from Church and nobles
• New nobility established through a meritocracy (e.g., Legion of
Honor)
Economy
• Controlled prices
• Encouraged industrial growth
• Strengthened the nation’s infrastructure
Education
• Nationally-controlled public schools
Government
• Strengthened the national government
• Ran an efficient bureaucracy
Laws – Napoleonic Code
Religion – Concordat of 1801
•
•
•
•
Equality before the law
Religious tolerance
End to feudalism
But women lost many of their rights
• Church under government control
• Religious freedom
Political Changes: New Government:
Consulate
• Overthrew the corrupt Directory
• Suspended the legislative bodies
• Created a new government called that Consulate that ran for
four years
• Wrote another new constitution-the fourth in ten years of
revolution
• Executive branch consisted of three men called Consuls to
serve for ten years
• Napoleon was First Consul and had the power to appoint the
heads of seven ministries, all ambassadors, high military
officers, and department heads.
• This was based upon the actions of Julius Caesar.
Napoleon as First Consul
Napoleon as “First Consul”
a With the government in disarray,
Napoleon launched a successful
coup d’ etat on November 9,
1799.
a He proclaimed himself “First
Consul” [Julius Caesar’s title] and
did away with the elected
Assembly [appointing a Senate
instead].

In 1802, he made himself sole
“Consul for Life.”

Two years later he proclaimed
himself “Emperor.”
The Government of the Consulate
a Council of State


Proposed the laws.
Served as a Cabinet & the
highest court.
a Tribunate

Debated laws, but did not
vote on them.
a Legislature

Voted on laws, but did not discuss or debate them.
a Senate

Had the right to review and veto legislation.
New Government Continued: Legislative Branch
• Legislative branch made up of three houses
• The Tribunate:
a)100 members chosen to serve for five years
b)discussed laws but did not vote on them
• The Legislature of Three Hundred:
a)voted on the laws but did not discuss them
• Senate:
• a)reviewed the laws and could veto them
*Members of the legislative bodies were selected from a prepared list
of a group of 80 conservative senators selected by the Consuls--made the people think they had a say in the legislative branch, but
there were no elections
Quest to Conquer Europe
Napoleonic Wars Begin
• Extension of wars fought during the French Revolution,
would last a decade
• France dominant power in Europe
• French empire grew rapidly, but fell apart more quickly
• Nelson and British navy won Battle of Trafalgar off
coast of Spain
• Napoleon defeated Russian and Austrian troops at
Austerlitz
The Creation of an Empire
• 1804-1814: Napoleon creates
an empire by annexing territory
– Netherlands
– Belgium
– Parts of Italy
– Parts of Germany
• Napoleon cut Prussian territory
in half
• Many countries signed treaties
with France to avoid conflict
• Napoleon placed relatives on
the thrones of several places to
solidify his control
Napoleonic Europe Continued
• In 1803, ended with war with England
• Fought the War of the Third Coalition where Napoleon:
a)Beat the Austrians at the Battle of Ulm
b)Beat the Austro-Russian Army at Austerlitz
c)Defeated the Prussians at Jena and marched into Berlin
d)Defeated the Russians at Eylau and Friedland
*Made his brother Joseph the King of Naples
*Made his brother Louis the King of Holland
*Created the Duchy of Warsaw from land conquered from the
Prussians.
Napoleonic Europe
Napoleon Dominates Europe
Mastered Most of Europe
• Through treaties, alliances, and victories in battle
• Controlled much of Europe by 1812
Free of Control
• Great Britain remained an enemy
• Sweden, Portugal, and the Ottoman Empire escaped Bonaparte’s grip
Rewarded Relatives
• Relatives put in power; brothers on thrones of Holland, Naples, and Sicily
• Sisters and stepson held powerful positions
Napoleon’s Empire
• Napoleon could put as many as 700,000
men under arms at one time, risk as many
as 100,000 troops in a single battle, endure
No single
could
match
such
heavy
losses,enemy
and return
to fight
again.
even
coalitions
failed
• HeResources,
could conscript
citizen
soldiers in
unprecedented numbers, thanks to their
loyalty to the nation.
Napoleon’s Family Rules!
