Napoleon Bonaparte is often seen as a tyrant, however; through Napoleon’s strong tactics and military leadership he led France through a time of great turmoil and provided the stability and guidance France so desperately needed. During his reign, Napoleon was able to bring an end to the French Revolution, a series of wars that had fractured the French at their core. After the resolution of the revolution, Napoleon developed the Civil Code or Napoleonic code to unite all of France under one governing law. The Civil Code blended the governing laws of the Roman law practiced in the South with the customary law practiced in the North. Through the Code, Napoleon brought unity to France, improved the rights and lives of citizens, and allowed for France’s own growth and development. The Civil Code is considered one of Napoleon’s …show more content…
Voltaire once stated, in France the traveler changed the laws as often as he changed horses. Prior to the revolution, France practiced under multiple laws and each region even used their own customs to govern. The North and South provided the greatest divide, the northern region of France practiced under customary law, whereas the South practiced under Roman law. The divide in laws within regions and throughout the entire state of France brought on turmoil and friction when the issues were brought before each region. France longed for a reform, arguing, “the law was so confusing that nobody, even the judges, were able to understand it with certainty and, therefore, people were at the mercy of the courts.” Napoleon sought to resolve the divide and unify France under the Civil Code and instate a law that individuals have legal rights and protection. Through the Civil Code, all regions and territories under France’s rule were governed under its law, thus eliminating the friction among the
During his rule, Napoleon called himself an emperor, but he acted like the kings before him. The French Revolution stood against the idea of one leader with all authority over one country and promoted liberty, equality, and fraternity. The French citizens did not glorify Napoleon as a king because he gave his people sovereignty over political situations. He used plebiscites or voting to spread equality, however, the majority was always in favor of Napoleon. This happened due to fear because he was the strongest man in Europe at the time. He idolized himself as a hero, saving the French people from the
Clearly there never was just one French Revolution, but rather a series of revolutions. These occurred while the French struggled to create a new political and social system – one that would follow principles radically different to that of the ‘ancient’ regime. There were five regimes during the French Revolution between 1787 and 1800. However, despite this fragmented revolution, the same fundamental principles guided most of the revolutionaries involved. These principles included equality under law, centralisation of government, elimination of feudal rights, religious freedom and careers open to talent, not birth.
After the Reign of Terror, Napoleon Bonaparte rose to authority. When he was in power, Napoleon only kept some of the ideas that were used in the French Revolution. For example he was for equality, but disregarded liberty. Napoleon started many wars for France, in hopes of gaining land. France did win some land, but more times than not France lost the wars, putting them into extreme war debt.
The actions of these nations only served to ironically lead to the spreading of French idealism across the continent during France’s peak of military prowess. By alienating and siding against France, France entered into war with the “Coalitions” of European Monarchies and under Napoleon’s rule, conquered their opposition and under their rule, learned of the French ideology of Democracy due to the reformation of French government over France and with it, the territories it governed during the Napoleonic Wars. One of the driving ways democratic ideas spread over French territory was the Napoleonic Code, a codified set a laws that aimed to apply equally to all citizens within France. “What the French people want,” said Napoleon, “is equality, not liberty. ”(Bill of Rights)
Napoleon had betrayed the idea of liberty of the French Revolution through his conquests and new laws. His conquests led to multiple reforms and laws which failed because they were considered politically impossible. He established new codes that limited the freedoms that the conquered had previously. After crowning himself Emperor, Napoleon started regulating public opinion, censoring books and media, and monitoring his people to avoid rebellion. He had suppressed anyone who tried to write articles that attacked him, curtailed free speech and freedom of the press, and
By restructuring France’s laws into one standard legal code Louis gained public support, by showing that he was a fair leader. “The Code”, as Louis labeled it, was applicable to everyone (except Louis, of course), and universalized laws across France. The power to enforce “The Code” was taken away from lords and nobles, and instead given to “Intendants”, upper-middle class men appointed by Louis. These intendants, having recently “fallen” into their positions of power, were not used to their positions, and because of this felt indebted and completely loyal to Louis. The lack of criticism and discussion allowed decrees to be passed more quickly. The end consequence of these actions was that the government operated more efficiently.
Napoleon was able to grant French citizens natural rights, which was the main purpose of the Revolution, and use this to better society as a whole. For example, he used a plebiscite, vote of the people, to approve a new constitution that gave him power to rule. By getting the consent of the people to rule and to create and pursue certain actions in government, Napoleon used the governed as a ruling mechanism; he didn't ignore them. He created a system of meritocracy (what the people wanted): granting positions to those that deserved them based on qualifications, not just handing out jobs to people of higher social status giving “careers open to talent (Coffin and Stacey, 494).” Finally through his supremacy as French ruler,...
