THE NAPOLEONIC LIFE

Reign of Napoleon

Initiation

Napoleon Bonaparte is finally in power as First Consul, and France is his to rule. But for how long? In recent times, luck has not favored the rulers of France, be it Louis XVI and the Robespierres, who got beheaded, or the Directory, which was the victim of Napoleon’s coup d’état. So clearly, this is not the time for him to rest easy.

Immediately after coming to power, Napoleon’s government issued a series of decrees in favor of the populace which were widely well received. Some of them were - Giving up Versailles for the recovery of wounded soldiers, repealing of a vicious anti-emigre law and releasing the prisoners, declaring public holidays on the anniversary of the storming of the Bastille and the new year of the republican calendar. Napoleon knew that he had to make his new government’s presence strongly felt. “A newly born government must dazzle and astonish. When it ceases to do that, it fails.”
The Consulate and its evolution

The French Consulate was a period in French history that lasted from 1799 to 1804 under the leadership of Napoleon Bonaparte. During this time, Napoleon established himself as the First Consul of the French Republic and implemented a series of political, economic, and social reforms. The main objective of the consulate was to bring stability and order to the country after the chaos of the French Revolution. Napoleon implemented a new constitution, reformed the legal system, and strengthened the central government. Additionally, he modernized the economy and improved the infrastructure, which helped to revive the French economy. Napoleon also introduced a number of measures to promote education and culture, which helped to raise the general level of literacy and education in France. Overall, the French Consulate was a key period in French history that laid the foundation for the country's future development.

The Conseil d’états and distribution of powers

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As the main advisory body to the consulate, the Conseil d’états was established. It consisted of mostly apolitical intellectuals selected by the First Consul himself. The conseil would have debates on the most pressing matters of the country, and as long as they were respectful, were encouraged to be as outspoken as they needed to be. These debates would go on for hours, and occasionally were joined by Napoleon himself. It was here that Napoleon’s intellect shined the best, for many issues were complex discussed about which he knew nothing about at the beginning, but through incessant questioning was able to formulate his own thoughts on the matter, and bring together various expert opinions to a conclusion in the interest of the nation over the interest of a section.

The Conseil helped Napoleon draft laws, which would then be sent to the Tribunate, which would discuss the laws and send their opinions to the Legislative body, which could vote on the laws but not discuss them. The consuls, the tribunate, and the legislative body were chosen by the Senate, which had the sole power to amend the constitution. Thus, with such a separation of powers, Napoleon kept the lion’s share for himself while distributing fairly feeble powers among the institutions.

Domestic Policy

Napoleon’s primary objective in the early days of his reign was, in his own words, to put an end to the revolution. To that effect, he sought to reverse the huge amount of migration of aristocrats out of the nation which had drained the country of talent. He appealed to the emigres to return to their homeland, though on the understanding that their property and wealth which had been confiscated during the revolution would not be returned.

His was the only government which had not purged its predecessors, as every government before him had done. Instead, he invited people from the entire political spectrum to work with him and undertake the great challenge that awaits them – unifying and rebuilding the nation.

Attempt to unify the French political class

“The simple title of French citizen is worth far more than that of Royalist, Chouan, Jacobin, Feulliant, or any of those thousand-and-one denominations which have sprung, during these past ten years, from the spirit of Faction, and which are hurling the nation into an abyss from which the time has at last come to rescue it, once and for all.” Napoleon was bent on unifying the French political class, because he understood that “a house divided against itself cannot stand.” This allowed Napoleon to rally all of the French political spectrum to his cause, which further solidified his hold on power and safeguarded him from internal attacks.
Restrictions on free media

Napoleon was well aware of the power of information and control over its distribution, and he was greatly opposed to sharing this power with any potentially bad actors who, in serving their own interest may act against the interest of the nation. He closed a large number (60) of newspapers, saying that he wouldn’t “allow the papers to say or do anything contrary to my interests.” He believed that any newspapers fomenting discontent among the general public and disturbing the peace and tranquility that his government is working to achieve cannot be allowed to exist, especially when the state is going through such an unstable and vulnerable time. While at a glance this sounds almost tyrannical in nature, it has to be understood that at this point France had many enemies both inside and out of its territory. On the outside, the republican nature of the government understandably threatened the very concept of the divine right of monarchs, the concept which had justified for so many years the reign of monarchs across all of Europe.

 

Come back to your home

The French revolution, which was hard on the second state, saw tens of thousands of aristocrats fleeing the country for the sake of their lives and taking refuge abroad. While they may have been an oppressive class, they were the most educated, and the nation absolutely relied on them. Such mass emigration had drained the country of its talents and strength, and if France was to get its old glory back, this had to be reversed. Napoleon attempted to persuade the emigres - aristocrats, property-owners, royalists and priests to return to France, on the understanding that they must not expect to get their properties back. He was largely successful, as many of the emigres returned, and were even given high positions in the government, though some remained indifferent to politics. But one thing was clear, the intolerance, savagery and brutality were now a thing of the past, and a new era had begun, which took from the best parts of the revolution and of the monarchy, to give a new form of government, largely meritocratic in nature.

Foreign Policy. Peace letters to Austria and Britain. Condolences to the Bourbon ruler.

In only his first week as First Consul, Napoleon wrote letters to both Emperor Francis of Austria, and King George III of England, proposing peace. This, in itself, paints quite a clear picture of Napoleon’s intentions regarding war. He understood the huge toll wars take on nations, and did not want any more of them, though, as his battle record undeniably proves, he was quite ready for them at any moment. “I venture to declare that the fate of all civilized nations is concerned in the termination of a war which kindles a conflagration over the whole world,” he wrote in the letter to the English king. The Russians had dropped out of the second coalition after their crushing defeat at the hands of General André Masséna, which led the Austrians to enter into the peace negotiations, which went on for months but ended ultimately without success.