Jerome Bonaparte  King of Westphalia.
Joseph Bonaparte  King of Spain
Louise Bonaparte  King of Holland
Pauline Bonaparte  Princess of Italy
Napoléon Francis Joseph
Charles (son) King of
Rome
e Elisa Bonaparte  Grand
Duchess of Tuscany
e Caroline Bonaparte  Queen
of Naples
e
e
e
e
e
Next Political Cartoon Commenting On
Napoleon
• TIDDY-DOLL,THE GREAT FRENCH GINGERBREAD BAKER, PREPARING A NEW BATCH
OF KINGS.
The maker of kings
This famous caricature was both adapted and changed in France in 1815 and given
the following title:Four des Alliés ou le Corse près à être cuit/ the Oven of the Allies
or the Corsican ready to be baked (see C. Clerc, p. 247, n° 119).
• Gillray's original print refers to the creation of the Rhine Federation in 1806 thanks
to which Napoleon (who remains general Buonaparte for the English) put an end to
the Holy Roman German Empire and created a series of allied Kingdoms of France:
Wurtemberg, Bavaria, Saxony, Westphalia.
• Criticism is addressed to the "usurper" and to the little kings of Germany baked by
Napoleon alike.
Council of State
• Contained men of high technical abilities
supported by younger men to be trained in
becoming higher civil servants
• By 1811, the Council of State was in charge of
over 300 civil servants who supervised
financial, legal, military, and domestic affairs
• This was the start of the French bureaucracy
and still exists today.
Civil Code or Code Napoleon
• Created a uniform code of law
• Recognized the principles of
equality before the law,
freedom of thought, and the
supremacy of the state--ORDER AND SECURITY---Hobbes
• There were regulations on all
aspects of life---marriage,
inheritance, property, etc…
• One of the negatives was the
power it gave to men over
women.
• The Civil Code treated women
as irresponsible minors.
Napoleonic Code
• The code was a reform
of civil law in France. It
1.would
Safeguarded
all forms of property
eventually
2. Employment was based on talent not birth
spread to the rest of
3. Merit based pay
4.Europe.
Workers’ organizations were forbidden
5. Men were granted extensive control of their
families
5. Divorce was made difficult for women
Code Napoleon, 1804
a
It divides civil law into:



Personal status.
Property.
The acquisition of
property.
a
Its purpose was to reform the French
legal code to reflect the principles of
the Fr. Revolution.
a
Create one law code for France.
Napoleon and His Code---Propaganda
Napoleonic Code
• Made citizens equal in
the eyes of the law--Equality
• Established religious
tolerance---Liberty
• Advancement was
based on merit--Fraternity
• Took rights away from
women—now
controlled by male
guardians
Code Napoleon
• All people were
declared equal before
the law.---Equality
• There were no longer
special privileges for
nobles, the clergy, or
rich people.---Fraternity
Feudal rights were
ended.---Fraternity
• Wives were not allowed
to sell or give away
property.
• Trial by jury was
guaranteed.---Liberty
• Religious freedom was
guaranteed.---Liberty
• Parents were given
power over their
children.
• Fathers were allowed to
imprison their children
for any time up to a
month.
Napoleon Wrote About The Civil Code
• “My glory consists not of having
won forty battles ;that which
nothing will erase, that which will
live eternally, is my Civil Code and
the Minutes of the State Council."
The Influence of the Napoleonic Code
Wherever it was implemented [in the conquered territories], the Code
Napoleon swept away feudal property relations.
Napoleon and Propaganda
• Bonaparte was not only a warrior; he was also a shrewd
propagandist.
• During his first campaign in Italy, he carefully crafted
reports from the battlefield, designed to increase his glory
while masking the ruthlessness with which he plundered
the country.
• He created his own newspapers — France and the Army of
Italy, and The Newspaper of the Army of Italy, which
exalted his victories.
• Bonaparte himself actually writes some articles. He himself
wrote: "Bonaparte flies like lightning and strikes like a
thunderbolt."
Napoleon and Propaganda
• He saw that his intelligence, his abilities were
more than just military. Not only had he become
a great general, but also possibly a future
statesman. And everybody realizes it, not only in
Italy, but in France too.
