A leader and a founder...
Napoleon nurtured an ideal of grandeur which led him to forge and disseminate, in France and abroad, what he considered to be the promises of a new society.
The dissemination of the ideas of the Revolution. Both heir and liquidator of the Revolution, Napoleon believed that its founding principles had universal value. Especially once reviewed and corrected by him. In all the annexed territories, in Italy, Germany, Poland, Portugal or Spain, he put an end to the feudal system (serfdom, seigniorial rights, tithing, etc.). The Civil Code and related codes were everywhere introduced, putting an end to confused and often venal judicial practices. In Catholic land, Church property was confiscated and sold as national property. There followed a change in land ownership which favored above all the bourgeoisie.
An unparalleled conqueror. It is unwise to compare the merits of conquerors as distant in time and space as Alexander, Caesar, Tamerlane, Mehmed II, Cortés… In his time, Napoleon was unique. A superiority such that he was able to defeat his adversaries from 1793 to 1811, and that his defeats are due more to numerical inferiority, to the dispersion of the fronts than to his own faults. The “Napoleonic way” of conducting war removes pre-eminence from principles and established rules to leave room for initiative and improvisation. In search of the weak points of the enemy, Napoleon strikes at all the defects of the cuirass. Around him are often good tacticians, but he alone masters the whole thing. Military theorist Carl von Clausewitz saw in his strategic practice a fair use of intuition. It came at the end of a reflection that had weighed everything, the pros and cons.
A Civil Code. The Civil Code, known as the “Napoleon Code”, was not born out of thin air. It is the culmination of successive efforts to unify the maquis of laws and customs inherited from Roman law and the Middle Ages. A work already well underway under the last three Bourbon kings. In turn, the revolutionary assemblies set to work. On December 2, 1791, the Legislative Assembly announced:“There will be a Civil Code common to the whole kingdom. But nothing came to fruition, and the Cambacérès project remained in the drawers. Napoleon chooses the best jurist, Portalis. Under his leadership, the commission responsible for drafting the Code worked very quickly. Napoleon attended 57 of his 102 sessions. The Civil Code was published on March 21, 1804. It has 2,281 articles. Amended, rectified, it is still at the heart of our civil law.
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The return to inner peace. With the Constitution of December 13, 1799, the 3 million French people who voted for the handing over of extended powers to the First Consul – the citizen Bonaparte – expect him to restore internal peace, and this through strong actions. They will not be disappointed. Signed on July 15, 1801 with the new Pope, Pius VII, the Concordat restores the Catholic Church to its pre-1790 status, even if the Pope recognizes freedom of worship. In the aftermath, Protestants and Jews receive organic status. On the political level, once the royalist terrorists such as Georges Cadoudal were undermined, Napoleon granted a general amnesty and multiple compensations to the Chouans and the Vendeans.
A spirit passionate about science. Napoleon had a real taste for science and technology, especially for mathematics. His pride was to enter the Institute, where he met the most prominent scientists. He constantly intervened to encourage research on electricity (Volta), chemistry (Berthollet), mineralogy (Dolomieu), paleontology (Cuvier, Lamarck), medicine (Bichat, Laennec)… Inventors solicit him:the doctor Dewandre and his chicory, Nicolas Appert and his method of food preservation. But he dismisses the inventions of the American Fulton (steamboat, submarine, torpedo), because they are too incomplete. Finally, an anecdote:in the middle of the Russian campaign, he received theAnalytical Theory of Probability , of the astronomer Pierre-Simon de Laplace; he will take the time to examine it and answer him.
… but a man with his flaws
He restored slavery and plundered the countries he conquered. Certain acts, as well as aspects of Napoleon's personality, have divided historians on their interpretation.
Tyrant, dictator or enlightened despot? What kind of power did the Emperor of France wield? The ancient tyrant, in the Greek cities, seized power by force; it justifies itself by invoking an external threat, disorders. In Rome, the dictatorship is an exceptional magistracy lasting six months to deal with an extreme crisis. The drift will come quickly:Sylla, then Caesar, until a dynastic perpetuation. In the 18 th century, several sovereigns defined themselves as “enlightened despots”, such as Frederick II, Joseph II, Catherine of Russia. They seek to reform their states by drawing inspiration from the Enlightenment. But, fearing resistance and not wanting to undermine their absolute power, they imposed their reforms without the slightest debate. Napoleonic power is part of this continuity. With one contribution:recourse to citizens by way of a plebiscite. From 1800 to 1815, Napoleon used the plebiscite four times.
Ill-gotten works. The idea of a “French Museum” bringing together works of art taken from emigrants and removed from secularized places of worship and royal palaces came back to the Convention. They must reach the Louvre, and the most prestigious pieces will be presented in the Grande Galerie. From 1802, the management of the “Central Museum of Arts” fell to Vivant Denon, who accompanied Napoleon to Egypt. He does a remarkable job. In addition to the French collection, there are acquisitions made abroad. A form of looting:confiscations, forced sales, "gifts", pure and simple thefts in defeated countries. Following the second Treaty of Paris, in 1815, only part of these catches will be returned.
A "War Tapper"? The Napoleonic wars killed many people, but it is impossible to give an exact number. Those of the Revolution (1792-1799) had cost the lives of nearly 500,000 men. Which is a lot for a country of 30 million people. From 1800 to 1815, there were "approximately" 800,000. Of this number, half were foreigners included in the Empire:Italians, Germans, Dutch, Spaniards, Portuguese, Poles... This hecatomb is less due to combat losses than to its consequences (injuries, illnesses). The battles show almost "reasonable" losses:1,800 killed at Austerlitz, 5,000 at Wagram, 7,000 probably at Borodino, at least 20,000 at Leipzig, and 10,000 at Waterloo.
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Workers being watched. There are 1.8 million workers, salaried employees or pieceworkers. But women and children, a growing minority of workers, are not included. Napoleon did not question the Le Chapelier law of 1791, which abolished corporations and prohibited employees from defending their interests by forming groups. He even had these provisions renewed by a law of April 12, 1803:a workers' booklet, placement offices reinforcing a surveillance that gave full satisfaction to employers. But, at the same time, Napoleon created industrial tribunals and reinforced health constraints for public and private manufacturers.
The return of slavery. Abolished in 1794, slavery was re-established on May 20, 1802. A re-establishment which should be seen in a turbulent colonial context. The loss of several islands in the West Indies, Guyana, Reunion and Mauritius, their return stipulated by the Treaty of Amiens (March 27, 1802), the state of insurrection of Saint-Domingue imposed put it in order. A whole “Creole party” demanded the return of slaves to the plantations. In the lead, Martiniquaise Joséphine de Beauharnais. Personally, Napoleon, imbued with the Enlightenment, was hardly in favor of it. He imagines a new status, transitory, adapted to each colony. But the slave lobby does not allow itself to be counted. During the Hundred Days, Napoleon ordered the prohibition of the slave trade and sale. But it will be necessary to wait for the abolition decree of April 27, 1848 to put an end to slavery.
Also read Olivier Grenouilleau:“Slavery has never been taken for granted, since its supporters have always had to justify it. »
A cumbersome family. Napoleon did not come to power alone. His whole family followed him. Four brothers (Joseph, Lucien, Louis, Jérôme), three sisters (Élisa, Pauline, Caroline), his mother and maternal uncle, Cardinal Fesch. A clan that expected him to rise socially and politically unrelated to his origins. Appetite for honors and dignities, as well as greed were the rule. Napoleon saw fit to distribute the crowns:Joseph in Naples then in Madrid, Louis in Holland, Jérôme in Westphalia, Caroline in Naples. All of them, however, proved to be very disappointing.