Napoleon's impact on France 1799-1815 Flashcards

Question

What was the Imperial Institute responsible for specifically?

Answer 1

a) Responsible for teacher-training, appointments and promotions; all staff were required to give an oath of loyalty and obedience (education becomes political, almost) b) The university standardised the curriculum and tailored it to the current needs and demands of the government. For instance, as France was at war and needed lots of military support and enthusiasm, the Imperial Institute demanded certain military features such as uniforms, marching and music c) Responsible for school inspections and annual reports to Napoleon d) Ensured that there was no room for freedom of thought or expression amongst pupils and staff

Answer 2

o Napoleon believed that women were inferior to men and shouldn’t get the same education: he said ‘the weakness of women’s brains, the instability of their ideas, their need for perpetual resignation, all this can be met only by religion’. Women should not ‘think’ but ‘believe’

Answer 3

o The Civil Code of 1804 granted women marginally more rights over their property when they married; they couldn’t manage or sell ‘immovable property’ but was allowed to possess ‘immovable goods’ in her own right. However, 1/3 of any profit she made from selling such goods would have to be shared with her husband. o Also, according to the Civil Code, a husband’s adultery was only considered grounds for divorce if he brought his mistress home, whereas a women’s adultery did unconditionally qualify for divorce and could even bring a three-month gaol sentence. o Napoleon did introduce the possibility of divorce by mutual consent, though it was very hard to obtain (age restrictions etc)

Answer 4

o Believed that the press should act as an unquestioning mouthpiece of the government: he wrote that ‘I will never allow the newspapers to say or do anything against my interest’ o January 1800: Napoleon reduced the number of political journals published in Paris from 73 to 13 and forbade the production of any new ones. There were only 9 by the end of the year and by 1801 only 4 were allowed to publish. o Many of the articles in the official government newspaper, Le Moniteur, were written personally by Napoleon himself or by his ministers – very centralised o Provincial papers were reduced to one per department in 1810

Answer 5

o A decree in 1808 reduced the number of publishing houses in Paris from 200 to 60, and the remaining 60 had to obtain licences from the police. o All publishers were required to send two copies of every book, prior to publication, to police headquarters for inspection by the censors o Police were given powers to search a publisher’s shop and they could be fined 2000 francs for possessing illegal works

Answer 6

o Propaganda was spread during Napoleon’s campaigns through the release of Orders of the Day and Bulletins. Orders of the Day were simply to raise the morale of his troops, but Bulletins were meant to have wider public appeal, and so were sent back to Paris and published in Le Moniteur. The Bulletins became notorious for blatantly lying, powerfully demonstrated through the fact that ‘to lie like a bulletin’ because a widely used phrase during the days of Empire.

Answer 7

o During the Italian campaign (extending into the 19th century), Napoleon allowed over 30 images of himself to be produced o Napoleon employed famous French artists such as David, Ingres and Gros to depict him as a romantic hero-figure, or as the embodiment of imperial authority o Gros captured the compassionate side to Napoleon’s character by painting him visiting victims of the plague at Jaffa o David’s painting of the Imperial Coronation of 1804 depicted the Pope’s hand raised in blessing, and also included portraits of the Archbishop of Milan despite him not having been there (giving a perhaps distorted impression that his ascension to the role of emperor was legitimate and sanctioned by the church)

Answer 8

o Reconciliation with the Church would help his policies of amalgame and ralliement as well as giving Napoleon another means of controlling his population. People had already started practicing Catholicism more openly in reaction to the dechristianisation of the Terror, so Napoleon was perhaps just recognising this and formalising it (a conciliatory response). o In December 1799, Napoleon decreed that churches could be open any day of the week

Answer 9

o The Concordat of April 1802 re-established Catholicism as the state religion in France, recognising it as the ‘religion of the majority’ and asserting that its ‘worship shall be public’ o The Concordat recognised the pope as the ‘head of the Catholic Church’ o BUT the Concordat stated that it was the 1st Consul’s job to appoint archbishops and bishops, and that the Pope merely consecrated these positions. o Bishops had to take an oath of fidelity to the government under the Concordat: had to wear that ‘if […] I learn that anything to the prejudice of the state is being contrived, I will make it known to the Government.’ – allegiance to government before anything else – bishops essentially being used as internal spies – politicisation of the Catholic church o Priests have to get specific authorisation to make sermons, and they cannot make ‘any publication foreign to the exercise of worship’ – so Napoleon is trying to ensure that the Church is used only to uphold and strengthen it, rather than potentially undermine it through politically-motivated sermons for instance

Answer 10

The ‘Organic Articles’ (which accompanied the Concordat) also guaranteed religious toleration to the nearly 700,000 Protestants and 40,000 Jews living in France.