• His strategy included commissioning paintings of
himself.
• He brilliantly created a mythical image of himself
– an infallible hero, destined by God to rule over
France.
Napoleon’s first wife,
Josephine de
Beauharnais, aided her
husband’s career
through her
interpersonal skills and
political connections.
Napoleon and Propaganda
• He orders a painting after a victory. He dictates
the theme, the layout of the characters. He even
orders the dimensions of the frame.
• From the very beginning Napoleon gave himself
an image. He created his own history.
• From his first triumphs, Bonaparte understood
that it’s not enough to win victories.
• He uses images to make sure that his victories in
Italy are widely publicized in France.
Napoleon and Propaganda
• Although the Egyptian campaign was a military disaster, Napoleon
was able to exploit the French people's fascination with the
mysterious country to his advantage.
• He used the press to keep the campaign, and himself, in people’s
minds.
• Street vendors in Paris sold pictures with palm trees, with pyramids,
or with a general covered by plumes who harangues his troops and
massacres the infidels.
• Paris theaters produced spectacles about the "Victory of the
Pyramids."
• Paintings of the time show him returning to France, grandly
victorious, with a star of destiny shining over his ship.
• By the time Napoleon returned to France from Egypt in August
1799, he was famous.
Napoleon's Coronation
– Jacques Louis David
From Consul to Emperor
Napoleon placing
the crown on his
own head, instead
of being crowned
by the head of the
Church (1804)
“Consecration
of the Emperor Napoleon &
the Empress Josephine,”
1806
by David
Consul vs. Emperor
Note the plainer appearance of Napoleon when he first became Consul, as
compared to the much more grand scene of him once his imperial ambition
had been revealed and he had seated himself as Emperor
Napoleon on Liberty versus Being
Emperor
• I had been nourished by reflecting on
liberty," Bonaparte said, "but I thrust
it aside when it obstructed my path."
Creating An Absolutist State
• 1804-Pushed a decree
through making him
Emperor
• Shrewdly kept
universal suffrage,
Council of State, and
Legislative Branch
• Set up the Ministry of
Police who used
ruthless methods to
destroy political
opponents
• Imposed strict
censorship on all
critical writings
• Napoleon also controlled the
press, dropping the number of
newspapers in Paris from over
sixty in 1799 to four by 1814.
• Trial by jury was stopped
• Special courts were set up to
deal with counterfeiting,
smuggling, robbery, and
rebellion
• Used branding, torture, and
execution
• But because Napoleon was a
dedicated leader who worked
18 hour days, listened to the
advice of others, and provided
political and economic
stability, the people accepted
all of this.***This happens
again with Hitler!
Napoleon Primary Source Quotes
• “It is not what is true that counts, but
what people think is true.”
• “The ignorant class will no longer
exercise their influence on making laws
or on government.”
Political Changes in France Under
Napoleon
• Consolidation of his own
power
• Strengthening of the
central government
• New slogans: Order,
Security, and Efficiency
• No longer: Liberty,
Equality, Fraternity
The Corsican Crocodile Dissolving The Council of
Frogs (State)
• Political Cartoon making
criticizing Napoleon’s
creation of an absolutist
state.
The Imperial Image
Napoleon the Emperor
Napoleon on Rebuilding France
• "Now we must rebuild, and,
moreover, we must rebuild solidly,"
said Napoleon to his brother Lucien
the day after the coup d'etat which
had overthrown the Directory and
made him the temporary Dictator of
France.
Economic Reforms
•
•
•
•
•
Regulation of economy
Encouraged new industry
Regulated prices,
Built canals and roads
He reformed the French taxation system bringing to his
imperial coffers almost 700 million francs annually.
• The sources for the money came from taxes on income
and a series of levies on goods - such as wine, tobacco
and salt.
Economic: Tax Reform
• Most important of all the financial measures was the
reorganization of the system of taxation.
• The First Consul insisted that the taxes must meet the whole
expense of the nation, save war, which must pay for itself; and
he so ordered affairs that never, after his administration was
fairly begun, was a deficit known or a loan made.
• This was done, too, without the people feeling the burden of
taxation.
