EURO1004 Chapter Notes - Chapter 5: Napoleonic Wars, Bonapartism, Organic Articles
WEEK 4 – Napoleonic Europe
Textbook reading: 'The industrialisation of Europe and its effects', in William Simpson
and Martin Jones (eds),
Europe: 1783-1914
, Third edition (London and New York:
Routledge, 2015), pp. 64-90
CH 5: THE RULE OF NAPOLEON
Section A
• Napoleon Bonaparte
- Born in Corsica in 1769
- Son of minor Corsican nobility – allowed him to train and qualify as an artillery
officer in France in 1785
- Survived the fall of the Jacobin dictatorship (1794), where he was briefly
imprisoned – and he re-established himself by his part in crushing the Vendémiaire
rising
-
Appointed commander of the Army of the Interior by the Grateful Directory
- 1796 – led the Army of Italy through a series of victories over the Austrians, and in
1798 led an expedition to Egypt – as part of the strategy to dislocated the British
empire
- 1799 – he abandoned his army, returned back to France
- Became Fist Consul in 1799 – and his authority and confidence to order and
control France stared to grow
- 1804- crowned himself Emperor
- Military triumphs continued and helped to bring prosperity to France, lending
‘Bonapartism’
a glory and a glow that would burn throughout France’s 19th century
-
Bonapartism:
the political movement in France that aimed to restore the French
empire under the house of Bonaparte
- 1814 – defeat and abdication of the French came following the disastrous Russian
campaign in 1812, and the war in Spain that dragged on after 1808
- Died on the island of St Helena in 1821
NAPOLEON’S RULE IN FRANCE
The Constitution of Year VIII (1799):
- The key proposition was that of First Consul, and Bonaparte was appointed for ten
years – whilst the other two Consuls, Canbacérès and Lebrun, had the power to
advise only, and make proposals for the budget and for legislation which only the
fist Consul could amend
- Napoleon appointed a Council of State to advise, prepare legislation and act as the
administrative hub of this highly centralised government
- The new constitution had 3 million vote sin favour of it and only 1,562 against –
however – the Minister of the Interior Lucien Bonaparte added half a million votes
from the arm which had not been polled, and many other inventions, so the real
vote was about 1.5 million in favour.
- In Paris – only 23% of those who had the vote, bothered to exercise it, perhaps
explaining Napoleon’s comments about the lack of interest in liberty
Changes to the Constitution
- Prior to the period where the regime was strong, the regime had a fragile nature
where unrest was often provoked by former nobles, who often targeted those who
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
had brought lands which once belonged to the Church or to nobles – the former
nobles did this as they aimed to restore a king and Catholicism
- Following the attempted assassination of Napoleon in 1800 – the Senate were
prompted to offer Napoleon the Consulship for life, with the right to nominate his
successor
- 40% of the 8,374 votes against the change were cast by Napoleon’s soldiers
- The roles of both the Legislative Body and the Tribunate were decreased as the
Senate’s powers were enlarged – which is what Napoleon wanted
- The new system involved the creation of departmental electoral colleges from a list
of the wealthiest men in the department (who were also Napoleon’s clients)– these
groups produced lists of candidates for election to the Legislative Body and the
Tribunate
- These wealthy men were given posts and contracts in return for using their
influence in the government’s interests – these property owners and the
Napoleonic regime were tied tightly together in mutual self-interest
The Concordat, 1802:
- Royalists were the suspected and responsible for Napoleon’s assassination attempt
in 1800. Because of this Royalists were executed in 1801 for other conspiracies
- Napoleon aimed to remove one reason for royalist popularity by arranging a
reconciliation with the Catholic Church
- The Pope accepted the Revolution, the loss of Church lands, and that the clergy
were appointed by, paid and bound by oath to the government → in return the
government merely accepted Catholicism as the religion of the majority
- Napoleon angered Rome by adding the Organic Articles giving him tight control
over the Bishops and requiring Church teaching to reinforce the authority of the
State
-
Napoleon regarded religion simply as another mechanism for controlling the
people and for producing obedient soldiers
Crowning the Emperor, 1804
- There was an argument that only the full-blooded adoption of the hereditary
principle would stop further assassination attempts seem plausible, and the Council
of State, Legislative Body, Tribunate and Senate agreed without controversy that
Napoleon should be crowned Emperor
- Was crowed emperor in 1804
- During the ceremony, Napoleon took the crown and placed it on his head –
symbolically showing that he was creating a dynasty
Controlling the people
- Local government as taken out of the hands of the citizens in 1800, and
departments were to be run by a prefect who was appointed by Napoleon and who
answered to the Minister of the Interior
- Sub-prefects and mayors executed the prefect’s instructions
-
This was a highly centralised system and it gave Napoleon a vast system of
patronage
- The office-holders became his loyal supporters and formed part of the class which
is called the notables, comprising men of wealth and ability from a variety of
backgrounds
- Free press and popular participation the government was removed
- Educational system was reformed – with the creation of the selective
lycees
after
1802 – this provided an excellent education for the new meritocrats who would in
turn run the regime – offered free tot eh sons of army officers
-
Meritorcats:
a political philosophy stating that power should be vested in
individuals almost exclusively based on ability and talent.
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Document Summary
Textbook reading: "the industrialisation of europe and its effects", in william simpson and martin jones (eds), europe: 1783-1914, third edition (london and new york: Son of minor corsican nobility allowed him to train and qualify as an artillery officer in france in 1785. Survived the fall of the jacobin dictatorship (1794), where he was briefly imprisoned and he re-established himself by his part in crushing the vend miaire rising. Appointed commander of the army of the interior by the grateful directory. 1796 led the army of italy through a series of victories over the austrians, and in. 1798 led an expedition to egypt as part of the strategy to dislocated the british empire. 1799 he abandoned his army, returned back to france. Became fist consul in 1799 and his authority and confidence to order and control france stared to grow. Military triumphs continued and helped to bring prosperity to france, lending.