Answer 11

o It successfully encouraged refractory priests to come out of hiding o However, the position of the Church remained significantly weaker that it had previously been in terms of numbers: under the Ancien Regime there were 150 bishops but under the Concordat there were only 60

Answer 12

o Napoleon disrespected the Pope in 1804 by crowning himself during his coronation in Notre Dame Cathedral, which was very abnormal. Relations with the Pope steadily deteriorated thereafter. o In 1806, Napoleon introduced the Imperial Catechism, which was soon taught in all schools. It placed Napoleon, rather than the Pope, at the centre of the Catholic religion and so caused relations with the Pope to deteriorate even further. The Catechism referred to the Emperor as Gods ‘image on earth’ and used logic very similar to the divine right to justify his rule. o In 1808, French troops occupied Rome and in 1809 Napoleon imprisoned the Pope. There was very little left of the reconciliation of 1802 by the end of Napoleon’s reign.

Answer 13

o A committee to establish French civil law was established in 1800 o The previous legal system was very confused and ineffective because the customary laws of the north and the Roman law of the south were conflicting. Napoleon’s reforms codified the law, culminating the work of the revolutionaries who had already made a number of changes to the legal system. o Napoleon presided personally over nearly half the sessions of the Senate that were devoted the discussion of the Civil Code (so very personally involved) o Some members of the Tribunate spoke out against some of the proposals on the grounds that they were counterrevolutionary, but they were ignored o The Civil Code was introduced on 21st March 1804 (later known as the Code Napoleon)

Answer 14

o Confirmed the abolition of feudalism and removal of noble and Church privileges o Confirmed the secularisation of the stat o Confirmed equality before the law and freedom of conscience

Answer 15

The Code continued to support employer over employee and forbade associations of workers

Answer 16

o The father/husband was confirmed as the head of the family (influenced by Roman Law) o Children were subordinate to their father and could be imprisoned for deficiencies in behaviour (ie being defiant) o Divorce was permitted, but very difficult and expensive to obtain in reality – men could divorce for wife’s adultery, but women could only divorce is the husband committed adultery in their family home o Female inheritance rights were restricted

Answer 17

Implemented a system known as partage (at least 75% of property had to be equally dispersed between all legitimate offspring, male and female

Answer 18

Workmen were made subject to close police supervision through the use of the livret (a combined work permit and employment record) – the livret system was also used by the ancient regime, so perceived as repressive and an assault on people’s liberty

Answer 19

o In 1808, a code on criminal procedure maintained the practice of trial by jury. However, Napoleon didn’t like this ‘English’ practice and the double jury system disappeared in 1811

Answer 20

o Under the Constitution of VIII, only local magistrates were directly elected by citizens, whilst all other judges were directly appointed. However, these elections were gradually phased out from 1802 o Originally, judges (both higher and lower) were chosen by the Senate/First Consul from the national list/departmental lists, but in 1802 Napoleon scrapped this idea and just made direct appointments – more autocratic o From 1804 these directly appointed persons were called procureurs imperiaux o In 1801, special courts were established which had no juries and the power to give the death penalty (unjust and repressive) o In 1807, Napoleon extensively purged the magistrates

Answer 21

o Napoleon inherited from the revolutionaries the system of elected councils for the running of local government, but this system was ineffective due to the lack of communication between local and central authorities. o So, in February 1800, a system of prefects was put into law – agents responsible for carrying out the central authority in the departments. o Prefects appointed by the First Consul and directly responsible to the Minister of the Interior (very centralised) o Generally appointed for merit rather than political standpoint: 68% of prefects had previously been employed by former revolutionary governments.

Answer 22

o The prefect was to be the chief administrator in each department, with responsibility for conscription, tax collection, industry, agriculture, commerce, bridges and roads, public education etc. o Expected to spread propaganda and spy and report on anti-government behaviour

Answer 23

o The gendarmerie had been set up in 1791 to replace the old royal police o The gendarmerie had to deal with everyday law enforcement (eg crime and theft) as well as putting down riots and helping to enforce conscription o They were an elite and efficient professional force, made up of army veterans of 1.75m or taller who had been praised for their good service record o The gendarmes had to come from parts of France other than those they policed (so they were impartial) o The gendarmerie reported directly to the Minister of War

Answer 24

o The administrative police were responsible for general surveillance, gathering information on habitual troublemakers and getting the gendarmerie to carry out the arrests they ordered o They took orders from the commissaire de police, who in turn had to answer to the prefect of their department. The commissaire could also communicate directly with the Ministry of General Police, headed by Joseph Fouche from 1800-1810. o The Minister of Police had to make daily reports to Napoleon

Answer 25

o Inherited old, inefficient taxes from the Directory such as the ‘contribution fonciere’ (a land tax which made up ¾ of government revenue from direct taxation) and the ‘contribution personelle mobiliere’ (tax on personal property) – the latter sometimes cost more to collect than it was worth, due to its comparatively small revenue o A testimony to the failure of taxation is that in 1806, for the first time in four years, government expenditure outstripped their income – so the system of taxation wasn’t updated sufficiently so remained slow and inefficient o Attempted to compile a new land register in 1807 to assess the value of land, but only 1/5 of the country had been assessed by 1815 – very slow and ineffective