• Indeed, that burden was so much lighter under his
administration that it had been under the old regime, that
peasant and workman, in most cases, probably did not know
they were being taxed.
Economic Tax Reform
• Before 1789," says Taine, "out of one hundred francs of net revenue, the
workman gave fourteen to his seignor, fourteen to the clergy, fifty-three to the
state, and kept only eighteen or nineteen for himself. ”
• “Since 1800, from one hundred francs income he pays nothing to the seignor or
the Church, and he pays to the state, the department, and the commune but
twenty-one francs, leaving seventy-nine in his pocket."
• And such was the method and care with which this system was administered,
that the state received more than twice as much as it had before.
• The enormous sums which the police and tax-collectors had appropriated now
went to the state.
• Here is but one example of numbers which show how minutely Napoleon
guarded this part of the finances. It is found in a letter to Fouche, the chief of
police:
"What happens at Bordeaux happens at Turin, at Spa, at Marseilles, etc. The police
commissioners derive immense profits from the gaming-tables. My intention is
that the towns shall reap the benefit of the tables. I shall employ the two
hundred thousand francs paid by the tables of Bordeaux in building a bridge or a
canal. . . ."
Napoleon on Regulating Taxation
• A great improvement was that the taxes became
fixed and regular.
• Napoleon wished that each man should know
what he had to pay out each year. "True civil
liberty depends on the safety of property," he told
his Council of State. "There is none in a country
where the rate of taxation is changed every
year. A man who has three thousand francs
income does not know how much he will have to
live on the next year. His whole substance may be
swallowed up by the taxes."
Napoleon and Taxes
• Nearly the whole revenue came from indirect taxes applied to a
great number of articles.
• In case of a war which did not pay its way, Napoleon proposed to
raise each of these a few centimes.
• The nation would surely prefer this, to paying it to the Russians or
Austrians. When possible the taxes were reduced. "Better leave
the money in the hands of the citizens than lock it up in a cellar, as
they do in Prussia."
• He was cautious that extra taxes should not come on the very poor,
if it could be avoided.
• A suggestion to charge the vegetable and fish sellers for their stalls
came before him. "The public square, like water, ought to be
free. It is quite enough that we tax salt and wine. . . . It would
become the city of Paris much more to think of restoring the corn
market."
Economic: Budget and Spending
•An important part of his financial policy was the rigid economy which
•was insisted on in all departments.
•If a thing was bought, it must be worth what was paid for it.
•If a man held a position, he must do its duties.
• Neither purchases nor positions could be made unless reasonable
•and useful.
• This was in direct opposition to the old regime, of which waste,
idleness, and parasites were the chief characteristics.
• The saving in expenditure was almost incredible.
• A trip to Fontainebleau, which cost Louis XVI. four hundred thousand
dollars, Napoleon would make, in no less state, for thirty thousand
dollars.
• The expenses of the civil household, which amounted to five million
dollars under the old regime, were now cut down to six hundred
thousand dollars.
Napoleon’s View on Building Canals and Roads
• Constructing a canal----must complete it; it cannot be left
unfinished
• Once the course was defined, he required that the first stretch be
opened entirely before continuing, without interruption, always
taking care to finish what had been begun.
• "It is better to be the possessor of a canal ten leagues long every
ten years than to wait a century for a hundred-league canal to be
completed."
• Another example: opening a road--- The engineers must not tear up
all the existing surface, but unroll the pavement one at a time over
the surface to be graded.
• The completed part could then be used independently of the parts
that remained to be done.
• This system was inspired by the conviction that the community
should profit as quickly as possible from the money committed by
the state.
Canals Built By Napoleon
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
- Saint-Quentin
- From Escaut to the Somme
- From Burgundy (begun under Louis XV, completed in 1832) –
From the Rance to the Vilaine
- From the Baltic to the Seine
- From Lübeck to Hambourg
- From Nantes to Brest
- From the Sambre to the Escaut –
From Niort –
Loire Lateral Canal
- From the Rhine to the Rhone by the Doubs, linking the North Sea to the
Mediterranean –
• Plus a certain number of smaller canals
• Spent Fifty-five million francs
• almost a thousand miles of canals were built
Napoleon’s Canals
• Napoleon had studied at the Ecole Militaire and while he was famously not
from Paris, he understood the city.
