Napoleon empires

Question 1

context

Answer 1

• 1804 France dominated Europe and the empire was created
• By 1811 reached its greatest extent
• Population of 80 million

Question 2

Consisted of :

Answer 2

• France up to its natural frontiers, alps, Pyrenees, Rhine river including Belgium (which Danton wanted)
• 1791 - minister of interior, (already achieved by the directory) in the treaty of preshug 1808
• Annexed territories - (ruled from pairs ) an extension of France
• By 1811 made up of 130 departments
• With a population of 44m
• Satellite state (ruled by Frenchmen) could technically keep their own structure
• Purpose was to protect the empire against invasion

Question 3

Why was the empire created

Answer 3

• To create a universal empire of national states under france
• Kingdom of italy 1808
• Confederation of rhine 1807
• Ducky of warsaw
• Creation of an empire helped strengthen napoleon’s power
• To build on the foundation established by previous revolutionary governments
• To fulfil napoleon’s policy of France first (satellite state)

Question 4

Annexed states

Answer 4

• The structure of the French government applied here - prefects and departments
• Brought under french laws - civil code and policing
• Concordant and the imperial universities were extended to these territories
• Taxation system and liability for conscription
• Feudalism abolished, subjects given the same civil rights
• Property and land belonging to nobility or church sold
• Serfdom abolished

Question 5

annexed states - unsuccessful

Answer 5

• The empire was huge and experiences varied
  1. Changes were not all welcomed
• French taxation and - conscription universally rejected
• Benefited only the urban and bourgeoisie class
• Period of french control did not change the social structure in most of its control
  2. Piedmont
• Feudalism has been abolished before the french arrived
  3. Extent of influence varied
• These areas annexed by France during the revolutionary period (1793 - 1799 , Belgium) had longer to abuse the french influence than these annexed later
  4. Still there was some progress
• No one above the law
• Encouraged religious toleration
• Just not all well received

Question 6

Satellite states - military vessel

Answer 6

• Used to support provisions of regular army (army lived off their mad)
• Prussia following the treaty of Tilsit had to feed 0.1m french soldiers forcing them into bankruptcy
• Kingdom of Italy economy ruined by the military and demands made on it
• From 1806 6 m inhabitants had to pay a annual tax of 1.5m lives
• Formed to support 100 thousand french soldiers on soil
• Forced to retreat and maintain an army of 55 thousand men for french service outside of italy (levy)
• Indemnities on statile states meant that no taxes in frances
• Sustained until 1810

Question 7

satellite state - unsuccessful

Answer 7

1. Much depended on the attitudes of the ruler
   - Not everyone was loyal to napoleon or his policy of France first
   - Duchy of Warsaw insisted that feudalism and serfdom continued
   - Jewish tolerance provided resistance
   - 1808 duchy of Warsaw suspended Jewish toleration for 10 years
   - Bavaria granted no rights until 1813
   - Jews did not want to be put under state control
2. Napoleon’s own relatives were not compliant
   - Murat replaced Joseph in Naples (1800) because he refused to establish the civil code
   - Louis refused to implement conscription and the continental blockade in mollaid (1806)
   - Jerome produced a more enforced regime in Westphalia (1808) but refused to enforce the continental blockade

Question 8

effect of the continental blockage on the annexed states

Answer 8

• Economical attack on Britain
• Naval battle of Trafalgar where Britain defeated french fleet
• Made official in the Berlin and Milan decrees (1808) following the defeat of Austria at Jenna Auerstedt
• Annexed states
• Belgium (1795) textiles and manufactures
• But Piedmont suffered at the Lyon side of manufacturing

Question 9

effects of the Continental system on the satellite state

Answer 9

• Imposed 1 sided tariffs and 1 sides restrictions at the advantage of France
• Abolished trading units between kingdom of Italy (1805) and her neighbours, this combined with indemnities bankrupted Italy
• Blockage had an effect on farming communities in the satellite states as they could only see their grains to France at low cost prices
• However smuggling was rife

Question 10

What were the strengths of using the gendarmerie in the grand empire

Answer 10

• Reinforce The power and authority of the central government in even the most remote parts of the empire
• Established control over those opposed to french rule
• Policing of lawless areas such as the Apennines region of Italy and parts of Rhineland which were known to be the centres of smuggling and banditry

Question 11

What were the weaknesses of using the gendarmerie in the grand empire

Answer 11

• Not well accepted in southern Italy and along the north German coast
• Local people refused the imposition of a pulmonary police force regarding it as oppressive and unnecessary
• Attempts failed in Spain so France had to rely on the regular army to assert control

Question 12

What were the positive implications of napoleon’s financial and economic policies on the grand empire

Answer 12

• Removal of privileges, dismantling of guilds system, united custom barriers, rigorous tax collection system
• maximised the amount of revenue that could be squeezed out of the satellite states
• Improved efficiencies raided the tax revenue in Italy by 50% between 1805 and 1811
• Taxes were simplified
• In Naples over 100 different taxes were replaced by a single one
• In Holland a new uniform land tax was brought in and commercial profit taxed at a lower rate than agricultural profits to ensure the support of the wealthy merchant
• Continental system
• Belgium was able to take advantage of the ban on British cotton and the Belgium textile industry boomed
• Mining in the Rhineland did well

Question 13

What were the negative implications of napoleon’s financial and economic policies on the grand empire

Answer 13

• Satellites were not allowed to develop manufacturing industries that competed with french products
• Continental system
  Manufacturers were unable to import the latest British technology
• Silk industry at Lombardy and Piedmont rapidly declined as all raw silk had to be sent to Lyon in France
• Genoa lost all trade to nice
• Insufficient markets to sell manufactured goods
• Over production brought a collapsed in prices and the slump was aggravated by bad harvest

Question 14

Why were there peasant uprisings in Spain 1808

Answer 14

• Napoleon seized the pope
• The application if the concordat of 1801 brought an end to the secular privileges the church and imposed religious toleration
• Ending of the tithe
• Parish priest became civil servants
• Religious festival disappeared

Question 15

Why did the issue of Jewish tolerance provoke resistance

Answer 15

• European Jews saw the organisation of Jewish worship through a central Jewish governing body in Paris as an attack on their faith
• Some opposed Jewish emancipation
  1808 grand duchy of Warsaw suspended Jewish toleration for 10 years
• Bavaria did not grant any rights until 1813

Question 16

What was the impact of conscription on the grand empire

Answer 16

• In 1806 the grand duchy of berry with a population of 50 thousand provided 5 thousand men for the grand armee
• 600 thousand men form Westphalia with a population of 2 million were called up
• 38 thousand were killed
• As french armies lived off the land peasant families living near the mouths of the marching army had to cope with the destruction of their crops, the killing of their animals and soldiers commanding their farms buildings for shelter