Napoleon

Changes Made by Napoleon Bonaparte to the Domestic Governing of France

After Napoleon’s rise to the throne, many changes were made to the French Society and, specifically, to education, government and religion. It was neither Revolutionary nor monarchist – it was both at the same time, enveloping the best points of each system. In this essay, I want to cover several main areas of change targeted by Napoleon and discuss how they affected the country and its people.

Firstly, let us look at education. During Napoleon’s rule, the Churches were changed drastically. As Napoleon was a general before becoming emperor, schools became military-based and taught obedience. There were four types of schools during his rule – primary, secondary, technical and lycées. Lycées were military schools, which were kind of like grammar schools now. Napoleon took great notice of science and math. These became the key subjects in this system of education. Though it seems that Bonaparte has changed education a lot, it is not fully so. Of the many lycées established, only a meager amount was working. The system grew to its full potential only fifty years later and that is a very long time…

Next in line is government. Napoleon’s government system developed the ideas of the previous monarchists and revolutionaries into something very like what we have today. They had two National Assemblies and all men could vote, but unlike our current presidents, the emperor could not be removed. Though initially the system was very much like ours, soon after the elections ceased to take place and the country fell into a trap of corruption. All laws were made by the National Assemblies and so in theory they must have controlled the country. But in practice, Napoleon I successfully controlled the National Assembly, turning into an absolute monarch. It is as if he returned to monarchy as a successor of Louis XVI.

Third is the Church. As an emperor, Napoleon introduced many changes to religion in France during his rule. During the Revolution, the land owned by the Catholic

Church was confiscated and any religion was permitted to be practiced. But when Napoleon’s rule began, Napoleon made an agreement with the Pope, in which the Church would not get its land back, but in return Catholicism would be accepted as the major religion. It was also decided that the government would appoint the bishops. This virtually meant that the government controlled the Church. This is also confirmed Napoleon’s words – “The People must have religion, and religion must be in the hands of the government.”

Rights and Freedoms are also very important. Napoleon’s system of rights was not unlike King Louis’s or the Revolutionaries. Though officially it had many differences, the official version was mostly left for theory and not practice. Napoleon’s court was “fair” in terms of equality. Nobles and people of high-standing were not dismissed in court and were judged on the same terms as the lower classes, but it was not like this all the time. Napoleon had a “secret police”, which had the license to arrest or kill anybody without any trial on the orders of the Emperor. Freedom was a question of viewpoint at the time. Though people could vote, they did not have the freedom of speech. Newspapers and information were controlled by the government and no-one could openly say their mind. As Napoleon said:  “It is not what is true that counts, but what people think is true” and “If the press is not controlled, I shall not remain three days in power.”

We must also observe the Societies changes as Napoleon went to the throne. The new Emperor tried to suit everyone and make everyone, except women, happy. For the peasants, he made sure that they could own their land, by destroying the Feudal System and the classes. For the nobles, he guarantied stability. He sometimes awarded titles and ranks for one or another deed, though these titles gave no special privileges to their bearers. The Catholic Church was pleased as it was restored to its former power, but unlike King Louis’s rule, the peasants did not need to pay tithes to the Church. By satisfying everyone, Napoleon made himself loved and respected by the majority of France, which virtually was why he had such great authority and power.

I want to discuss Napoleon’s treatment of women at the time. Bonaparte regarded women equal to men and even once said that they are best suited only for marriage, having children and knitting. In my opinion, it is a very rude thing to say. During the time of the Revolution, many feminist communities were formed, which even fought in the wars and supported the Revolutionaries. During the rule of the first Emperor of France, that viewpoint, taken up by the Revolution, was abolished. Napoleon proclaimed: “In France women are considered too highly. They should not be regarded as equal to men. In reality they are nothing more than machines for producing children”, “Public education does not suit women, as they are not called upon to live in public… marriage is their whole estimation”, “The husband must possess the absolute power and right to say to his wife: ‘Madam you shall not go to the theatre, you shall not receive such and such a person, for the children you bear shall be mine’. Women should stick to knitting.” In the code of Napoleon, it was written – “A wife could only own property with her husband’s consent in writing. Wives were not allowed to sell or give away property.”

As we now explored the changes made by Napoleon Bonaparte during his rule, it is best to see if he could have done better and if his changes had some effect. Looking at the question of education, his reformations were quite impressive. Though most of his reforms only took power about 50 years after their formation, they are still used today and the Baccalaureate is an exam that we still use. I find the alterations in education, personally, quite well suited for a country such as France and applaud Napoleon for such changes, but there is always room for improvement. This especially concerns the treatment of women and their education. Napoleon has almost successful in evening out the say of people in the government, but in that he made himself the sole leader of the government. This resulted in a great collapse, when Napoleon went off to fight all the other countries around him, which was virtually most of the time. His rule in France was not one to be called fair, but it was somewhat better than some others at the time. Though the majority of people did not have freedom of speech and could not voice their mind, Napoleon tried to please everyone and so prevent and revolt.

The Church, the Rights, the Courts – Bonaparte changed them all. He was a great ruler, no doubt, and though we cannot judge were his decisions good or bad, we can really say that Napoleon reformed France to a great extent during his rule. One can say that though his ego kept him warring and his diplomatic skills were not at their best, his changes to France were some of the greatest in the country’s history.

By Valentina C.