Chapter 21 Part 6
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Transcript of Chapter 21 Part 6
Chapter 21Part 6
The French RevolutionThe Age of Voltaire
Napoleon 1799-1815 Italian descent: August 15, 1769 Born to a poor, but prominent, family on
Italian Corsica (recently acquired by French)
Military genius: specialized in artillery (Oct 1795 gave rioters “whiff of grapeshot” to save Nat. Conv.)
A big fan of the Enlightenment and the Revolution
Supported Jacobins (Brig. Gen. when Robsp. killed)
Advanced rapidly in the army: talented AND many vacancies due to the emigrees
Early Army Career 1796 marries Josephine; goes to
Italian Front & stunning victories Takes art, imposes Fr. Const.
wherever he goes Takes care of his soldiers: “Old
Guard” begins Ignores orders; Austrians (& others)
‘treaty’ w/ Nappy b/c he beat them Egyptian Campaign: goes badly;
comes home for damage control
Two distinct periods of rule
1799-1804: Was First Consul during the Consulate Period
1804-1814: The Empire Period
18 Brumaire (Coup of Nov. 9, 1799) invited in to rule
The Consulate Period 1799-1804
Took power December 25, 1799 Title: First Consul Constitution gave him supreme
power (passed 3+ million to 1,592) Acted as a dictator Demanded loyalty to the state,
rewarded ability, created an effective hierarchical bureaucracy
BUT wealth determined status
Napoleon: the last and the greatest Enlightened
Despot Because his reforms were
widespread and long-lasting (as he conquered Europe he brought the Napoleonic Code with him)
Early Nappy in power Had the mind/memory of Louis XIV Unexpectedly hard-working,
conscientious, thorough (& expected same of others)
Followed “Roman Model” of giving reforms quickly
Early Nappy in power, cont.
Revised tax laws (lowers on farmers), revalued currency, establ. Bank of France
Restructured all branches of National Gov. & put reorganized Local Govt. under strong centralized Gov.
Political Amnesties brought capable people back
“Legion of Honor”:civil/military order created new ‘aristocracy of ability’
Religious Reforms Napoleon wanted to make peace
with the Catholic Church to weaken its link with the monarchists
Understood religion would help the French people accept economic inequities presages Marx: “Religion is the opiate
of the masses”
The Concordat of 1801 Pope renounced claims to the
Church property lost in Revolution (settled the issue of the peasant-landowners’ divided allegiances—jbut people loyal to Nappy who got land)
Bishops nominated & paid by State, consecrated by Pope
Remaining Refractory Clergy (non-juring) replaced juring priests
The Concordat of 1801 Catholics could worship in public Church seminaries reopened Legal toleration extended to:
Catholics, Protestants, Jews, Atheists …all had the same civil rights
Replaced “Revolutionary Calendar” w/ old Christian Calendar
Separation of Church and State
Napoleon made certain to appoint as many Protestants & others to high government positions as Catholics
Napoleonic Code1804
Provided legal unity First clear & complete codification
of French law Longest-lasting of his reforms Included a civil code of criminal
procedure, a commercial code, & a penal code
Emphasized “absolute security of wealth & private property”
The Napoleonic Code Provided for a strong central government
and administrative unity Included many reforms of the Revolution: Equality before the law: no more
estates, legal classes, privileges, hereditary offices, guilds…
Freedom of religion: State will be secular
Property rights Abolished serfdom Women given inheritance rights but . . .
Women Were denied equal status with men Women & children legally dependent on
husband/father Divorce more difficult to obtain than
during Rev. Women couldn’t buy/sell property, begin
a business w/o consent of their husbands Wives’ incomes belonged to husbands Penalties for adultery more severe for
women than men
Careers open to talent Theoretically citizens were able to
rise in government offices according to their abilities (but wealth was really the key to status)
Napoleon created a new imperial nobility for talented generals and government officials
The New Imperial Nobility
Government rewarded wealthy people who served the state with pensions, property or titles
Middle Class DID benefit Over ½ of the titles granted went to
those in military Between 1808-1814 Napoleon awarded
3,6000 titles BUT the # of nobles in France only 1/7 of
what it was before the Revolution
Offices Could Not be Bought or Sold
Amnesty was granted to returning emigrees in exchange for loyalty oath
Many were given important posts in government
Foreign “notables” were also able to serve (Italy, the Netherlands)
The Working Class Le Chaplier Law of 1791 was
maintained: denied the right to strike or unionize/guilds
But now…not politically significant
Economic Unity The Bank of France (est. 1800)
served the interests of the state and financial oligarchy:
Balanced the national budget Estab. sound currency Made public credit available Increased employment Lowered taxes on farmers
Economics under Napoleon
Guaranteed that seized Church property sold to peasants would remain in the hands of the peasants
Created an independent peasantry…this would become the backbone of French democracy and make France a nation of small landowners
Tax collections became more efficient
Education Established a system of public
education under state control Rigorous standards Available to the masses Secondary and higher education was
to prepare young men for professions/government service
Education Education became a key in
determining social standing One system for those who could
spend 12+ years at school The other for boys who would enter
the work force at age 12 to 14
A Police State Citizens were under continuous
surveillance by government spies After 1810 political “suspects” were
held in state prisons…. like during Reign of Terror
By 1814 2,500 political prisoners being held
A Police State The most notorious incident: 1804 arrest (crossed borders) &
execution of a Bourbon: the Duke of Enghien
He was accused of taking part in a plot to overthrow Napoleon
There was absolutely no evidence of his involvement
Problems with Napoleon’s Reforms
Women did not benefit…serious gender inequity
Workers denied unions Individual liberty was repressed in
favor of absolutism and the creation of a police state
Much nepotism (Nappy had lots of brothers/sisters/relations)
Napoleonic Wars during the Consulate Era
Generally short and distinct Only England was at war with France
continuously All four Great Powers did not fight
Napoleon TOGETHER until 1813 (Russia, Prussia, Austria, England) after Napoleon conquered Italy
Above nations were sometimes compelled to ally with Napoleon
1798-1801 The War of the Second Coalition
The Second Coalition: Austria, England, Russia
1798 Napoleon’s navy had been destroyed by the English (Lord Nelson) in the Battle of the Nile
But in the end, Napoleon’s army was victorious
The Treaty of Luneville Britain moved off of the European
continent Austria lost its Italian possessions to
Napoleon German territory on the west bank
of the Rhine became part of France Russia had tried to take advantage
of the turmoil by gaining a foothold in the Mediterranean but withdrew from western Europe due to a British blockade
1802 The Treaty of Amiens
France and Britain Brits agreed to return Trinidad and
some Caribbean islands to France that it had taken in 1793
Had hopes that peace with France would enable Britain to increase its trade with the European continent
Treaty of Ameins By this time Napoleon had the
former Austrian Netherlands, the West bank of the Rhine, the Netherlands and most of Italy
The Brits were unable to increase their trade with the European continent
The Brits violated the treaty by failing to evacuate Malta causing the truce to end (1805)
In the meantime Napoleon reorganized The
confederation of Switzerland
Sent a large army to Haiti to re-enslave the population
French forces were devastated by disease
Napoleon sold Louisiana to the United States