Answer 26

o Napoleon did actually recognise the inefficient nature of the contribution personelle mobiliere tax, so from 1803 gradually replaced it with the droits octroi, a levy on consumer goods entering their administration o Napoleon succeeded in his aim of making tax collection more effective as he ensured that the receipts of tax collectors were passed to receivers, who were subject to the inspection of the central government – reduced the likelihood of corruption o In 1806 government expenditure may have soared (naturally because of military costs) BUT Napoleon immediately took measures to counter this; in 1807, a central bureau called the Cour des Comptes was formed and charged with the handling and auditing of the state’s finances – it kept detailed accounts of income and expenditure, and ministries had to ask it for specific authorisation if they wanted to release money

Answer 27

o Napoleon also helped centralise the economy through the creation of the Bank of France in January 1800 – it started with a capital of 30 million francs, and the 200 largest shareholders elected 15 governors and three directors to run the bank – this gave a wealthy elite a vested interest in the new institution, creating more financial stability o It successfully produced and controlled a national currency of mental coinage, and by controlling the sale of government bonds it also ensured that Napoleon could raise loans at reasonable interest by guaranteeing the repayments o Gradually became a national entity, with sub-branches being set up in other industrial towns from 1808 where more cash fluidity was needed

Answer 28

o Opportunities for economic development were largely curbed by the loss of markets in the war: Continental system disrupted France’s domestic industries which relied upon British goods, raw materials, or markets (eg lacked sugar and cotton) o Conscription depleted the workforce – Napoleon had begun conscripting 60,000 men annually, and in 1810 he increased this number to 120,000 o Industrial work was unattractive since workers were restrained by the livret, there was a ban on trade unions, and living conditions in towns and cities were poor – joining the military was more attractive for many

Answer 29

o The new 1804 Civil Code supported the policy of partage (at least 75% of land had to be equally divided up between legitimate children, male and female), which exacerbated the problem of inefficient farming as smaller plots of land were harder to make economically productive o Tenant farmers were often reluctant to make improvements for fear of rent increases

Answer 30

o Napoleon genuinely prioritised the expansion and stabilisation of the industrial sector o Jean-Antoine Chaptal (Minister of the Interior from 1800-1804) formed the Societe d’Encouragement pour l’Industrie Nationale in 1801, a society which actively promoted industry through offering prizes, publishing newsletters and holding exhibitions for the products of French industry o He also established Chambers of Commerce in 23 of the largest cities in 1802, and Chambres Consultatives des Arts et Manufactures in 150 of the smaller urban areas in 1803 o The success of Chaptal’s contributions in increasing technical innovation and advancing industry are evident in the figures presented by Montalivet, Minister of the Interior from 1811-12: the wool industry increased its yield by 400% during that year and exported silks rose in value from 26 million francs to 64 million between 1790 and 1812 (though figures are probably exaggerated)

Answer 31

o Government also prioritised making agricultural production more efficient and systematic: in 1801, Chaptal established Councils of Agriculture, Arts and Commerce in each of France’s departaments o New large landowners developed their estates and agricultural associations were established to share ideas on new crops, animal breeding and scientific farming o Domestic agriculture thriving: the government encourages the production of ‘replacement crops’ such as cotton, coffee, dyes, tobacco and sugar, so as to avoid dependence on colonial production – In January 1813 the import of sugar cane was prohibited in order to stimulate the home sugar-beet industry AND this was evidently successful because by 1815 over 79 000 acres were put into production, with more than 300 small factories being built in France o Montalivet suggested that agriculture was doing so well that by 1812 France was able to export butter, cheese and vegetable oils, all of which had been imported before the revolution

Answer 32

o The continental system didn’t work partly because smuggling was extensively used as an alternative – e.g., the British conducted large-scale smuggling from Malta, using it to sell their goods to southern Italy – and this is despite the number of custom official tripling between 1797 and 1810 o the British Government responded the next year with Orders in Council, which instituted a blockade of French-controlled Europe, and authorized the British navy to seize ships violating the blockade - Britain’s counterblockade was in face very destructive, causing ports and cities such as Le Havre and Rouen to be badly hit o Industries that relied upon overseas markets, including ship building and linen industries, declined o Made countries choose so strained France’s alliances – Russia withdrew from the system in 1810, prompting France’s 1812 invasion which had devastating economic effects through loss of manpower – 500 000 of 615 000 initial troops were killed o British trade with North and South America more than made up for the losses

Answer 33

o Napoleon’s continental system did to some extent inhibit British commerce. The decrees of Berlin (November 21st, 1806) and Milan (December 17th, 1807) proclaimed a blockade, forbidding neutrals and French allies from trading with the British. The blockade did damage British industry to an extent and help spur the Luddite protest movement (1811-16) against unemployment in England. However, the British economy suffered greatly from 1810 to 1812, especially in terms of high unemployment and inflation. – working class unrest, such as the Luddite movement from 1811 o British exports to continental Europe fell between 25% and 55% compared with pre-1806 levels o The blockade also did help to promote France’s industrial progress in some areas o Britain’s counter blockade didn’t completely inhibit France’s economy (e.g., Bordeaux didn’t suffer too much)

Napoleon's impact on France 1799-1815 Flashcards

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