• To keep Parisians fed so they wouldn’t riot, he kept them employed.
• As the Depression proved in America, the best route to full employment is huge
public works, followed by a major war. Napoleon did both.
• In Paris, he found that nothing keeps people happy like a large construction
project; the building of the canal was perfect for his purpose.
• Initially intended as a source of drinking water, this canal actually set in motion
an entire architectural shift in northeastern Paris as the Industrial Revolution
gained speed.
• Because of this convenient shipping lane connecting the Canal Saint-Denis (out
in the suburbs) with the Canal Saint-Martin (inside the old walls of 18thcentury Paris), Paris was able to set up important dockyards for sugar
refineries, construction equipment, and every kind of light industry in the 10th,
11th, and 19th arrondissements.
Napoleon’s Canals
• These industrial buildings would soon have a huge impact on Paris
architecture. But originally, the plan was simply to bring water to
thirsty Parisians.
• The head of construction, Simon Girard, was a veteran of
Napoleon’s Egyptian campaign, and the canal went forward much
like a campaign.
• Pillars were sunk to support the canal bed over marshy ground,
while utopian Classical architecture was used at the tax checkpoints
and for other detailing along the canal.
• The Ourcq was almost lost in the 1970s, when planners suggested
paving it over and installing a high-speed highway through the east
of Paris.
• Fortunately, residents protested and today the canal remains a
magnificent place to stroll, surrounded by superb 19th- and 20thcentury buildings.
Napoleon’s View on Importance of
Implementing Reforms
• In a dispatch to his government in 1801, the Prussian
ambassador stated that Bonaparte had spoken to him "with
conviction of the canals to be finished and opened, of
highways to be constructed and repaired, of ports to be
cleaned, of towns to be adorned, of places of worship and
pious institutions to be opened, of public instruction and
education to be paid for�.“
• Two hundred and seventy-seven million francs was spent
building roads from 1803 - 1814
Napoleon on the Importance of Rebuilding France
•
"It is impossible to conceive, if one had not been a witness of itbefore and
after the 18th Brumaire [said the chancellor Pasquier], of the widespread
ruin wrought by the Revolution. There were hardly two or three main
roads [in France] in a fit condition for traffic; not a single one was there,
perhaps, wherein was not found some obstacle that could not be
surmounted without peril. With regard to the ways of internal
communication, they had been indefinitely suspended. The navigation of
rivers and canals was no longer feasible. "In all directions, public
buildings, and those monuments which represent the splendor of the
state, were falling into decay. It must fain be admitted that if the work of
destruction had been prodigious, that of restoration was no less
so. Everything was taken hold of at one and the same time, and
everything progressed with a like rapidity. Not only was it resolved to
restore all that required restoring in various parts of the country, in all
parts of the public service, but new, grand, beautiful and useful works
were decided upon, and many were brought to a happy termination. This
certainly constitutes one of the most brilliant sides of the consular and
imperial regime."
Roads Napoleon Built
•
•
•
•
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- From Mont-Cenis (linking Lyon to Turin and to Genoa)
- From Simplon (linking Geneva to Milan)
- From Lautaret
- From Alexandria to Savona
- From Genoa to Alexandria
- From Parma to La Spezia
- From Piacenza to Genoa
- From Paris to Madrid by Bayonne
- From Paris to Amsterdam
- From Paris to Namur-Liège-Hamburg
- From Paris to Mayence
- From Tournus to Chambéry
- Plus departmental roads�
In the area of public works, over 20,000 miles of imperial and 12,000 miles of
regional roads were completed,
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Refitting of Seaports Done by
Napoleon
- Cherbourg
- Le Havre
- Dunkirk
- Calais
- Saint-Valéry
- Dieppe
- Bayonne
- Sète
- Marseilles
- Anvers
- Vlissingen
- Ostend (and the canal)
TOTAL COST BETWEEN 1804 AND 1813: Fifty-five million francs
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Bridges Built by Napoleon
- Scrivia (Italy)
- Tours
- Tilsit (in Lyon)
- Isère
- La Durance
- Bordeaux
- Moissac, Agen, etc.