But, most importantly, Napoleon did what he thought would make his country stronger. One of Napoleon’s first areas of concern was in the strengthening of the French government. He created a strong centralized government and pretty much got rid of the hundreds of localized law codes that had existed while under the control of the monarchy. He also created an army of government officials. He had the entire country linked under a rational administration.
Napoleon was a great soldier that graduated from military school at the age of sixteen and quickly worked his way through the ranks. Napoleon was a brilliant leader in battle and consistently defeated armies larger than his own; including when he forced the Austrians to make peace after defeating four of their generals. In 1799 Napoleon and his colleagues overtook the French government and established power. He revised the constitution in 1802 to make himself consul for life, and then again in 1804 to make himself Emperor of France. Soon after Napoleon came to power he restructured the administration, simplified the court system, and began monitoring the schooling system; French law was also put in the Napoleon Code which guaranteed the rights and liberties that were gained through the revolution. Napoleons violent behavior caused war with Britain to break out, who allied with Russia and Austria. Prussia later allied themselves with Russia; creating a huge alliances against France and Napoleon. Napoleon successfully extended his reign over large parts of Europe and put each state under the Napoleon Code, which gave citizens new rights and privileges. In 1812 all of Europe turned against Napoleon, which lead to his exile in 1814. He regained power in 1815 just to loose it later that year. He died in exile in Saint Helena in 1821.
Under the King Louis XVI, France was divided into three Estates; majority belonging to the third Estate. This document ended the old rules and made equal rules for every individual, regardless of your Estate, because they felt that ignorance, neglect, or corruption of government is the sole cause of public calamities. (Lualdi; 118) The rights of the men and citizens were: Men are born and will remain free with equal rights, everyone has right of liberty, property, security, and resistance to oppression, no individual can practice on the law which has not stated directly from the nation, any individual is free to do anything which is not harmful to other citizens, laws can only prohibit harmful actions, no person should be accused or arrested unless they have been proved of doing something against the law, no criminal should be punished more than the law prohibits, everyone has freedom to state their opinion and have different religious views, public military forces will be responsible for the security of the rights of citizens, and a common contribution is essential for maintenance. (Lualdi; 119-120) After publishing these laws, King Louis XVI was over thrown, because people did not like him. These laws brought peace and liberty for everyone in
Napoleon's domestic policy, "was his greatest legacy to France" (Mitchner, pg 57). His domestic policies had such an immense impact on the way of life in France that they are used today in the civilized world. Through his domestic policy, Napoleon created the Bank of France. By creating the Bank of France Napoleon stabilized the French economy where the previous leaders of France had failed and made the franc the highest currency in all of Europe. Napoleon claimed "Equality must be the first element in education" (Mitchner, pg 59). This was the basis of the educating system Napoleon strived for. The Education reforms which Napoleon introduced in 1802 called lycees allowed this equality to occur and enhanced the way of learning for all of the citizens. Finally the serious rift with the Roman Catholic Church (which was created during the French revolution) was healed when The Concordat was introduced by Napoleon. Mending the rift between the Church and State allowed freedom of religion and rejuvenated the beliefs within the people of France. This contribution to France ended in French domestic tranquility. Napoleon was not only a great leader, he also was a military genius.
The biggest and the most important thing that Napoleon did in order to preserve the French Revolution was the Napoleonic Code or the Civil Code of 1804.
The French government was a complete monarchy. At the time France had thirteen different regions. Each of these thirteen regions made up their own rules. What did that mean? France didn't have a unified law system, basically a government, to make up the rules; everyone made their own through Parliament. The Parliament had the jurisdiction to make laws in their own region. Each individual Parliament had between 50 to 130 members made up of judges and “legal elites” in that region. This was the only government in France. The Parliament were the ones set prices on foods, and held trials including murders and thefts. Even though they served as the government of the region, they were hated by everybody, including the king. The King had people called intendents who “curbed the power of nobility” who were hated even more than Parliament.
Napoleon was a political mastermind. France was divided in the judicial system they used. Northern France practiced customary law from medieval tradition, while southern France used law evolved out of Roman code. However, Napoleon codified the law code into one code for the entire nation. This gave equality, freedom from arrest without process, equality of taxation and religious freedom. Jewish people were allowed to live anywhere they could afford and not be restricted to ghettos. The Napoleonic Code of law made France a nation of equality, rights and liberty, such qualities expressed in today's western society.
Napoleon Bonaparte is one of the famous figures in French history by the importance of his internal reforms. However, he remains primarily in global memory as one of the greatest military commanders in history. Indeed, Napoleon Bonaparte delivered more battles than Alexander the Great, Hannibal, or Caesar. His campaigns covered all Europe from Spain to Russia, without forgetting the East with Egypt and Syria. The French Emperor entered in the prestigious capitals of Europe, Milan, Vienna (twice), Berlin, Madrid and Moscow. Napoleon has greatly influenced the Western way of war, not only by the new organization of armies, but also by the optimization of different capabilities and the combination between leadership and creativity in the battlefields.