The Church

To further consolidate his hold on power, Napoleon decided to reinstate in the nation the old foundations of religion. The Church, as the second estate, was one of the worst hit by the revolution. During the revolution, the Church saw its power, wealth and assets snatched away, and given to the government, or auctioned off. The Jacobin government saw Christianity as an instrument of oppression of the third estate, and wholly rejected the religion, and instead found a new national religion, called “I don’t remember the name”. But although the Clergy was an oppressive system, the common people of France had not abandoned the religion of their fathers and forefathers. Afterall, it was the Church, and not God who had been oppressing them. Essentially in an effort to appease the common populace, Napoleon reached out to the Pope regarding the matter of reinstating the Church as the official religion of France.

It is important to understand that Napoleon himself was not the least bit religious. The Egyptian campaign was evidence of Napoleon’s pragmatic view of religion, where he spoke in a Quoranian way, and presented himself as the messenger of Allah sent to rid the people of their mamluk oppressors. On another occasion, he had remarked that if he ruled over Jews, he would rebuild the Temple of Solomon. Thus, while Napoleon was not big on religion himself, he perfectly understood how powerful a force it is, and its utility in binding people to a common cause, or even in a smooth running of society. “Society is impossible without inequality, inequality intolerable without a moral code, and a moral code unacceptable without religion”, he observed.

Negotiations were carried out with the Vatican in secret and went on for a whole year, with a total of 1279 documents sent back and forth in the process. Thus, Christianity was once again the formal religion of France. The reinstating of Christianity as the national religion of France was one of the most popular moves by Napoleon - though it was not without heavy opposition, especially from the army - and significantly deepened his support in the country.

 

Make France Safe Again - Crushing the rural brigandage

The rural areas of France had long struggled with lawlessness, but in recent years, the problem had worsened following the revolution. Robberies, murders, and chaos were rampant. Past regimes had attempted to address the issue, but Napoleon took a more decisive approach. He increased the number of local police and raised their salaries. The government was ruthless in their efforts to deal with rural banditry, which included common thieves, royalist rebels, and hardened criminals. Napoleon's approach was to punish criminals severely and infrequently, but in this case, the government punished criminals both severely and frequently. Suspects were deported, and those found guilty were often given the death sentence. The government's crackdown on criminals brought about a significant improvement in the situation, and the nation saw a drastic decrease in countryside crime. When Napoleon came to power, 40% of France was under martial law, but within three years, it was safe to travel through the country again. This greatly added to the government's popularity and stability.

The Civil Code

“My glory is not that I won forty battles and dictated the law to kings… Waterloo wipes out the memory of all my victories… But what will be wiped out by nothing and will live forever is my Civil Code.”

Napoleon’s greatest achievement as emperor was undoubtedly The Civil Code, which is considered a landmark achievement in legal history and is studied to this day. The Civil Code, largely developed by the second consul, Cambaceres, was a comprehensive legal code enacted in 1904 during his rule as Emperor of france. The code was based on the principles of equality and individual rights, and it abolished feudalism and privileges based on birth.

The Napoleonic Code covered a wide range of legal topics, including property rights, contracts, marriage and divorce, and inheritance. It also established the principle of civil equality, which stated that all citizens were equal before the law and had the same rights and duties. The code was influential in the development of legal systems in many other countries, particularly in Europe and Latin America. Many countries such as Spain, Italy, Portugal, Belgium, the Netherlands, and many Latin American countries adopted the Napoleonic Code as the basis of their legal systems, leading to its widespread influence.

The Napoleonic Code was widely admired for its clarity and simplicity, as it provided a clear and concise framework for legal matters. It also abolished the use of feudal privileges, which had been a major source of inequality in the previous legal system. Additionally, the code brought a sense of uniformity and consistency in the legal system, making it easier for citizens to understand and navigate the legal system.

One major criticism about the code is for its strict rules on marriage and divorce which did not adequately protect women’s rights. Women were not considered equal to men and were not allowed to own property, inherit or seek divorce without the consent of their husbands. Napoleon saw a family as the basic unit of a functioning society and wanted to strengthen familial ties. To that end, he gave paterfamilias significant power. For example - they could have their children arrested for disobedience and could even kill their cheating wives without legal repercussions. These laws, however sexist by modern western standards, were Napoleon’s answer for empowering families, and have to be understood in context of the time.

School Reforms

Napoleon made considerable reforms in the education system. Being a scholar himself, he showed serious consideration in designing the education system. He took a conservative approach to primary education, putting it back in the hands of the clergy, presumably to instill uniform moral values in children at a young age. In secondary education however, which started from age eleven, he took a rather revolutionary approach. He passed a law setting up 45 lycees (state secondary schools) which operated quite differently from the incumbent system. These lycees were created with the primary objective of producing future soldiers, diplomats, and scholars who would have the requisite skills to effectively serve the nation. These schools took a more pragmatic approach towards educating their students, and taught Greek, logic, ethics, mathematics and physics among other subjects. The Lyceeswere free from the influence of the Church, in favor of a more free thinking and logical education. Students did not have the freedom to choose their subjects, and followed a mandatory curriculum. Within one decade, the lycees were the best schools in Europe, and some of them are still considered among the best schools in France now.

Napoleon had grand ambitions for the educational reforms, and planned to institute lycees throughout France, though unfortunately his plans were cut short, long before the world could witness the full extent of their effectiveness.

Therefore, Napoleon effectively ended the chaos of the revolution and guided France towards a better future. He united the diverse political and ideological factions that arose during the revolution and encouraged them to collaborate in reconstructing France as a stronger state, based on merit rather than social hierarchy based on birth rights.