Bridge and wharfs in Rouen
- Roanne
- Givet
- Vey
- Arves
- Sèvres
- Saint-Cloud�
TOTAL COST BETWEEN 1804 AND 1813: Thirty-one million francs
Economic: Support of Factories
• His policy was one of protection.
• He would have France make everything she wanted, and sell to her
neighbors, but never buy from them---Mercantilism
• To stimulate the factories, which in 1799 were as nearly bankrupt
as the public treasury, he visited the factories himself to learn their
needs.
• He gave liberal orders, and urged, even commanded, his associates
to do the same.
• At one time, anxious to aid the batiste factories of Flanders, he
tried to force Josephine to give up cotton goods and to set the
fashion in favor of the batistes; but she made such an outcry that he
was obliged to abandon the idea.
• For the same reason he wrote to his sister Eliza: "I beg that you will
allow your court to wear nothing but silks and cambrics, and that
you will exclude all cottons and muslins, in order to favor French
industry."
Economic: Cotton Factories
• To introduce cotton-making into the country
was one of his chief industrial ambitions.
• At the beginning of the century it was printed in
all the factories of France, but nothing more.
• He proposed to the Council of State to prohibit
the importation of cotton thread and the woven
goods.
• There was a strong opposition, but he carried
his point.
Economic: Agriculture
• In a similar way he encouraged agriculture;
especially was he anxious that France should
raise all her own articles of diet.
• He had Berthollet look into maple and turnip
sugar, and he did at last succeed in persuading
the people to use beet sugar; though he never
convinced them that Swiss tea equalled
Chinese, or that chicory was as good as coffee.
Economic Reforms
• Set up a special bank to guarantee 5% interest
rates on bonds
• Set up the Bank of France to issue bank notes
• Silver and gold coins were standardized
• Provided financial stability
• Industrial and commercial growth began
Napoleon Established the
Banque de France, 1800
Economic Reforms
• Think tanks" and research centers
were established in France to work
on projects vital for national
economy.
• An Industrial Board was organized to
provide data and information to
French Industry, as exemplified by
the success of the sugar beet farming
and the canning industry.
• The Convention had earlier organized
public welfare so as to eliminate
poverty, vagabondage, and begging.
• Under Napoleon there was greater
centralization of activity:
o Each arrondissement had a ''central
committee of charity" presided over
by the prefect or subprefect.
o Public soup kitchens were organized
to help the needy, but in general the
regime favored private rather than
public charity, by charitable societies
like those of the ancien regime.
o In 1808 begging was forbidden, and
the penal code of 1810 organized its
judicial repression.
o Foundlings and orphans were
assisted by legislation in 1811.
Examples of policies and actions of Napoleon
which were consistent with the ideals of the
Revolution
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Equality under the law
No legal distinctions between social classes
Merit based government offices
Napoleonic Code
– Unified legal system
– Freedom of religion and occupation
• All citizens taxed equally
• Set up Lyceés (government-run schools)
Examples of policies and actions of Napoleon
which were inconsistent with the ideals of
the Revolution
• Napoleon was a dictator
• Was censorship and repression
• Labor unions forbidden and the rights of
employers far greater than the rights of
workers
• Did not give full equality to all
• Men had extensive control over their families
Results of Napoleon and the
French Revolution
• In France, it ended the Old Regime permanently
– Ended feudalism and established a written constitution
• France was no longer the most powerful nation in Europe
– Britain was
• The political boundaries of Europe were redefined
• Was the beginning of strong nationalism which spread
throughout Europe and was sparked by Napoleon
• After defeat of Napoleon, was a general peace that lasted
100 years
• Ideas of the Revolution and radicalism had been spread
throughout Europe
Think About This Quote---Do You Agree---Why
or Why Not?
"I closed the gulf of anarchy and brought
order out of chaos. I rewarded merit
regardless of birth or wealth, wherever I
found it. I abolished feudalism and
restored equality to all regardless of
religion and before the law. I fought the
decrepit monarchies of the Old Regime
because the alternative was the
destruction of all this. I purified the
Revolution.“
– Napoleon Bonaparte